by Diana Black
Think back to every detective story you’ve seen on screen – big or small. Even the briefest recollection makes it abundantly clear that detective stories follow a pattern. All stories do, hence the term ‘genre’ – a specific form or style associated with a narrative.
All of those detective stories you’ve recollected vary in some way, but the ‘structural arcs’ (of the good ones) contain specific scenes we’ve come to expect in this genre. Without them the reader will dump your master-piece in the trash can and if the project is miraculously green-lit, the viewer will channel-surf. So those scenes had better be there.
You’ll find lists of the essential – one might in fact say “obligatory” – scenes for almost every type of story (and much more) in TVWriter™ honcho Larry Brody’s Booklet, “Storytelling Patterns in Genre Films”. No, it isn’t available on the web or in stores. You can’t pay for it anywhere. But you can get it as a Free Bonus Gift when you enter the PEOPLE’S PILOT COMPETITION…which is worth entering for many more reasons as well. But here’s a sample scene listing from the booklet, which by no coincidence whatsoever is exactly what this article is about: