Archive for the ‘writing a screenplay’ tag

How To Find Your Character’s Fatal Flaw

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Portrayals of the human experience reveal something about ourselves. When we see a reflection of our humanity on screen, we connect with the story. Witnessing imperfect characters struggle with change and transformation resonates with our own experiences of life.

We all know that nothing in nature is static and that change is essential for growth. Character traits that once were vital to our survival may no longer serve us, they have outlived their purpose and may even be detrimental to our well-being. When the old ways of doing and behaving no longer work, a transformation must occur. To create a story that reveals transformation the writer must first establish why the character needs to transform. Which survival trait has outlived its purpose? What behavior is prohibiting the protagonist from achieving his goal? This is the fatal flaw.

The Fatal Flaw helps the writer:
* Create dramatic conflict
* Design character behavior
* Develop character backstory
* Reveal character motivation
* Structure the plot to serve the character’s internal journey

HOW TO FIND THE CHARACTER’S FATAL FLAW
A character’s Fatal Flaw is the opposite value of the Internal Goal of the Theme. If the value of the Internal Goal is generosity, then the opposite value (the Fatal Flaw) is greed.

Here are four steps to help you find your character’s fatal flaw:

1. Identify the Theme

2. Identify the Opposite Value of the Theme.

3. Define the value that represents the theme. This is the Internal Goal. (This representation can take many forms. If ten different writers wrote a script revolving around the same theme each writer could easily construct ten different ways to present the theme.)

4. Determine the opposite value/representation of the Internal Goal. This is the character’s Fatal Flaw.

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EXAMPLE FROM THE SCRIPT “LETHAL WEAPON” (by Shane Black)

1. Identify the Theme = Embracing Life

2. Identify the Opposite Value of the Theme = Devaluing Life

3. Define the value that represents the theme. Internal Goal = Connecting with Other People

4. Determine the opposite value/representation of the Internal Goal. Fatal Flaw = Disconnected from other people
(Riggs, played by Mel Gibson, is lonely and isolated, and exhibits reckless and suicidal behavior – the opposite of “embracing life” and being “connected to other people”.)

YOUR TURN: Can you identify your main character’s fatal flaw? Does your protagonist’s fatal flaw represent the opposite value of your theme? Does the fatal flaw drive the hero’s internal journey?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process.

The Three Dimensions of Character: Going Deep and Wide to Create Compelling Heroes and Villains – by Larry Brooks of StoryFix

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Larry Brooks’s latest book The Three Dimensions of Character: Going Deep and Wide to Create Compelling Heroes and Villains is a valuable resource for learning how to effectively develop characters. Though designed for fiction authors, Brooks’s observations, insights, and advice can be applied equally to screenwriting. A successful author, screenwriter, and writing coach, Brooks presents the material with his usual warmth, charm, and wit; reading The Three Dimensions is like having your own screenwriting mentor sitting across the table sharing his expertise.

JUST THE FACTS MA’AM – AND NO FLUFF

Brooks skips the obvious “make your characters rich, deep, and compelling” and actually tells you how to put all the pieces together to create dynamic characters – not just in theory, but in practice. The author reveals:

* How to integrate the three dimensions of character
* The elements of good character
* The seven variables that communicate character
* The six core competencies of successful storytelling
* Understanding character motivation
* Interior vs. exterior conflict

If you’re looking for the real tools you need to construct engaging heroes and villains then pick up a copy of The Three Dimensions of Character (note: not an affiliate link).

The Importance of the MidPoint

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The midpoint is the “high” before the fall. It provides a breakthrough point for the hero, a shift in the dramatic conflict, and relief from the relentless resistance of the first half of the second act.

WHAT’S GOING ON AT THE MIDPOINT?

As the story moves into the second act, the hero tries to solve the problem and achieve his goal in the easiest possible way – and he fails. So he makes another attempt, and he fails again. He tries something different and still he fails. With each attempt he is faced with mounting obstacles, increasing complications, and rising conflict. No matter what he does, he is unable to achieve his goal.

When the hero hits the midpoint he is exhausted. He has reached a breaking point, which allows him to experience a breakthrough. Similar to the first and second turning points, the incident or event at the midpoint creates a dramatic shift. The protagonist’s internal reaction to this event helps him understand how his fatal flaw is impacting the conflict and preventing him from reaching his goal – and the hero begins to discover how the conflict can be resolved.

