Explore the insights of Emmy-winning writer Erik Bork and his innovative ‘PROBLEM’ framework that enhances storytelling and character development.
The ‘PROBLEM’ Framework That Makes Erik Bork’s Writing Work
Erik Bork has won two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Best known as a writer/producer on HBO’s Band of Brothers and From the Earth to the Moon, he’s sold features to Universal, HBO, TNT, and Playtone.
Working alongside executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Bork earned his breakthrough by starting as an assistant at Hanks’ production company before proving his writing talent via specs. He has since moved into teaching and consulting, and also wrote the 2018 book THE IDEA: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage, or Fiction.
In a recent long-form interview with Outstanding Screenplays, Bork shares a huge amount of the industry wisdom that took him to the Emmys. Let’s dive into some big takeaways!
1. Test Your Idea Before Writing
Bork says one of the biggest mistakes writers can make is to race to the script without properly vetting their concept first.
As Bork puts it, “What I noticed is when I read someone’s script, 99% of the notes I had that were important … about just how well you execute on the page, how well you write scenes and stuff, and characters … the vast majority of what was important were notes I would have had on the idea if they just pitched it to me before they started writing.”
Writers get excited about structure, beat sheets, and dialogue, but they skip the crucial step of testing whether their core idea actually works.
Bork’s solution is his PROBLEM framework, where each letter represents an essential element:
- Punishing (your characters’ situation is difficult to solve)
- Relatable (the audience connects with characters)
- Original (you have a fresh angle)
- Believable (the story is grounded in authenticity)
- Life-altering (the characters face high stakes)
- Entertaining (you include genre-appropriate fun)
- Meaningful (the story has thematic depth)
You might save yourself months of wasted effort by running your idea through this checklist before you jump into your scenes.
2. Make Your Characters Miserable
Sometimes you come to a scene, and it doesn’t feel alive, and as a writer, you can’t figure out why. You might have an active character, and you might be sharing important information with the reader, but it still isn’t working.
Well, do you have any conflict in the scene?
“We enjoy watching people struggle through difficulties,” Bork said.
Bork compares good storytelling to sports, where you root for a team that’s behind and unlikely to win. The tension comes from watching characters fight against overwhelming odds.
He added, “It’s just boring to watch things go well for somebody. You will just start looking at your watch or your phone if you have too many scenes of ‘people are happy and they’re falling in love and they’re getting what they want.'”
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Even superhero movies follow this rule. The villain needs to be more powerful than the hero for 90% of the runtime, he said.
This doesn’t mean being cruel to your characters for no reason, unless, I guess, you’re writing a torture porn horror film. What you want is to understand that conflict drives the audience’s interest.
When writers feel like their scripts fall flat or “nothing happens,” the problem is usually that their characters aren’t struggling enough. Audiences crave the vicarious experience of watching someone they care about overcome obstacles.
3. Seek Professional Feedback (Not Friends and Family)
Getting feedback is one of the hardest parts of being a writer, but it’s also important. You need to see the holes in your story and what people bump on.
“It’s kind of useless getting feedback from friends and family because anyone who has a relationship with you is going to consciously or unconsciously not want to hurt your feelings,” Bork said.
Unless your friends are screenwriters, managers, or professional analysts, they might focus on small fixes while avoiding the bigger problems (if they can identify them at all). Professional readers will tell you when they don’t care about your character, when they’re confused, or when they’re bored. Those are the big notes that hurt but matter most.
Bork emphasized seeking feedback from people who understand story structure and have no personal investment in protecting your feelings. Yes, this could mean paying for professional consultation, he said, but it’s an investment in your growth as a writer.
This is also why it’s important to network. Get to know professionals in your area, and ask them to read your scripts. Take their insights, whether the responses are positive or negative, and figure out how to use them to make your script stronger.
“Only use their fix if you like their fix and it fits your voice. Otherwise, you have to go, ‘Okay, well, I don’t like their fix or they’re not offering me one, but I’m going to rethink whatever it is they’re saying needs rethinking,’ and eventually come up with something that hopefully you’ll like better,” he said. “And the script will be better once you get past the pain of that feedback and realizing, ‘They didn’t like it as much as I hoped they would,’ which sadly is what almost always happens, even at the professional level.”
The goal isn’t to hear that your script is perfect. You should want to identify the issues that stand between you and a compelling story.
