You can learn a lot from the classics.
My husband and I are big silent movie fans (well, fans of movies in general, really). But it's especially interesting to watch movies that are 90 to 100 years old, and even more interesting to see how storytelling hasn't changed all that much in all those years. What worked back in 1920 still works today.
What's even more fun, is that the first time many of the classic sight gags were done were in silent movies. These folks created them.
Filmed in 1926, the Buster Keaton film, The General, is an excellent example of tight plotting and storyboarding. Nothing is wasted in this film. If you see a detail on screen, you can be sure it'll come into play at some point. And the best part? It still surprises you. I can't tell you how often we laughed over something we should have seen coming.
The General is the story of Johnny Gray, a train engineer living in the South during the Civil War (note the oh-so-subtle last name to remind you which side he's on). He tries to enlist in the army but gets turned down, because he's more vital to the war effort as an engineer than a soldier.
That’s the secret of great storytelling.
The General is the story of Johnny Gray, a train engineer living in the South during the Civil War (note the oh-so-subtle last name to remind you which side he's on). He tries to enlist in the army but gets turned down, because he's more vital to the war effort as an engineer than a soldier.
But he doesn't know that, so he's seen by the woman of his dreams (and her family) as a loser. But when a Union plot to steal his beloved train (the General of the title) also kidnaps his love interest, he strikes out to get them both back and save the day.
It's a hundred years old, but that plot would work in any story or movie today.
Let's look at a few lessons silent movies can teach us:
When you have no dialogue, and the only way to communicate with your audience is through visual action and a few placards of text, you have to be clear about what's going on. But don't think clear means simple. Silent movie plots can be just as well-rounded as today's movies. The difference is that they always know what they're trying to get across to the audience in every scene.
Keaton's Johnny Gray had a clear goal in every scene of the movie. You knew exactly what he wanted and why, and every action and look was crafted so the audience could see the emotions and the goals of this character (show, don't tell at its core). Since you understand what he wants and why it matters, you're drawn into the story and care about this guy.
(Here's more with A Fun Test to Check Your Scene's Narrative Drive)
The main plot of the movie is Johnny trying to get his train back, and the kidnapped love interest is a subplot. But right at the start, we see why both train and the woman matter to Johnny Gray, and he takes great risks to bring them both home. He knows he's someone the army turned down, so he's feeling less than heroic, but he'll stop at nothing to win.
Because the goals are clear, the stakes are also clear and very personal. You want to see Johnny win and you worry about him as he tries to get back his train. Small problems are all the more compelling because you know what he's risking to stop the bad guys.
(Here's more with What's at Stake? How to Make Readers Care About Your Story)
Without special effects to dazzle us, silent movies lived and died on the characters and what they did onscreen. You had to care about the hero.
Let's look at a few lessons silent movies can teach us:
1. Make the goals clear in every scene.
When you have no dialogue, and the only way to communicate with your audience is through visual action and a few placards of text, you have to be clear about what's going on. But don't think clear means simple. Silent movie plots can be just as well-rounded as today's movies. The difference is that they always know what they're trying to get across to the audience in every scene.
Keaton's Johnny Gray had a clear goal in every scene of the movie. You knew exactly what he wanted and why, and every action and look was crafted so the audience could see the emotions and the goals of this character (show, don't tell at its core). Since you understand what he wants and why it matters, you're drawn into the story and care about this guy.
(Here's more with A Fun Test to Check Your Scene's Narrative Drive)
2. Have sympathetic stakes readers can relate to.
The main plot of the movie is Johnny trying to get his train back, and the kidnapped love interest is a subplot. But right at the start, we see why both train and the woman matter to Johnny Gray, and he takes great risks to bring them both home. He knows he's someone the army turned down, so he's feeling less than heroic, but he'll stop at nothing to win.
Because the goals are clear, the stakes are also clear and very personal. You want to see Johnny win and you worry about him as he tries to get back his train. Small problems are all the more compelling because you know what he's risking to stop the bad guys.
(Here's more with What's at Stake? How to Make Readers Care About Your Story)
3. Create likable characters readers care about.
Without special effects to dazzle us, silent movies lived and died on the characters and what they did onscreen. You had to care about the hero.
Another silent movie master, Charlie Chaplin, created an iconic character with his "Tramp," a central hero in many of his movies. (Just watch The Kid to see how lovable he is) Buster Keaton's characters shared many of the same lovable traits and brought audiences back for more. You went to these movies to see these actors and their characters. The plot was secondary.
What makes these characters so compelling is the same thing readers look for in novels today. Relatable people with a problem that matters to them. Characters with a sense of humor who try to do the right thing, even if they aren't on the right side of the law. And there's always something they do at the start of every movie that makes you like and care about that character.
(Here's more with A Step-By-Step Plan to Create Compelling Characters)
What makes these characters so compelling is the same thing readers look for in novels today. Relatable people with a problem that matters to them. Characters with a sense of humor who try to do the right thing, even if they aren't on the right side of the law. And there's always something they do at the start of every movie that makes you like and care about that character.
(Here's more with A Step-By-Step Plan to Create Compelling Characters)
It's 100 years later, and these elements haven't changed. At its core, storytelling is timeless.
Silent movies clearly illustrate what's at the heart of every tale. It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of the craft and forget the reason people tell stories in the first place—to lose ourselves in characters we care about, doing something interesting we want to see them do, and a fear of what it might cost them to do it.