In other words, the protagonist can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and how to reach it. The midpoint event may make the hero reconsider who he is and what he believes in. It forces him to re-evaluate his strategy. It motivates him to take a new approach to the problem. The midpoint clarifies and reveals the theme (through the protagonist’s actions and reactions) and shows the hero embracing and moving toward that truth.

Robert Towne creates a classic midpoint revelation in the screenplay Chinatown. Midway through the story, Jake figures out the water department is siphoning off water and redirecting it. In this scene, Gittes goes from being both literally and figuratively unconscious (when he’s knocked out) to being enlightened (when he “comes to”). The revelation causes the hero to formulate a new plan; he now knows what to do to begin solving the mystery.

YOUR TURN: What incident occurs midway through your story that shifts the conflict and sets the protagonist on a new path? Does your midpoint effectively clarify and reveal the theme?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process.

Act Two – How To Fix Common Problems

Most problems in Act Two result from:

1. Lack of Focus
The story lacks clarity or wanders off course causing the reader to become confused about what is going on and why.

2. Insufficient Momentum
There’s not enough energy – the story drags and stalls out instead of moving forward.

TIPS FOR FIXING ACT II PROBLEMS:

1. Develop a Solid Structure & Present a Clear Set Up In Act One
A solid foundation (including all the necessary components, turning points, crisis, and so on) and a clear, focused direction keep the story on track allowing the reader or audience to easily follow along as Act Two unfolds.

2. Create a Strong First Turning Point
A strong first turning point will go a long way to help push the movement forward as the story enters the second act.

3. Use Action
It goes-without-saying (but I’ll say it anyway), you want to keep your characters acting instead of talking – use complications, obstacles, and reversals to infuse Act II with energy.

4. Keep Your Three Storylines Progressing
The A (external problem), B (internal conflict), and C (relationship issue) storylines should continue to develop – but not be resolved until Act III.

5. Use Cause-and-Effect Scenes
Cause-and-effect scenes – A happens and causes B to result, which then causes C, and on and on – create conflict and action, and give the story direction and momentum.

6. Design Scene Sequences for Clarity and Movement
A sequence is a series of scenes (usually two to five) that are linked together and build toward a common goal. Linking related scenes that rise in tension creates momentum and keeps the second act moving forward.

YOUR TURN: Are there areas in Act II where you can substitute action points for dialogue? Are you using scene sequences to add energy to the second act? Is the story focused or does it wander? Does the first turning point pull the reader into the second act and create momentum? Are the A, B, and C storylines progressing throughout Act II?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process. Want to learn how to write your first script or adapt a book into a screenplay? I’m committed to helping you achieve your writing goals. My online writing classes provide a focused structure and assignments that produce tangible results.

Creating A Strong Goal For Your Main Character

I often read screenplays in which the main character lacks a clear, understandable, and compelling goal that drives the conflict, forces transformation, and pushes the hero toward the climax – which leads to a story that wanders and an audience or reader who quickly becomes bored or confused. The main character needs to have an objective to pursue.

A STRONG GOAL….

IS DRIVEN BY CLEAR & FOCUSED MOTIVATION
The protagonist must be motivated to act to achieve a goal. This motivation can be psychological, physical, or situational, but the audience must clearly understand the motivation. If a reader wonders, “Why is he doing that?” then the character’s motivation has not been established. Frequently, the motivating factor is defined in the inciting incident, when the protagonist is at a crisis point and his entire world is about to change. Something happens that compels the hero to develop a goal and a plan to achieve it.

IS CLEARLY PRESENTED & EASY TO UNDERSTAND
The audience needs to know early in the story (some time in the First Act) what the protagonist’s goal is so they can follow him on his journey. Something may happen later in the story (often around the MidPoint) that forces him to change his goal to what he truly wants or need. For example, in The Verdict, written by David Mamet, the main character’s initial (external) goal is to win the civil case for his client, ultimately the goal shifts and becomes his (internal) need to regain his dignity.

IS COMPELLING
Something must be at stake in the story that is essential to the protagonist’s well being. The audience must be convinced that if the protagonist does not achieve his goal something will be lost (the girl, life on Earth, justice, redemption…)

REQUIRES ACTION TO ACHIEVE
The main character must have a plan and take specific actions to achieve his goal. If he or she doesn’t take action then the audience won’t believe the goal is important to the character and will lose interest. By the MidPoint (at the latest) the hero needs to be acting on the story, instead of his “world” acting on him.

