Combining the A and B stories

I'm new here so I don't know if this is the kind of thing you guys like to discuss.

I wonder for a sitcom, how do you figure out your A and B stories?

Personally, I choose whichever A and B I'm currently keen on and that focus on different characters - ie the A will mostly involve 2 or 3 characters and the B 2 or 3 different characters. The B is mostly something minor that I think will be fun and the A is more like something that will have a big conclusion and is thematically inline with the overall concept of the show. I'll make the A and B come together at some point in the third act.

That's about it, nothing fancy.

Anyone got any insights on how they chose which A and B to put together and how they interact?

Best to have linked to a common theme that is at the heart to the story. Contrapuntally if you like. Not necessarily overtly so. But if the main story is about true love say the B story could be about one of the chapters quest to beat a losing streak on the fruit machine at his local or social. Or whatever. Make the small cogs drive the big engine of the central narrative too.

So what's the connection between true love and hitting up the fruities? Love is a gamble?

It's possible I'm being thick here.

It's your story - you have to find the connections yourself. Is it to do with persistence? Is it to do with the odds of finding true love? Is it it to with getting what you want and finding it doesn't make you happy? Pinpoint what your central theme is and you can explore it in all kinds of different ways... But you have to know what it is first.

I feel like there's a danger there of being a bit contrived. There's almost certainly been a Modern Family episode where the kids have to learn be more like adults and it turns out in the end that the adults... well they have to learn to be more like kids! There's some tension on the way but in the end they grow together, just like a real family! Also I'm wary of trying to make a point. Points aren't funny. However... it might be fun to have the A and B completely contradict each other. So the A is all about how you can't buy love but then the B conclusion is you totally can do that. Food for thought! I think overall I want some kind of connection between A and B, thought not necessarily thematically.

All stories are fables. All stories are contrived. Success lies in hiding the wheels behind the compelling nature of the narrative. Essentially if you don't have something to say no one will be listening. What you say 'might be fun' is why I used the word contrapuntal by the way.

With A & B (and even C if you can pull it off) plots I'm always far more impressed by how well they dovetail than whether they're thematically conjoined in some way. Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development frequently made it look effortless, Seinfeld made a point of doing it every week and sometimes it felt a little tenuous. I often find that working out how my A story will resolve gives me a chunk of the B plot, and I work backwards from there.

Yes the true art is in making it seem effortless if the audience are noticing the shot they are not being held by the narrative. The thematic congruence should be known to you it doesn't have to be obvious to the audience.

Quote: Marc P @ 26th May 2014, 12:29 PM BST

Yes the true art is in making it seem effortless if the audience are noticing the shot they are not being held by the narrative. The thematic congruence should be known to you it doesn't have to be obvious to the audience.

View original

A couple of great tips that changed the way I do things.
Firstly, turn your theme into a question. So, rather than 'love is the only thing that matters' make it 'is love the only thing that matters?'.
Once you have this you then stick to it (in your A and B stories) with plot driven by this question.

But the best tip, I found, is to keep it a secret. Don't tell anyone!
Helped me a lot anyway.

Mike.

Don't overthink it. Personally, I choose stories that contrast each other and nothing else - we'll be cutting between the two/three strands throughout the show, and interest needs to be maintained. It's a nice "cryptic crossword" challenge to work out how to then tie them together in the last couple of scenes. When someone tells me they were so surprised how cleverly a show intertwined at the end I think to myself, "So was I"...

Hey, you're that amateuradam. What happened with amateursuman?

He's a full-time doctor and I'm a full-time writing things for televisionser.

Quote: amateuradam @ 30th May 2014, 9:30 PM BST

Don't overthink it. Personally, I choose stories that contrast each other and nothing else - we'll be cutting between the two/three strands throughout the show, and interest needs to be maintained. It's a nice "cryptic crossword" challenge to work out how to then tie them together in the last couple of scenes. When someone tells me they were so surprised how cleverly a show intertwined at the end I think to myself, "So was I"...

View original

Contrast each other as in contrapuntal? Sighs.

Not really, Marc. You said "Best to have linked to a common theme that is at the heart to the story. Contrapuntally if you like." I'm arguing against a common theme. And counterpoint is all about related melodies. I'm advocating unrelated melodies. I'm only new here - so play nice eh?

Counterpoint isn't necessarily about related melodies, it's also to do with using contrasting themes as a foil to your main one. And I said it is 'best' Etc, which it is. Hard to do well and doesn't have to be I know but aim for the stars etc again. And sorry if you took it askance, wasn't my intention hence the smile. I was being nice. And hello.