In a post on ScreenCraft, Britton Perelman says your story needs to have a central question or risk feeling flat on the page. “Sometimes known as the major dramatic question or the dramatic question, the central question is an essential component of screenwriting,” she says. “Whether or not your script has this or, more importantly, if you understand what it is, how it functions, and why it’s important, could be what makes or breaks your script’s success.”
A strong central question intrigues your audience and creates anticipation for the answer. It’s the reason they pick up your book or watch a movie. The central question drives your characters, conflict, and plot, and can be used to inform your setting, imagery, and theme. The story concludes when the question is answered.
The central question is usually fairly simple, worded as a “yes” or “no” question, Perelman says. “No matter how many loose ends are left untied at the end of a story, the question holding the plot together must have an answer by the time the credits roll,” she writes. Nonetheless, the question is often not answered in its entirety. Many stories leave portions of the question open-ended or ambiguous, engaging the audience to use its imagination and reach its own conclusions.
The central question can also help you organize and break down your plot. A steady focus on your central question can help you decide your protagonist’s step-by-step actions and identify scenes or characters who don’t serve your story. Does a certain conflict answer part of the story question? If not, it may be superfluous. “When you plot the story and get lost in the weeds of Act Two, return to the central question for direction,” Perelman writes. “If your character wanders aimlessly in Act Three, maybe you’ve already answered the dramatic question, and your story should have ended 20 pages ago.”
If you don’t know your story’s central question, your audience won’t either. “Even if you’re not answering the central question directly on any specific page, it should loom over the entire script,” Perelman says. “As the screenwriter, you must know the what the question at the core of the story is at all times.”
