[Picture copied from thetvdb.com]
I know the title of this blog has probably got you skeptical, but read on and hear me out. My wife and I have become addicted to “One Tree Hill
” created by Mark Schwahn. Tonight we were catching up on some episodes, because we’ve been too busy with my “man cave” to do much else (more to come on this subject). The rain kept us indoors today, so we decided to watch one new episode, but three episodes later we were finally compelled to stop watching due to circumstances beyond our control. Being the analytical person that I am, I find my self questioning how I’ve become so wrapped up in the lives of these fictional characters, characters that I’ve grown to love and care about more than I’ve realized until now. The next thing I was asking myself is how do I bring that, whatever that is, to my writing.
This is where we get into the lesson. If you are a fiction writer or an aspiring fiction writer then story is one of your most important tools, so is character, dialogue, and appealing to the emotions of your readers. You need to strike a chord in your audience—to involve them emotionally in the development of your character’s and their story. This is what it takes to keep them reading. This is where a TV series, in this case One Tree Hill, can teach you so much. The writers of OTH know what they’re doing with this series. The story flows in a naturally in a “real life” way that draws you into the conflict and resolution. In other words, you can relate to the problems they face. You suffer with them through their hardships, rejoice in their triumphs, and feel a sense of pride in them when they do or say the right things. This is what I want to bring to my own stories.
I’m not going to include a synopsis of the show, but if you would like to read one you can find it on the Web either here under the “Editorial Reviews” section or here. To get the full effect of this show, though, I highly recommend that you start watching from the first episode and work your way through the series in chronological order. The series successfully builds on each and every show, creating a history for each character that makes you feel like you know them. As you watch, pay attention to how the story progresses. Notice that the story draws you in, not because their lives are perfect, but because they are constantly facing obstacles they need to overcome in order to achieve their goals. Some of their goals may be noble, in which case you will root for their success and be overjoyed when they finally achieve them after much strife. Others may be devious, but those teach use about developing our antagonists.
To wrap this up, because I’m getting sleepy, I would like to say two things. First, you won’t hear me recommend TV or movies often. I’m not a big fan of television. I prefer to read my stories, but occasionally there are movies and TV series that have a truly great story with amazing character development. Even so I think you can learn more about writing by reading than you can by watching TV. My second point, which completely contradicts my first, is that you could do a lot worse than watch One Tree Hill for some valuable lessons on building an engaging story and developing unforgettable characters.
Until next time…
It’s definitely not pretty, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s part of the “Man Cave”, so it’s supposed to be…well…manly…I guess. Honestly I like the rough wood look. There are still some things I would like to change later on, but for now it is more than enough for me to get away and practice my craft. Hey, it’s more than Stephen King had when he wrote “Carrie”—a small child’s desk propped on his knees in the laundry room and a typewriter. He made a living at it and produced some great works of fiction, as well as, one of my absolute favorite books on writing—“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.” 