BRINGS THE HERO INTO CONFLICT WITH THE ANTANGONIST
The protagonist’s goals are in direct opposition to the antagonist’s, which creates conflict. A worthy opponent strengthens the hero.

IS DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE & FORCES THE HERO TO CHANGE
As the character acts to achieve his goal he will face increasingly difficult obstacles, conflicts, and complications that demand the character to confront and overcome his fatal flaw. In most films, the goal cannot be achieved without the hero changing or transforming in some way.

YOUR TURN: What is your main character’s initial goal and does it change later in the story? What is the motivation that compels your protagonist to develop a goal? Are the stakes high enough to sustain the goal throughout the story? What actions does the hero take to achieve the goal? What fatal flaw prevents him from reaching his goal and how is he forced to confront and overcome that obstacle?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process. Want to learn how to write your first script or adapt a book into a screenplay? I’m committed to helping you achieve your writing goals. My online writing classes provide a focused structure and assignments that produce tangible results.

Understanding What Motivates Your Characters’ Actions

In real life, people act with a reason. And screenplay characters need to do the same. Every character action requires motivation and intention. To create a logical story with strong, identifiable, and understandable characters, a writer needs to be aware of what drives his or her characters’ actions, and create behavior that is consistent with the characters he/she has developed.

So, what motivates your characters to do, say, react, and think as they do?

1. Previous Incidents or Backstory
Past events can influence a character’s actions. In Aliens, the character of Ripley distrusts the “synthetic person”, Bishop, because she previously had a bad experience with a robot (a really bad experience). Ripley’s driven to protect the young child Newt, because she lost the opportunity to mother her own child. How do past incidents or backstory influence your character’s behavior and choices?

2. The Unconscious Dark Side
No one is “all good” or always does the “right thing”. The unconscious dark side of a character can drive him to act in ways that go against his conscious self, whether it be as small as a little white-lie to avoid hurting a loved one’s feelings or as significant as bilking clients out of millions of dollars. What makes the police officer, devoted to justice and helping the vulnerable, take a bribe or look the other way at corruption within his department? The law-abiding, good, decent, and loving father in the film In The Bedroom is driven to kill his son’s murderer in an attempt to alleviate his wife’s suffering. What would make your character lie, cheat, steal, or even kill?

3. How A Character Gains and Processes Information
People experience life differently. Some gain information through direct experience, while some derive information through others’ experiences (note that in films your main characters will most often experience life directly). Some people process information emotionally and base their decisions on feelings, while others process information intellectually and base their decisions on principles and facts. How does your character gain and process information and how does that affect his actions?

4. Personality Disorders or Quirks
Woody Allen’s characters often suffer from neuroses that motivate their behaviors and attitudes. In Lethal Weapon, Martin Riggs’s depression influences his actions – including his willingness to take chances and his flirtations with suicide – and causes conflict with other characters, such as his partner, Murtaugh, who questions Riggs’s sanity (Riggs’s depression is a personality disorder triggered by a past event – his wife’s death). What personality disorders or quirks would explain your characters’ behaviors and choices?

Knowing what drives and motivates your characters’ actions will help you create fully developed, plausible characters, and a solid, logical storyline.

YOUR TURN: What techniques do you use to develop and support your characters’ behaviors and actions?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process. Want to learn how to write your first script or adapt a book into a screenplay? I’m committed to helping you achieve your writing goals. My online writing classes provide a focused structure and assignments that produce tangible results.

Friday Q&A: The Correct Use Of Dashes

Q: I have a question about punctuation in scripts, specifically the dash. I understand it is used in dialogue for interruptions, and also when a thought changes suddenly. I have even seen it used in action and description as well. It always seems to consist of two hyphen marks with a space before and after. From what I’ve read it should be used for emphasis or when several related items need to stand apart from one another. But I’m still a bit confused. Can you identify and show examples of how the dash is most commonly used in dialogue, action, and description? – Robert Hosking

A: Thanks for your question Robert. Generally, punctuation rules are the same for any type of writing (you may see a few variations based on which manual an editor uses, for example the Associated Press or The Chicago Manual of Style).

When it comes to the dash, there are two types of dashes, the em-dash and the en-dash. The en-dash is the width of the letter “n” and the em-dash is the width of the letter “m”. The em-dash can be written as one long extended dash (–) or two single dashes (–), always with a space before and after.

