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5 Storytelling Lessons from Star Wars

Annie Cosby

April 30, 2024 | 3 min read

In the vast galaxy of storytelling, few stories have captured hearts and minds like the epic saga of Star Wars.

Beyond its dazzling lightsabers and iconic characters lies a treasure trove for writers: countless invaluable lessons in the art of storytelling expertly served up by creator George Lucas.

We gathered just a few of those lessons for you to get a quick master class in narrative structure and crafting a compelling tale that will resonate across generations.

Here are five invaluable writing tips from one of the most iconic franchises in cinematic history:

George Lucas famously drew inspiration from Joseph Campbell's concept of the "Hero's Journey" when crafting the story of Luke Skywalker.

The concept of the Hero's Journey was first outlined in Campbell's 1949 book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, as a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world’s mythological traditions. The concept is characterized by a hero who leaves the ordinary world, faces trials, and returns home transformed. Sound familiar?

Today, the Hero's Journey is found all across media — from fairy tales and books to films and video games. In fact, George Lucas has publicly said that he wrote "many drafts" of what would become Star Wars, but it wasn't until he read The Hero with a Thousand Faces that he was able to hone in on what would become the essential story and characters of the saga.

(The two writers even met eventually, and watched the original trilogy together.)

As a writer, consider whether the hero's journey fits your story. The roadmap may not resonate with every writer, but it just might give essential structure to that story you've been trying to tell for years.

At the heart of Star Wars lies a profound exploration of universal themes like redemption, the power of hope, and good versus evil. For example, take the iconic clash between the Jedi and the Sith.

Through characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, we witness the complexities of morality and the potential for redemption.

By tapping into timeless concepts like these, writers can create narratives that resonate across cultures and generations. Whether your story is set in a galaxy far, far away or in the confines of everyday life, infuse it with themes that speak to the common human experience.

Lucas had a background in visual arts, which heavily influenced his approach to storytelling. But you don't need to be an artist to create a vivid world.

As a writer, strive to visualize your story in your own way, considering how each scene will unfold on the page. Whether through sketches, diagrams, or simply vivid imagination, cultivating a strong visual sense can enhance the impact of your writing — whether you're writing for the screen or for the page.

From the wise mentorship of Obi-Wan Kenobi to the villainous allure of Darth Vader, George Lucas excels at creating characters that resonate with audiences long after the credits roll.

When developing your own characters, focus on crafting individuals with depth, complexity, and memorable traits. Whether they're heroes, villains, or somewhere in between, give your characters distinct personalities, motivations, and arcs that captivate readers' imaginations.

This is especially important when you're working with fantasy creatures or even robots and droids. Think of all the personality traits and the deft personification that make R2-D2 so lovable!

While the final version of Star Wars may seem like a seamless masterpiece, the reality is that it underwent numerous revisions and iterations throughout the creative process.

Lucas wasn't afraid to rework scenes, dialogue, or even entire storylines in pursuit of the best possible outcome.

As a writer, embrace the revision process as an opportunity to refine and improve your work. Be willing to solicit feedback, make tough decisions, and constantly strive for excellence in your craft.

The contributions of Star Wars to the sci-fi genre, and society at large, are immeasurable. By embracing some of the techniques that led to the creation of such a classic, you can level up your storytelling skills and just maybe create what will become the next Star Wars.

So, grab your Freewrite (or lightsaber) and let the Force guide you on your own epic writing journey.

Annie Cosby

Writer

Annie Cosby is the Marketing Manager at Freewrite, a former fiction editor, and the author of seven books — and counting. Her work deals with Celtic mythology and has twice won the YA Indie Author Project in Missouri.

The Set Up

The 2024 study recruited 293 writers to write an eight-sentence “micro” story. The participants were split into three groups:

Writing by human brainpower only
The opportunity to get one AI-generated idea to inspire their writing
The opportunity to get up to five AI-generated ideas to inspire their writing

Then, 600 evaluators judged how creative these short stories were. The results confirmed a widely accepted idea but also offered a few surprising findings.

Prompts from AI Can Jumpstart the Creative Process

Right off the bat, the reviewers rated the AI-guided stories as being more original, better written, and more enjoyable to read. (Interesting to note that they did not find them funnier than the fully human-inspired stories.)

This actually isn’t that surprising. Most writers know the “blank page dread” at the beginning of a project. Even as I write this, I can’t help but wonder, “If I had been tasked with writing an eight-sentence story, what the heck would I have written about?”

Many writers share this sense of needing to pick the “right” story to tell. And that uniquely human concept of perfectionism can end up actually inhibiting our creative process.

A prompt, then, can help us quickly clear this mental hurdle. To test this, I’ll give you one, courtesy of ChatGPT: “Write a story about a teenager who discovers a mysterious journal that reveals hidden secrets about their town, leading them on an unexpected adventure to uncover the truth.”

Can you feel your creative juices flowing already?

Since its release, AI has been celebrated for its ability to assist in idea generation; and this study confirms how effective using artificial intelligence in this way can be for writers — some, it seems, more than others.

AI-Generated Ideas Helped Less Creative Writers More

It doesn’t feel great to judge a writer’s creative prowess, but for this study, researchers needed to do just that. Prior to writing their short stories, the writers took a test to measure their creativity.

Researchers found that those considered less creative did substantially better when given AI-generated ideas — to the point where getting the full five ideas from AI “effectively equalizes the creativity scores across less and more creative writers.”

This isn’t the case just for writing. Another study by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship WZ also found that AI tools most benefit employees with weaker skills.

So is AI leveling the playing field between okay and great writers? It seems it may be. But before we lament, there’s one more finding that proves using AI isn’t all perks.

AI-Aided Stories Were More Similar — And Needed to Be Credited

The researchers took a step back to look at all the AI-supported stories collectively. And what did they find?

The AI-assisted stories were more similar as a whole, compared to the fully human-written stories.

Additionally, when reviewers were told that a story was enhanced by an AI idea, they “imposed an ownership penalty of at least 25%,” even indicating that “the content creators, on which the models were based, should be compensated.”

This leads us to that all-important question about AI-assisted work: who owns the content?

According to Originality.AI, an AI and plagiarism detector, “When there’s a combination of AI and human-generated elements, the human elements may receive copyright protection if they meet the requirements.”

So right now, if a writer uses AI to generate ideas — but writes the content themselves — they retain rights to the work.

However, Originality.AI even admits that “the legal system is having a hard time keeping up” with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Time will only tell what AI regulations will look like in a few years.

What Does an AI-Assisted Literary Future Look Like?

The researchers from the University of Exeter Business School study raise an interesting point about what the future landscape for writers may look like. If droves of authors begin using AI to come up with ideas, we may end up with a lot of well-written yet dime-a-dozen stories.

So will human beings choose the easier, but less diverse, path? Or will we stick to fighting through writer’s block armed with nothing but our own brain?

Or, a third option: can we somehow learn to harness AI to supercharge our writing process without sacrificing the wholly unique creativity that infuses human creation?

That’s one question that even ChatGPT can’t answer.

Editor's Note: Artificial intelligence may have already transformed writing, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be in control of your own words. Read Astrohaus Founder Adam Leeb's statement on AI and privacy.

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August 22, 2024 • 8 min read

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While AI has capabilities that range from coding to image generation, the model that excites — and terrifies — writers is the LLM. It won’t be long before we see the world’s first blockbuster novel, written entirely by an LLM. What does this mean for art, and writers in particular? Is it all doom and gloom? The answer is, of course, more complicated than yes or no.