Hello there! [General Kenobi…]
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(Made with Canva)
Yes, so this week, we are going to look at the brilliant movie series that is Star Wars. As indicated by the title, we are solely looking at the Lucas-era films, so no Sequel Trilogy, no TV shows, no Solo or Rogue One – none of that. Just Episodes I to VI.
There’s an awful lot that writers can learn from Star Wars, and while I could sit here writing endlessly about symbolism, Star Wars politics, and my favourite Star Wars aliens, if I did I would be here all day. Yes, I am quite a mega Star Wars fan. However, recognising this, I have identified five major things to look at, which we will go through now.
So, what are the main things writers can learn from George Lucas’s Star Wars films?
1) Not Every Story Needs To Be Complicated
There’s an increasing tendency in modern storytelling that complexity = quality. This isn’t necessarily the case. Complex stories can be very well-done – for a recent Sci-Fi example, look no further than Dune 2 (it’s a masterpiece) – but a lot of modern storytelling puts complexity ahead of actual storytelling. I attribute this, in part, to the popularity of Game of Thrones, which really showed how complex stories can really be, but even before that, there was a great deal of complexity in the likes of the Wheel of Time book series, anything Warhammer, and in the movies of men such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. However, what modern writers often forget is that readers don’t like these stories because they’re complex; rather, they blend complexity with emotion and character. Pulp Fiction is a classic – and many attribute that to its unique structure – but it wouldn’t be half as revered if it weren’t for Tarantino’s characters and dialogue.
Now, I’m not going to stand here and say the characters and dialogue in Star Wars is anywhere close to a Tarantino film. Far from it. But Lucas “gets away with it” by keeping the story simple, by focussing on what matters: dynamics between characters and the overall story of good versus evil.
2) Not Everything Needs Explaining
Star Wars thrives on imbuing watchers with this amazing sense of wonder and awe as we explore the colourful yet grounded (to some extent) Star Wars galaxy. We see so many different planets, alien species, space ships, factions…and yet, none of this is massively explained to us. Most of it, in fact, just is. Now, what is fantastic about following this approach is it gives you – as the writer – two major advantages.
The first is immersion. The world feels lived in and real; our characters don’t just feel like tourists (Harry Potter, for example, especially in the earlier books/films, can often feel like a tour of the Wizarding World). The world is built on subtext – the subtext of just existing. This allows for easy immersion. We don’t need to know what exactly the Kessel Run is or who these aliens are; their presence and the context around them provides us exactly the subtext we need to begin figuring out who they are.
Secondly, there is less need for exposition. Exposition can often be the death of stories – in particular, stories from newer or less experienced writers. An overeagerness to explain can lead to just endless exposition. You can end up in a situation like in Lord of the Rings where the focus of the book feels more like the world than the characters and the plot. I, myself, suffered from overexplaining a lot; but by just cutting out these explanations, letting subtext and context write the words for me, it really improved my writing.
3) The Strengths Of Planning…
Particularly with the prequel trilogy, Star Wars exhibits the strengths of planning out your story. The prequel trilogy was written with its destination in mind; everything in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones builds to the dramatic conclusions of Order 66, Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the Dark Side, and the rise of Emperor Palpatine and the Galactic Empire in Revenge of the Sith. Regardless of your opinions on these films, there is very little wastage in terms of scenes, as Lucas is focussed on Anakin’s story.
Without a plan, stories can get messy very quickly. GRRM – author of A Song Of Ice And Fire – is definitely feeling this; due to his lack of a concrete plan, his book series has spiralled out of control. A lack of plan can also lead to inconsistencies or twists that don’t quite feel right. While Return of the Jedi is my favourite Star Wars film, the twist that Leia is Luke’s sister just…feels weird. There was little to no plan when writing the original trilogy (as we’ll explore later) and that is evident in moments like this. Therefore, the Star Wars prequels really demonstrate the strength of a plan.
4) …But Plans Aren’t Essential
As I mentioned before, the original trilogy was written with very little (if any) plan in mind. (Yes, it is a bit difficult to determine exactly how much Lucas had planned, but he seemed to have deviated so far from his plans the trilogy couldn’t really be called “planned”.) This allowed for Lucas to provide organic storytelling, really focussing on the characters. That’s why the arcs of Han and Luke throughout the trilogy really work well. Additionally, had Lucas planned this trilogy from the start, we might have missed one of the most iconic cinematic twists of all time.
Planning has its strengths – but so does not having a plan. Star Wars shows us how both can work and how the same creator can use both to a high standard (in terms of storytelling at least).
5) Rule Of Cool
Finally, rule of cool. Star Wars is a media franchise filled with just pure, “rule of cool” moments. And they work. The thing is, while a lot of writing advice these days seems to shift away from “fun” and “cool” to this bland, formulaic vision of storytelling, it is through rule of cool where a writer can really imprint their vision and a part of themselves on their work.
Themes are good. They show you the writer’s core beliefs and values (oftentimes, at least).
However, through rule of cool, you learn so much other stuff as well. You learn their influences, aspects of how they grew up – what they grew up loving. The Jedi are the best example of rule of cool in Star Wars and they really highlight Lucas’s samurai influence. You can see aspects of all sorts of inspiration – such as Flash Gordon or Valerian – in both the themes and plots, but also in all the cool stuff going on. To me, the politics of Star Wars presented in the prequel trilogy would classify under this rule of cool; this is Lucas geeking out about politics, putting in his own touch of politics, symbolism, and key lines. In the grand scheme of things, the politics of the galaxy is secondary – maybe even tertiary – to the main plot surrounding Anakin Skywalker; but Lucas follows the rule of cool, adding in those subplots to really make the film his own.
That’s the thing as well: the rule of cool in Star Wars doesn’t feel unnecessary or forced. It’s blended wholly into the narrative, naturally and organically, so that the story of Star Wars and all these other “cool” things going on feel permanently entwined. It’s a really valuable lesson for writers to learn – how to blend “cool” things seamlessly into a “proper” narrative – and Star Wars is a brilliant demonstration of that. Thank you for reading this week. Next week, we return to our topic of building Sci-Fi governments. Thanks for letting me geek to you about Star Wars. Adieu!
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