EXERCISE FOR YOU: Look at your story objectively. It the goal or what the protagonist is supposed to do clear from the start (or at least a sense of where the story is going)? Are the stakes real and worth worrying about (as opposed to stakes everyone knows won't actually happen)? Will readers care about the characters because of who they are (and not just because they're the protagonist)? Now look at every scene and ask the same questions. Brainstorm ways to fix anything weak areas you find.
Have you ever seen a silent movie? What did you think?
*Originally published October 2012. Last updated November 2025.
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Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.
She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.
When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound
Have you ever seen a silent movie? What did you think?
*Originally published October 2012. Last updated November 2025.
For more help on plotting or writing a novel check out my Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure.
With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure offers ten self-guided workshops with more than 100 different exercises to help you craft a solid novel. Learn how to:
- Create compelling characters readers will love
- Choose the right point of view for your story
- Determine the conflicts that will drive your plot (and hook readers!)
- Find the best writing process for your writing style
- Create a solid plot from the spark of your idea
- Craft your one-sentence pitch
- Create your summary hook blurb
- Develop a solid working synopsis And so much more!
Available in paperback and ebook formats.
Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.
When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.
One of my favorite silent movies is "The Eagle", starring Rudolph Valentino. For one thing, the villainness came pretty close to sympathetic herself.
ReplyDeleteChaplin's "The Gold Rush" was another; that man could simultaneously make you laugh and break your heart.
Oooo! What a great idea...to go back to the silent films. I haven't watched any in ages. But I did watch "The Artist" last winter and loved it. We may not understand WHY the hero refuses to go with progress and join the talkie phenomenon (at least not until the end). But we are sympathetic to him from the beginning and when his star fades as the upstart girl's star is rising, we can't help but be sympathetic with his bitterness. When he starts wrecking his films, I was yelled "Noooo!" in the theater. Whoops! I was really into the story.
ReplyDeleteSuch great films out there and what a great post to help us see the writing craft in a new way. Thanks!
Rachel, Gold Rush is actually on the to-watch list for this Friday. We watched Chaplin this past Friday (not silent, but we wanted to see it again) I'll have to add The Eagle to the list if it isn't already.
ReplyDeleteAmelia, I loved The Artist, too. I did like how you wondered the whole time why he didn't want to talk. The stairs image, with him going down and her going up, was so beautiful. A great visual metaphor.
Love this post. Such practical tips from an earlier age. I've been studying movies lately, but maybe it's time to try some silent ones!
ReplyDelete~Debbie
Debbie, I was surprised how well they hold up. And it's fun to think "that's the first time anyone probably did that gag on film."
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a silent movie in ages (other than The Artist)! The first one I saw was Metropolis when I was about 13; LOVED it. Perhaps I should re-watch it. You never know where inspiration will hit. Great post Janice!
ReplyDeleteAJ, have you seen the remastered one? They found a lot of lost footage from around the world and re-cut the film. (it's 2.5 hours long, but had gotten chopped down to half that I believe). Apparently, when it was released theaters would cut it and after so many cuts the film no longer made sense. We watched that one a few Fridays ago. :) So cool how so many of the themes are still used today.
ReplyDeleteI've only seeen parts of Cops and The General. I need to add The Artist to my Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteLove this post by the way. While reading Hugo Caberet, an homage to silent films, I wondered about this topic. I'm so glad you wrote this.
I love this post. It's very interesting timing, because I recently heard a webinar from Angela Morrison on Plot, that she did with Writing for Children Live, and she recommended and discussed some books written for screenwriters for us children's book authors to use to help us with plot. So she recommended following the film world for ideas on how to better your own writing as well! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteLin, thanks! We've really enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteKim, there's a lot of screenwriting tips that translate to novels. The Save the Cat books for instance. Hugely helpful. Alexandra Sokoloff writes a great blog that's about screenwriting and novels. Good stuff there.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry...tried to edit this comment and ended up deleting it. Here's the original comment!
ReplyDeleteI love it. Great suggestions.
I'm not a silent movie expert, but as a Buffy fanatic, I can say to watch "Hush," 2/3 of which is a silent TV episode. It presents a number of ways that creative writers can get across plot points without relying on exposition-heavy conversations.
More interesting is that the episode is silent only in terms of dialogue, so it is not really a silent film person. The show still features music and sound effects, which become far more important without the dialogue. So even if you are just trying to experiment with fewer dialogue scenes you can watch the episode to get a good idea of how describing sounds can replace a lot of what you want to communicate purely through dialogue.
Dedulysses, I LOVED Hush, What a great episode. Good tips about the sounds. Non-sight sense can add so much to a scene.
ReplyDeleteLove silent films, whether The General, Metropolis, or even Noseferatu - studied early cinema when in my twenties and you are so right about the way they tell stories so well. Some real masterpieces and I suspect some of the best film-makers and writers learn from them. Eisenstein's films had some powerful moments - like the pram on the Odessa Steps in Battleship Potemkin.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago we saw the silent movie Napoleon, directed by Abel Gance, 1927. It is a long movie and had an intermission, plus an orchestra played the original music for it. It incorporated many new techniques such as filming from a moving point something coming at you and split screen. An amazing experience.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I made two silent feature films. One of them The Good Book is still streaming 12 years later. I learned so much about storytelling from telling stories without dialogue. Surprisingly, it helped me to write better dialogue because I learned less is more.
ReplyDelete