Inception and Making Little Things Matter
A storytelling lesson from the groundbreaking Sci-Fi Film
One of my all-time favorite movies is the trippy Sci-fi thriller Inception. Aside from the pulse-pounding action scenes and the mind-blowing science and concepts driving the film, I enjoy the attention to detail that was paid in the story's script. There are a plethora of small, throwaway elements early in the story that payoff in major ways later on in the film, that it's a joy to rewatch to movie just to make all of the connections. For instance, a small portion of exposition early in the movie about totems becomes a major plot point midway through the movie, and eventually leads to one of the most iconic and memorable final scenes in recent movie history.
The well-known trope of Chekhov's Gun states that if a gun appears early in the story, then it is proper for the gun to go off in some way, shape or form later in the story. Every element placed in the story must serve the purpose of the story, and that applies to more than major elements (like guns), Even the smallest details can have major effects on how the story progresses.
One innocuous detail in Inception is the picture of a young Robert holding a pinwheel that is casually seen in the background while Cobb's team is doing intel on the man. This does not seem like a big deal for most of the film, and you are paying more attention to all of the wild action, backstory and set pieces. But towards the end of the film, that pinwheel becomes important and plays a significant role in a crucial scene to move the story forward. Making a detail like that important adds depth to the story, and presents another layer in the development of the plot, setting and characters. In the popular whodunnit movie Knives Out, a nondescript coffee mug seen for less than a few seconds at the beginning of the movie is used to send a very powerful message about the story at the very end.
I tried to strategically place details like that in my stories that have payoffs later on, whether it be an unspectacular coffee mug of my own early in Double Entry that triggers a crucial moment ¾ of the way into the story, or a random quip told to Elijah early in Godmode that he depends on to save his life later on, or small, throwaway phrase Jay's father tells him early in my literary novel The Hand You're Dealt that literally changes his life at the end of the book.
To do something similar in your stories, you have to take a good look at how your plot and characters grow over the course of your story, and take note of things that might have an influence over these developments. It could be anything: things people say or do, landmarks, specific set pieces or items, messages, even your characters' wardrobe can play a role. In a novel I am currently seeking representation for, my protagonist's favorite book is mentioned very briefly and only once early in the story, but later on it is a crucial clue to helping him solve a mindbending puzzle to progress the story forward.
Once you figure out a few of the details that will prove crucial to your story, then the key is figuring out how to introduce them early in the story in a way where they do not draw attention to themselves or broadcast that they will be important to the plot at a later point in time. There are a number of ways to do this, from making a crucial item a random detail described in your setting, to a small, throwaway comment by one of you background characters, or a tidbit of history buried in your explanation of something's backstory. I am sure you can think of clever ways of hiding that important element in something early in the story that your reader won't pay much attention to while focusing on the major goings on in the narrative. The key is just to make sure that detail does not draw attention to itself at that moment, so that when it does play its destined role later on, it comes off as a real 'AHA!' moment for the reader.
You can also add red herrings to your story. You can focus on details early on and craft your story to make it appear as if that detail will be important later on, only for it to not be. The Star Wars franchise did something similar to this with Rey going through great lengths in The Force Awakens to deliver Luke Skywalker his legendary lightsaber, only for Luke to callously toss it over his shoulder off a cliff in The Last Jedi.
Having small details presented early play big roles late is a fun way of engaging the reader that I think every writer should be utilizing in their stories. I recommend for you to add this element to your story to give it added depth and meaning.
If you want to see how I pulled this off in my stories, visit my Amazon profile and download them here.
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