The Story Behind The Story IS The Story
Writing Prompt idea from "The Offer" Mini - series for book, post, submission
The Story Behind the Story IS the Story
Paramount Plus cable channel, released a new miniseries this year titled The Offer. It is the story behind the story of making The Godfather movie. You may be familiar with a Netflix show titled The Movies That Made Us. The Offer is kind of the same idea…but better.. a more dramatic and thorough telling of how The Godfather was made.
What is the idea behind the mini-series, The Offer?
The idea is to tell the story behind the story. We all know The Godfather is a great movie…arguably the best ever made… but what is the story of HOW it got made?
Why does an audience LOVE this type of story?
The idea to present the story behind the story is inspiring, entertaining, and motivating.
Why? Because it is interesting to see the creative process unfurl. The audience learns how someone who has a great idea and is passionate about that idea works to get their project off the ground. I am certain this scenario resonates with you, correct? You, as an aspiring writer, are trying to do the same thing. You are passionate about your book idea and you want to see it published.
Two Fabulous Stories in One
There are two fertile stories to any “behind the scenes” story. One story line is how the idea came to the author. The second story line is how the book comes to life on the screen. To continue with The Godfatherexample, in the limited mini-series, The Offer, you have the Mario Puzzo story line. Mario Puzzo is the author of The Godfather book and the co-writer of the screenplay of the movie. According to the limited series, Puzzo was a traditionally published author whose books were not finding a large audience. One night after a failed book signing event, his agent suggested that the mafia angle of his existing books seemed to be of interest to his audience. “Why not write about that?” she suggested. Puzzo was also desperate for money and at the end of his rope at the time. With no other options, he started to write The Godfather. Great story, right? That is part one. The book idea.
The second part is the story of how the movie got made. The Offer documents that amazing story through the eyes of the producer, newcomer at the time, Al Ruddy. The mini-series covers the trials and tribulations as well as the creative, albeit unorthodox solutions. The relationships of Ruddy with the studio head, his secretary, the writers, and the director – Francis Ford Coppola, you may have heard of him – are a big part of the richness of the story. You might think you would have enough in the story right there, but the writers of the The Offer go further. They peppered nods to the The Godfather movie throughout The Offer. For fans to recognize these “easter eggs” in the story and dialogue of the miniseries, includes them in an intimate and effective way. The story is great, yes, but the audience is included and has fun, too.
Writing Prompt: YOUR story behind the Story
Consider whether YOUR story behind the story is worthwhile for interview, article, blog post, etc.
Ask yourself:
Where did the idea for my story derive?
How passionate was I to tell my story and why?
How did I make my book happen to get my story out there?
What obstacles did I encounter and how did I overcome them?
How did I feel when the book finally came into the world?
How was the book received?
How did the book help any readers?
Write about it and post it or offer it to a writing site that accepts submissions. A couple of the top of my head: WOW - Women on Writing - try their competition or Friday Speak-Out or Book Life (Publisher’s Weekly) - pitch a guest column.
For starters, I invite you to share a morsel of your story behind the story in the comments here for the subscribers to the Get Your Book Seen and Sold. We are all writers here. I’ll join in.
If you are writing a book or have written a book, share the story of how you came up with the idea for your story or why you were so passionate about writing your book. Why did you HAVE to get your story out there?
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