WRITING AND STORYTELLING THREAD

written from a writers point of view

#TheySilencedThem #TheySilencedYou

note that this thread is written from things i’ve learned from creative writing classes and various teachers i’ve had over the years. feel free to discuss or disagree with certain points, each person has different opinions on storytelling and writing

when you get to the point where you are trying to wrap up a story it’s important to NOT suddenly add a whole bunch of irrelevant plots and characters that hold no importance to the main plot.

adding fan favourites or new characters may be fun but it also distracts from the main story. it takes up time and space that could have been used much more efficiently. it’s time that SHOULD have been given to the main characters so that THEY can progress the plot.

s*p made this mistake with characters like kevin, charlie, and sadly even eileen. they are likeable and we enjoy them but overall they don’t ADD to the main plot and sadly were forgettable (by the writers themselves) (1/2)

they are characters we would’ve been fine without, and might not have even thought of when faced with the bigger plot. their previous fate might have left us sad but it wouldn’t have been too bad. (2/2)

when you bring characters to a closing narrative it should be because each of them has an important role. whether that’s to fight the big bad, or to support and lead the major characters to a place they need to be but there HAS TO BE A POINT

they did this well with michael and adam. we haven’t seen them since s5 but that doesn’t matter because they ADD to the main plot, and do so SIGNIFICANTLY. it’s not weird to bring them back because they are RELEVANT to where they are trying to get to

when you add random characters it shows that the writer lacks the ability to see who or what is important and they end up looking like they might just be trying to wrap this story up cause they’ve become bored with it.

the other major point of writing to mention is flashbacks and memories. THEY SHOULD NOT BE THERE UNLESS THEY BUILD THE CHARACTER TO SOMETHING THE FINAL SHOWDOWN NEEDS FROM THEM

EX. if i have my main recall a story their mother used to tell them, it shouldn’t be because they “miss their mom” or “hey mom had real good stories”. it should be because that story will HELP THEM with what i have planned in the future of the story.

every detail should have a meaning. every memory should have a meaning. putting a random flashback episode in the middle isn’t good storytelling. the writers didn’t use it to build ANYTHING in either brother that helped in the final battle

the “flashback” method WAS used well in Swan Song (5.22) because the entire plot was DEPENDENT on s*m breaking through luci’s control and dragging him back into the pit (1/2)

the flashbacks tell the audience WHY it’s believable for him to overpower an archangel and it works to pull S*M back from wherever in his mind he was stuck. the flashbacks work because the story requires them. it’s not random or added for fun. it means something (2/2)

In conclusion, the writing for s15 was choppy at best, and failed to show us a show that stayed on air for as long as it did. there was no coherence, nor was there any care for the larger story. it was a nostalgia fest with a sprinkle of bad plot. THE END.

#TheySilencedThem

follow up, i’m not saying that’s it’s ALL the writer staff’s fault because the network definitely played a part in this debacle. i’m just saying that even with whatever restrictions they had, it was still BAD writing and there throughout the season

#TheySilencedThem