Storytelling Lessons from Stranger Things: 5 Minute Writer

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Stranger Things became a national phenomenon this summer. So I dug in to this series to try and find out what made it such a powerful example of storytelling.

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Transcript

3 Storytelling Lessons from Stranger Things Season 4

While I watched this season, I kept thinking about what made it such a powerful piece of storytelling that had people respond so emotionally to the story. I’m going to share three of the many ways this show had spectacular storytelling. Let’s unpack it!

It seems like everyone watched the season finale of Stranger Things last week. Not since Game of Thrones did I have to methodically avoid social media posts about the show or tell well-meaning friends to keep their big mouths shut.

3 Storytelling Tips

Develop a clear & powerful antagonist 

Every season of the show had a clear antagonist. And the antagonist, season over season, became more and more powerful. When thinking about your work, does your audience have a clear sense of who your antagonist is. As writers we are (rightfully so) focused on our protagonists. But equally as important is your antagonist. Think of the Harry Potter series. Each book had its own antagonist. But the main antagonist (Voldemort — B Roll gasp we shall not say his name) had a complex and far-reaching backstory. When it comes to writing, Stranger Things reminded me to have a formidable foe as an antagonist to fight against the protagnoist that I spend so much time thinking about. Someone or something so powerful it seems like your hero has no chance of winning! In one of my most recent interviews, Jessica Payne talked about building out her antagonist’s story and how important it was to her success with her debut novel. 

“…and I just love the idea of having a. Kind of the antagonist and getting a view into his mind and why he thinks it’s okay to be so sociopathic and narcissistic.” — Jessica Payne

Tone, tone, tone

There was something especially dark about this season of Stranger Things. Not only was it the intensity of Vecna and of the death scenes (again, no spoilers but if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean). But there was also a lightheartedness and humor that is uniquely Stranger Things. In fact, I noticed a little trick the show creators used to maintain the lightheartedness in spite of the dark tone of this season (and every other season). The show has long relied on one character (Dustin) to carry much of the humor of the show — not all of it, but more a consistency when it came to humor. However, with characters spread across the globe in this most recent season, the writers needed a way to maintain the humor in each vignette. To do this, they kept Dustin (added Eddie). But for a different group, they introduced a new character (Argyle) who could keep the tone they set within a largely humorless group. And they gave a larger role to a character from previous seasons (Murray).

That way, they could write in jokes to balance the heavier moments in the story despite having the friends spread out and away from one another. All this to say, know the tone you’re trying to set and be sure to maintain it throughout your work. 

Friend stories are the new love stories

There’s a belief that in fiction you always need some kind of love story angle. Obviously if you’re writing romance, that’s a given. But for all those other genres, what do you think? Do you need a love triangle in your thriller? Do you have to have a long-lost lover return in your sci-fi novel? It certainly adds layers and emotional investment. And this is not to say that Stranger Things doesn’t have a love story angle. It actually has several. But the main crux of the emotional weight hinges on the friendship of the group. So I guess what I’m saying is…I don’t know if a friend story can be the only “love” story in a work of fiction. But a group of friends falling in and out of “love” is a new angle on a love story. And I’m here for it. It’s a fresh take that can give your story a unique spin that helps it stand out. If you’re interested in how this might work, Christopher Golden talks about his most recent book utilizing a friendship as its core “love” story. “Road of Bones has a real…serious male friendship at its core which was a pleasure to write about.”

So there you have it, your 5-minute writer ideas for storytelling. If you liked this, do sign up for a weekly 5-minute writer lesson sent straight to your inbox. The link is below. And if you liked this be sure to subscribe because there’s more coming.

• There’s no doubt Stranger Things has come back in a big way. If you’re a writer and you watched the show, what do YOU think it was about this season that made it such a powerful experience for viewers? Share below! Happy writing!