What does writing your novel or screenplay have in common
with Furby?
Kevin Young, a principal at design and innovation consultancy Continuum, analyzed the factors behind the success of Christmas crazes and found three:
They appeal to emotions. Being useful is not enough (but it helps people to rationalize their buying decision). Design can be an important component of this, motivating us to buy the product that also has a pleasant look or shape, and then keep updating to the newest version of a product because we’ll feel we’re ahead of the pack (status appeal, whether or not the buyer is conscious of it).
They address subconscious desires. For instance, the Cabbage Patch doll appealed to little girls’ desire to be mothers like their own. All dolls do, but these had a story behind them and even had a birth certificate and were “adopted” by the girls.
An unexpected outcome. This one is the hardest to come up with. Examples are the Furby (for the first time a doll had seemingly independent action), and the Wii (for the first time, you could use your bodily movements to control games, instead of just a joystick or buttons to click).
I think the same three elements can make your book or script stand out, and it’s useful to think about them at the start of a project.
As with toys or fads, the first two are easier than the third. You want your story to hook your readers and to give them a chance to experience something they may not want to or may not be able to experience in real life. As they read, they can be superheroes or villains or win the lottery or go back in time.
Writing a book or screenplay that delivers an unexpected outcome is more difficult. In the case of films this challenge tends to be addressed by the use of special effects, but these days people expect to be amazed. Here are three other approaches that work for both books and scripts:
- A surprising character (as in the film “Precious”
or Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” or “The Elephant Man”
or Dexter in the books and TV series.). Feeling an emotional
connection to a character to whom you initially don’t relate can be an
unexpected outcome.
- A major plot twist, as in “Psycho,” “Sixth Sense” or “Great Expectations.” Having a story take an unexpected turn or make a surprising revelation can also be an unexpected outcome.
- A topic or treatment of characters or a sitaution that makes people think about and discuss it long after they read the book or saw the film. (The ending of the movie “Gone, Baby, Gone” and the characters in the novel “The Great Gatsby” are examples.)
Unexpected outcomes are not only positive, of course. If people expect the ending of a novel or film to resolve the main mystery of the story, for instance, but it doesn't, they will feel cheated. This is not uncommon with films that turn out to be mostly a set-up for a sequel.
If you can imbue your manuscript or screenplay with positive versions of these three elements, you’ll be delivering what publishers and readers and producers and audiences are looking for.
