A lesson shared by a master storyteller

From screenwriting to finance and Instant Pot groups, the number of Facebook groups I follow has grown.

I usually do a quick check of various groups to see what has been posted recently, scrolling past any drama.

A couple of weeks ago I responded to a question from a member of a screenwriting group who had asked for help with dialogue. Writing dialogue was one of the top skills I wrestled with while taking courses at USC in the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences and in the School of Cinematic Arts.

Every moment I spent on the USC campus was so amazing I think I skipped class just once or twice during the six years I attended USC while working full-time and one of those was when I was on a work trip to Africa.

After class at USC I always traveled back to the Inland Empire with at least one amazing gem learned during whatever class I was taking at the time. I took classes from several USC professors more than once, and as I look back I can think of many top things I learned from each of them that they shared only once. That's why I came to class early and often stayed in the classroom during breaks to hear questions students asked the professor during breaks.

An insight that changed how I write came from my friend and mentor, director Irving Kershner. When I shared my struggles writing dialogue with him, he said, "In every scene every character wants something. They may not say a word. What do they do to get it? Now that is interesting."

I posted this quote of Facebook in the responses to the question about how to write dialogue and the thread took off.

As I continue working on a book that I plan to adapt into a screenplay, Kersh's advice is shaping the story. What happens as storytellers follow each character is driven by what the characters want and need, and ultimately what they do; if their words are the most interesting part of the story, the story is not very interesting.

I asked Kersh once why he didn't write a book about storytelling or writing and he said he was much too active to write a book. I learned so much from him and I miss him often as I write.