TED Talk (Part 4): J.J. Abrams

In 2007, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Super 8) gave a TED Talk. I’m sure many of you have seen it. However, like many great presentations, much of what could be valuable as a writer drifts away into the ether. So for the next two weeks, I will be posting the entire transcript of Abrams’ ‘mystery box’ TED Talk.

Part 4

It has to be filled with something fantastic. I used to have the Ordinary People script and I’d flip through it, the romance of the script was amazing to me. It was inspiring to me, I wanted to fill script pages with the same kind of spirit and thought and emotion that script did.

I love the Apple computer. Like this Powerbook. It challenges me. “What are you going to write worthy of me?” And often I go, “Dude, I’m out, I got nothing today.”

In terms of the content, what are stories but mystery boxes? There’s a fundamental question. In TV, the first act is called The Teaser. It’s literally The Teaser, the big question. So you’re drawn into it, and of course there’s another question, and it goes on and on and on.

Star Wars. You’ve got the droids, the mysterious woman, who’s that, we don’t know… mystery box. Then you meet Luke Skywalker, he gets the droid, the holographic message, “Oh, she wants to find Obi-Wan Kenobi, he’s her only hope.” Who the hell’s Obi-Wan Kenobi? Mystery box.

Now we start getting into the meat of what Abrams means about the mystery box as far as writing is concerned.

Mystery Box Principle #1: What are stories but mystery boxes?

Stories are a series of questions the writer raises in the context of the story universe, answering one, then raising another, answering another one, raising another…

The question creates curiosity in the reader, encouraging them to keep reading the script.

The question creates tension in the reader in that they don’t know the answer, they want to know the answer, they may even think they know the answer, but they won’t know for sure until the writer gives them the answer.

And when the writer does, indeed, provide the answer, there is a release of tension.

The answer also gives the reader a sense of satisfaction.

And that is why it’s imperative to raise another question. You want a reader to feel satisfied, but only for a moment. Because if stories are mystery boxes, your job is to sustain a sense of mystery.

For Part 1 of Abrams’ TED Talk, go here.

For Part 2, go here.

For Part 3, go here.

To watch the entire video, go here.