Originality Should Serve the Story, Not the Writer

In the world of classical music, a natural conflict arises among conductors: the tension between playing what’s on the page and creating what the artist believes to be a more original or more dramatic performance.

A faster tempo.More exaggerated phrasing.A more extreme climax.Something no one else has found.

That instinct isn’t wrong. In fact, it’s essential.

Great conductors have flair, personality, and a distinctive point of view. They make choices that can completely change the way we hear a familiar piece.

But those choices still have to serve the score.

Push too far, and the interpretation starts drawing attention to itself.

The interpretation should reveal the music, not call attention to the person interpreting it.

THE SAME TRAP EXISTS ON THE PAGE

Screenwriters want the clever line.The unexpected structure.The surprising entrance.The unusual character choice.

Something that makes the reader think, I haven’t seen that before.

And originality matters. Great screenwriting has voice, style, surprise, and sometimes, audacity.

But those choices still have to work within the larger architecture of the story: character, structure, coherence, emotional logic, momentum.

Sometimes an original choice deepens the material.

But other times, it just makes the writing more noticeable.

FLAIR WITHOUT SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

The best conductors can make a familiar piece sound completely fresh without making you conscious of how hard they’re trying to be original. Their personality is unmistakable, but the interpretation still seems to come from inside the music.

I think the same is true of screenwriting. The strongest choices often feel surprising at first but logical or inevitable afterward.

They have flair, but they don’t announce the writer. They reveal the story.

So, one question I’ve started asking when something feels especially clever on the page is:

Am I deepening the material, or decorating it?

And maybe the more important question:

Is this choice revealing the story, or revealing the writer?

In the end, style matters. So does originality.

But neither should come at the expense of the story they’re meant to serve.

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I’m writing stories set in the beautiful, treacherous, and deliciously dysfunctional world of the performing arts.

From the inside.

Ethan Danov

Conductor | Screenwriter

Creator, Firebirds