Do you write “high concept” stories or not?

And just generally, what are your thoughts about “high concept” movies?

Most people in Hollywood would probably define ‘high concept’ this way: A story that can be summed up in 1–2 lines. However just because you can summarize a story in a few lines does not necessarily mean it’s a high concept. For example the description, “A manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American South during the Civil War and Reconstruction” does not make Gone With The Wind a high concept movie. It isn’t. In fact the film is in some ways the antithesis of high concept because it is a sprawling epoch featuring dozens of characters, numerous semi-independent subplots, and a multitude of themes. It’s also proof a movie does not have to be a high concept to be both great and successful.

No, in defining ‘high concept,’ we need to be more specific: A story idea that can be summed up in 1–2 lines. A high concept movie must have a clean, simple, and basic idea.

We can even go more granular by talking about the idea of a story-conceit, which we would define as the “central premise of the story.” With the movie K-9, it was the premise of a human cop teamed up with a dog cop. With Inception, it’s the premise that people can enter into other people’s dream states. With Groundhog Day, it’s the premise that someone has to relive a day over and over again.

This led to a larger discussion about the concept of “high concept,” so I posed this question for the writers who are taking my class: Do you write high concept stories or not?

The responses were quite varied — some who do, some who don’t, some who wish they could, but can’t, some who loathe those type of stories. In response, I posted this:

Thanks to everyone for sharing your reflections. One of the values in pondering the question — Do I tend to write high concept stories — is it can help a writer better understand who they are as a creative person. For example, Writer A definitely traffics in high concept stories. That suggests they are aiming at the mainstream commercial market. Meanwhile, Writer B is more drawn to complex character pieces. Those stories may translate into something which can work with a wide audience, however, it’s more likely those projects will tend toward the indie / specialty market.

Here’s the thing: “High concept” is neither good nor bad. It just is. Yes, as I noted elsewhere, there are some associations most people in the film and TV business — and even consumers — may have related to the term, a number of those associations negative (i.e., “High concept movies = Dumb entertainment”). But I would encourage folks in this thread and the course in general not to get hung up on whether your write high concept or not. If the question indicates something about your unique creative instincts, then embrace that, lean into that, high concept or not.

There’s nothing inherently bad about high concept stories. For heaven’s sake, Romeo & Juliet qualifies as a high concept story in my view. Likewise, there’s nothing inherently good about high concept stories. Even if a project has got a great narrative hook, its success is going to depend upon if it “plays on the page.” In other words, how well the writer executes the story.

All in all, I prefer the term “strong story concept” because, as I’ve noted elsewhere, that not only suggests a solid narrative hook, but also the potential for compelling characters and an interesting plot.

Perhaps this may be a better way to think about story concepts, something I came up with recently on a walk. I tried to come up with a definition of a character-driven story, so I knew I wanted to use the word “character” in it. That got me thinking, could I find something leaning into that first letter: “c”. Here’s what I came up with:

Story: A character we care about confronts complex challenges created by a compelling crisis.

Whatever story concept you or I generate, if we can hit on something which aligns with that definition…

I’d say we are onto something with strong potential!

Bottom line, there’s no right way to write. Every writer is different. Every story is different. Our task as writers is to discover the best version of what we can bring to our writing. There’s no formula to that and almost certainly our self-understanding will evolve day after day, year after year. Pondering the value (or not) of “high concepts” in our creative life is just one more thing to consider in reflecting about the writer we are… and the writer we are to become.

I thought this subject and the ensuing conversation was worth sharing with the Go Into The Story community.

So, what is it: Do YOU write high concept stories or not? Do you embrace the concept of high concept or not? What about the idea of “strong story concept” being a better way to go about generating and assessing story ideas.

Thoughts?