The Economics Of Information In Storytelling

The Economics of Information

The ability to use information and imagery economically and efficiently is a skill that comes with practice and revision. With careful attention, you can create a style of narrative that is effective as well as personal for you. As you hone this skill, you will create a unique way of telling your stories — “a voice” — that is specific to you and make your reader feel like you are in control of your craft and telling your story to that person alone.

Accuracy vs Clarity

There is a saying: “If you want to limit clarity, be accurate. If you want to be clear, limit accuracy.” In a screenplay, the plot is always moving forward. Much like the images on the screen in a theater, the information in a screenplay is coming at a reader with every new sentence.

A good screenplay gets its reader to imagine the movie they are seeing in his or her head. A screenplay does this by being clear. Characters, locations, images, expectations, metaphors — all the things that go into the narrative of a story — our easy to grasp upon the first read.

Sure, if you’re telling a mystery story, you’ll want to pace out the information. But the information that is provided moment to moment must be clear and understood.