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Free tips for writers. Free advice on writing book, screenplays, plot and structure. Mythic journey, suspense, scenes, characters, and character development for a screenplay.

There Are Four Components To A Screenplay

A.) Concept

B.) Plot And Structure

C.) Scenes

D.) Characters

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Story or Book Concept Ingredients

You gotta have at least the first five of the following items in your book or screenplay story concept, for potential commercial success; this is what producers, agents, stars, studio, money people, and others will look for, and will make the way smoother form you:

1. Hero

The lead character is the hero or heroine of the quest, and who moves and drives the plot forward. The hero or heroine can be anybody, as long as the audience - reader identifies with them. The hero/ine is the center of the story.

2. Motivation

There has to be a reason for the lead character to be going through all this turmoil, a motivation: an objective. It's what drives the plot forward. It's the Grail, the treasure, the missing person, the solution to the puzzle. The Thing, or the "Maguffin" as Hitchcock liked to call it. This overwhelming need to complete the quest, together with its obstacles are the  foundation of the screenplay.

3. Identification with the Hero

The audience - reader must identify with the lead character, and experience emotions through them, develop an affecting identification. The lead does not necessarily have to possess completely positive qualities, as long as a connection is made with the audience - reader.

4. Obstacles

Something has to present insurmountable barriers to the lead's quest, or there is no conflict, and therefore no drama. Something must block the lead from the goal every step of the way. This should be strong enough to draw the reader - audience in by identification with the lead or the lead's problems, something they know about.

5. Hero's Courage

The hero - lead - heroine character has to meet and beat all the obstacles and blockades with courage and grace. The courage displayed can be psychological or physical, but it must be something the audience - reader will relate to on an empathic level. Raise the stakes to make it dramatic. The stakes must be high, risky, and rewarding, to enhance the thrill.

* Thus endeth the mandatory first five needs of the story concept *


 

6. A High Concept

All this means is that the description of your idea shows that the idea by itself is enough to draw an audience. In other words: My screenplay is about a ____ who wants to ____.

An example might be: My screenplay is about a young farm boy from a distant time and galaxy who wants to become a mystical knight and avenge the deaths of his family by the hand of an evil galactic empire.

The storyline - plot must be conveniently marketable in itself.

7. Originality and Familiarity

"originality" in H'wood is a dirty word. All you need do is look into the bottomless pit of sequels, rip-offs, and clones to see what H'wood considers "original." Yet movie-goers always want to see something new. So what the screenplay needs is something old but something new, something borrowed, but something that will make your version of it into a new tasty treat.

The most successful screenplays draw upon precedent, things that have been done and explained to the audience - read before. But your new twist on the old story has to be more that just a twist, it has to be something that will hook your reader - audience and draw them into the story.

Maybe something like: A young farm boy in a distant time and galaxy kills his family and grows up to rule an evil galactic empire, but in the end we find out he didn't mean to do it, was only really trying to rescue them, and makes the evil empire be good :)

Yeah, or maybe a group of sexy, yet annoying students venture into a haunted sanitarium where they do NOT say, "Hey. Are you OK?"

Ort maybe a cop movie where nobody says, "Go, go, go, go people, move, move, move, get me a perimeter!" or maybe nobody holds a gun sideways?

8. Second Level Of Sell, Subplots

All this means is there's a second level of action, a subplot going on, like, say, a love story, additional motivation for the lead character. A sub plot is always of less importance than the plot. A subplot operates parallel with the main action and also has a visible motivational factor to it, something easily seen and understood.

9. Familiarity Of Setting

It is extremely beneficial to your success if the reader - audience can readily relate to the time and place where the story takes place, like New York City, Los Angeles, Florida, Houston, someplace they are familiar with. Dropping an audience into, say, a desert planet named Dune, 10,000 years in the future, in some distant galaxy, can be a bit of a strain on the backstory.

On the other hand, some settings might be weird and exotic, but well-established in prior work: a post apocalyptic Earth, where crazed Australians dress up like S&M village people and scream around on motorcycles or something.

10. Film Category

Starting with the most "acceptable" (to Hollywood) film category of movie and working down to least acceptable categories:

Book

Action Adventure

Drama

Comedy

Suspense Thriller

Love Story

 

Musical

Period Piece

Cowboy

Biography

Science Fiction

Original Horror

11. Medium

Choose the best venue or medium for your particular screenplay. For instance, you probably should not try for a tv series with your first screenplay. Also, there is a difference in what is being done in tv and movie theaters. Feature films are complex, costly  to produce, sexy, and multi-level. Tv is more narrowly focused on issues and structure for tv commercials, certain audiences, etc.

12. Cost

Costly movies are difficult to sell in Hollywood, for obvious reasons, I think. If you've got scenes where Roman legions attack, sack, and burn Jerusalem in 70 AD, then you've probably priced your ass right out of Hollywood :)

Here are five possible show stoppers to close you down before you even get started (first script sell):

Historical or period setting

Massive FX (special effects)

A cast of thousands blazing across the screen

Travel to extreme locations

Bad weather

13. Character Growth

The character must grow through the quest or search, become a better person, more self-actualized. This gives the story depth, more dimensions, and evokes interest.

14. Theme

This is the Big Statement, the "words to live by," that the reader - audience will want to apply to their own desperate little personal struggle, everybody's got one, right?

This is not "the message," which is more of a general statement not immediately applicable to one's own life, like, say, a political statement.

 

Forward To Next Page - Your Screenplay Character Development

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