Overcomplicating your world-building? | The Brew

Are you overcomplicating your world-building? I’m breaking down why the most effective story worlds are built on simplicity — and why I opted (counterintuitively) to instead take a “maximalist” approach to my storytelling with my latest TV pilot script commission.

The good news is, I finally heard from my producers what they think about the work I did, which I’m going to be filling you in about, along with an update on my new feature spec screenplay, and what I’ve been watching lately…like 'The Pitt’. Is it just me, or is it one of the most meditative shows on TV today? I’ll tell you what I mean by that and more in this latest edition of The Brew — an intimate 5AM StoryTalk series on the struggles and successes of life in the arts.

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ON THE ITINERARY:

• THE PILOT UPDATE: What's going on with my latest script commission? After almost five months, I finally got notes from my producers.
• DELICATE MAXIMALISM: Swinging for the fences with an oversized draft to find the project’s perfect shape.
• THE RARE NOTE: I got a note I've never received before. Find out what it was.
• THE WORLD-BUILDING SPECTRUM: From 'Star Wars 'to the grounded social dynamics of Amity Island in 'Jaws' - what do people not understand about the term 'world-building'?
• THE KILLER 50-PAGE PILOT: Tightening a 63-page script into a "tear-through" read.
• CELLULOID AT RADIO SPRINGS: 'Citizen Kane' and the "fucking brilliant" French epic 'Camille Claudel' on film.
• WHAT I THINK OF 'THE PITT': The unique conflict of a series that feels like "what television used to be".
• THE MINGUS PRINCIPLE: Making the complicated simple so the audience can internalize the world instead of analyze it.

LINKS:

• Read "14 Perfect Minutes: Breaking Down the Opening of 'Jaws'": https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/14-perfect-minutes-breaking-down
• Read "How to World-Build Like a Wachowski": https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/on-screenwriting-how-to-world-build
• Read "30 World-Building-Heavy Scripts to Download and Study": https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/30-world-building-heavy-scripts-to

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CREDITS:

• 5AM StoryTalk acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.
• This podcast’s music is by ⁠⁠Cary Brothers⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.carybrothers.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Cover art: Stanford torus, painted by Donald E. Davis. Source: NASA.