1. Pick a topic sentence. Extra points if it’s nonsensical!
Example: “There was no mustard on the hamburger.”
2. Repeat topic sentence with extra emphasis.
Example: “
There was no mustard on the hamburger.”
3. Pause. Allow the audience to ponder the significance of the topic sentence. Have another character ask “What?” or cut to a baffled reaction shot.
4. Summarize the current plot situation. Use short sentences, preferably constructed in the form “[Proper noun] is [adjective] OR [gerund].” Around half of the words in this section should be emphasized, but it doesn’t really matter which ones. Any combination will work.
Example: “My
life is in
ruins, and all I can do is play
solitaire. I have been sitting at this
computer, for
hours, playing
solitaire.
Christina is
happy.
Izzy is knitting.
Alex is
hagiographic.”
5. Repeat the topic sentence, preceded by the word “And.” The topic sentence should be delivered with even greater urgency than previously.
Example: “And
there was no mustard on the hamburger.”
6. Longer pause. Another character may suggest that the speaker has been working too hard, and needs to get some rest. This character should be cut off in mid-sentence.
7. The “No! Don’t you get it?” moment.
Example: “No! Don’t you get it?”
8. Explain the metaphorical significance of the topic sentence.
Example: “When I got that hamburger at lunch today and saw there was no mustard on it, I realized: this is what life really is. In the end there’s no spice. No flavor. Just a lump of dead meat. We are
all just lumps of meat. And one day, we will
all be dead! We face that every day as surgeons, and so we try to ignore it, or distract ourselves. We play solitaire. We make scarves. We compose pious lives of the saints. But in the end, we’re nothing but flesh and blood.”
9. Repeat topic sentence. It may be varied slightly, or said in a choking half-sob.
Example: “There
is no mustard on the hamburger.”
10. And...voilà! The speech is done. Your options now are to cut to another plotline, show a passionate embrace between the speaker and the listener, or write a response to the speech in which another character expands and elaborates upon the topic sentence.
Example: “What if there’s no mustard on the hamburger…but there’s ketchup and lettuce and pickles? What if…you can choose your own topping?”
Be warned, though, that if more than one character uses a particular phrase or metaphor, it creates an obligation to repeatedly return to that wording over the course of the season. So before allowing your topic sentence to proliferate, think carefully about whether overexposure will make the audience will get sick of it...ha ha, just kidding, because who doesn’t love a catch phrase! Remember, repetition creates familiarity, and familiarity is just about the same thing as adoration, so have at it! Ah, no mustard on the hamburger…classic.
