Poor scriptwriting has often been underscored as one of the weaknesses holding back the local film industry. Professor of screenwriting at the University of Southern California David Howard reveals to Kim Dalli the necessary ingredients to cook up a good screenplay

Malta is hardly the only country in desperate need of training, Prof. Howard qualifies from the outset – in every single place he has taught at, many aspiring screenwriters tend to believe that the essence of stories are their plots.

“They think it centres on stories, such as robbing a bank or falling in love. But stories are only interesting if we care about the people robbing the bank or the people falling in love. Stories are ultimately about people.”

Prof. Howard is currently in Malta and has just delivered the Storyworks course, a programme organised by the Valletta 2018 Foundation, focusing on developing film scripts with small groups of aspiring film producers and screenwriters.

The programme is now in its fourth year but in an interview with this newspaper last year, Film Commissioner Engelbert Grech had flagged scriptwriting as one of the key areas the local film industry is struggling in. Why is the country not yet producing quality scripts? 

The course only runs over a week, Prof. Howard explains, as Jean Pierre Magro, who oversees the programme, adds that the programme is attempting to change the culture. 

“We’re trying to start a culture of collaboration and of understanding the basic principles of stories. If we manage to do that, we would consider it a success. 

“Writing is all about rewriting. Just because you can type, it doesn’t mean you’re a writer. You must learn the craft. But that won’t happen overnight.”

Non-dialogue is one of the earliest exercises students are asked to work on. Students are helped to write cinematically, Prof. Howard says, explaining that students are helped to find ways how to externalise thoughts.

Writing is all about rewriting. Just because you can type, it doesn’t mean you’re a writer

“One of the first questions we need to answer is: how do we know what the character is intending to do? Every up and coming screenwriter replies: the character tells us,” Prof. Howard says with a laugh. 

“Everything is put into dialogue and that’s not particularly interesting and not always believable because people lie and don’t always say exactly what’s on their mind, even if they’re trying to be truthful.” 

One of the ingredients of a good script lies in enabling the audience to identify with the characters. “Take a burning building. I’m not going to just run into it but if you put my child in there, then I’d do it. When people in a story act in ways which we don’t understand, then we can’t identify with them.”

Audiences need to care about the character but be uncertain about his or her future. 

Writers who are first starting out often tend to think in terms of too much plot or of withholding information – both are mistakes, Prof. Howard says. 

“If you have too much story for the amount of screen time you have, something’s got to give. Everything gets speeded up or the time needed to get attached to the characters becomes diminished in favour of yet another car chase. 

“Inexperienced screen writers tend to think that if they let the audience know what’s going on, it would make their story predicable. But if we don’t have enough information, we would not be involved.”

He refers to a Charlie Chaplin scene in Modern Times where the actor is roller-skating blindfolded right next to a big gaping hole to impress a girl. The audience laughs but is also filled with tension. When the blindfold is removed, Chaplin realises the danger and nearly tumbles over. 

If the audience had got to know of the hole in tandem with Chaplin, the dramatic tension would have been non-existent. 

One of the most compelling factors of a good script, Prof. Howard adds, is determination. 

“Indifferent characters make for an indifferent audience and a weak story. Contrast that with a character who is passionate and pushes through despite all the obstacles. Yet it doesn’t mean they have to succeed. 

“Rocky Balboa doesn’t win the fight – but it’s his determination which is fascinating.”