Gins of omission

Before I take on any advocacy or mediation case I always ask a series of questions. These include: What happened? When did this happen? What would you like me to do about it? And: Okay, what aren’t you telling me? There’s always something.

As storytellers, be it in screenplays, novels, plays, it is our job to tell intriguing, entertaining and honest narratives, even when we are making them up. People notice if there is something missing. A gap, a missing piece of information, an action made by the protagonist that doesn’t quite ring true. People notice and it takes them out of the story, out of the world we are trying to immerse them in. Their suspension of disbelief is lost. They know when something, some vital fact, isn’t there even if it isn’t glaringly obvious. The missing casts a shadow; a trace of an outline.

I’ve been in a meeting with a client’s boss and I’ve been firmly defending their rights and their boss has asked them about their sleeping on the job. Which was new information to me. It’s not ideal. It’s not what you would call an optimal bargaining position. Afterwards the client told me that they didn’t tell me because they didn’t think it was relevant. “I thought they just wanted to talk about my drinking.” Really? You don’t see how they might be related?

The why is always important. Why did you do that thing? Why is your boss angry? Why did the main character suddenly leave town with the waitress? Is there a connection?

Storytelling is the art of weaving convincing patterns. A good storyteller, a good writer, can see these patterns in everything around them. No, it’s not the gin talking.

I often get asked about the legalities of putting real-life events and characters into fictional works. My advice is to not do it. Just because something was true in the real world it doesn’t mean it will ring true in the world of your story. Is an action true to that specific character? Does the scene fit the tone of your film? If you have to explain to your audience that a particular thing actually happened in real life then you haven’t done your job properly. Also, you want your characters and their actions to be believable and so much of what people do in real life just doesn’t make any sense.

So, yeah, sometimes I approach any advocacy or mediation case like I’m asking a drunk friend why they got kicked out of a bar. “The bouncer was mean!” It may take a while but quiet calm and a maybe coffee helps important facts to surface. “Everyone else was dancing on the tables too!” Did they have their trousers on? “Yes.” Did you? “…no… You’re mean!” Yes, yes I am, but only because I care.