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Free tips for writers. Free advice on writing 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
Story Concept IngredientsYou gotta have at least the first five of the following items in your 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. HeroThe 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. MotivationThere 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 HeroThe 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. ObstaclesSomething 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 CourageThe 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 ConceptAll 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, SubplotsAll 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 SettingIt 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 CategoryStarting with the most "acceptable" (to Hollywood) film category of movie and working down to least acceptable categories:
11. MediumChoose 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. CostCostly 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):
13. Character GrowthThe 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. ThemeThis 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.
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Best Books And DVD s Help And Advice For Writers And Writing
John Truby Writer's Blockbuster 5 Software For Screenplays, Novels, Stories
"Truby's BLOCKBUSTER puts over 300 professional techniques at your fingertips to help you create a great story, in a fraction of the usual time and effort. Don't believe that's possible from a software program? Try it. You'll write your best script ever. We guarantee it."
The new BLOCKBUSTER 5.0 makes you an even more accomplished storyteller. What's new? BLOCKBUSTER 5.0:
Has an additional 100 techniques, to give you the largest collection of story tools ever assembled in one place. In your computer.
Helps you find what is truly original in your story and execute it professionally.
Connects all the story elements under the surface in a seamless whole.
14 major help areas to explain every aspect of the storytelling craft.
Over 100 story examples on screen and online to solve any story problem you might encounter.
8 story shapes to show you how to build the perfect plot for your unique idea.
Totally redesigned interface that's quick, productive and easy.
Horizontal ribbons for fewer clicks to all screens.
Navigation tree shows every beat in your story in one view.
Larger screen area so you have more room to work.
Galleries for easy-to-make choices of all your story elements.
All this added to the powerful features that have made BLOCKBUSTER the award-winning story creation program:
Premise and Genre screens show you the 'gold' of your idea and which genre forms are best for expressing it.
Character Web and List screens help you create complex characters that grow over the course of the story and move the reader.
The Structure Steps screen takes you through the 22 Building Blocks of every great story, giving you a surprising plot that builds steadily from beginning to end.
'Drag and drop' Scene List shows you the right structural order for your scenes, and lets you figure out the ideal sequence in a fraction of the time.
Rewrite shows you the deep structural weaknesses that are likely to be in your script and takes you through the ideal order for fixing them.
Truby's complete Story Structure Course, the 103 Greatest Characters in fiction, 23 most valuable Story Techniques, and much more.
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