The en-dash is used to designate a range or when one part of an open compound is made up of two words, such as:
“I work from 8-5 every day.”
“The score was 3-1 at halftime.”
“Robert is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter.” (Note that the en-dash signifies the inclusion of Academy in the open compound, whereas a hyphen only includes the joined words.)

The em-dash is used most often to indicate emphasis or interruption. Commas and parenthesis are also used to enclose parenthetical elements. The difference is em-dashes mark a sharper disruption than commas and parenthesis indicate a still sharper one than em-dashes. The em-dash is also used for attribution (such as the usage above attributing Robert Hosking to today’s question) and as part of each slugline. Writing a well-structured, compelling script is the goal – so don’t get too hung up on em-dashes.

Some screenwriters use em-dashes more than others. Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) may be the king of em-dashes when it comes to using them in description and action lines.

EXT. SIMI VALLEY – MORNING
The scorched landscape stretches out beneath a latticework of high-tension power lines. Only scrub grass grows here. Rusted railroad tracks wander into the distance, and nestled beside them, like the last stop before death — sits a lonely trailer home. Battered TV antenna. A dirt yard, which houses a beat-up pickup truck. Dead garden sprouting weeds. The ground begins to tremble … like an earthquake, RATTLING the POWER POLES, as, without warning — An express TRAIN BLASTS BY and streaks past the trailer at seventy miles an hour.

INT. HIGH-RISE APARTMENT – NIGHT
Through billowing curtains, into the inner sanctum of a penthouse apartment, and here, boys and girls, is where we lose our breath, because — spread-eagled on a sumptuous designer sofa lies the single most beautiful GIRL in the city.

She stands, stumbles across the room, pausing to glance at a photograph on the wall: Two men. Soldiers. Young, rough-hewn, arms around each other.

The Girl throws open the glass doors … steps out onto a balcony, and there, beneath her, lies all of nighttime L.A. Panoramic splendor. Her hair flies, her expression rapt, as she stands against this sea of technology. She is beautiful.

On the balcony railing beside her stand three potted plants. The Girl sees them, picks one up. Looks over the balcony railing … It is ten stories down to the parking lot. She squints, holds the plant over the edge.

GIRL
Red car.

Drops the plant. Down it goes, spiraling end over end — until, finally … BAM — ! SHATTERS. Dirt flies. A red Chevy is now minus a WINDSHIELD. The Girl takes another plant.

GIRL
Green car.

She drops it. Green Dodge. Ten stories below, BAM. Impact city. Scratch one paint job. Grabs the final plant and holds it out

GIRL
Blue car.

POW. GLASS SHATTERS. Dirt sprays. A blue BMW this time. The Girl loves this game … her expression is slightly crazed. She reaches for another plant — There aren’t any. Her smile fades — And for a moment, just a moment, the dullness leaves her eyes and she is suddenly, incredibly sober. And tears fill her eyes as she looks over the edge –

GIRL
Yellow car.

EXT. BENEATH THE PIER – NIGHT
FOUR TOUGH-LOOKING DOCK WORKERS are camped out under the pier, warming themselves around a small bonfire, laughing loudly. Christmas decorations dangle above them from the pier, and empty beer cans litter the sand around them. An old collie is tied to one of the pilings. The dog is being tormented by the dock workers. They flick lighted matches at him. Shake their beers and spray him in the face.

These guys are not rocket scientists. The dog cowers, tugging on the rope. Tries to get away. All to the great amusement of its tormentors. One of them turns, laughing –

As a shadowy FIGURE strides calmly up to the fire:
Long hair.
Cigarette dangling from-lower lip.
Shirt-tails hanging loose below the waist.
Nothing threatening in his manner as he plops down beside the men, smiling.
They are immediately on their guard.

RIGGS (FIGURE)
Happy holidays. Mind if I join you?

PUNK #1
Yes.

PUNK #2
Fuck off.

Riggs smiles at him innocently. Strokes the collie’s fur with one hand. With the other, he reaches into a paper sack and produces, a spanking new bottle of Jack Daniels, possibly the finest drink mankind has yet produced.

RIGGS
I need help drinking this. Cool?

The dock workers exchange glances. There seems to be no harm in this. One of them frowns:

PUNK #1
You a homo?

RIGGS
Do I look like a homo?

PUNK #1
You got long hair. Homos got long hair.

PUNK #3
I hate homos. Arrggh.

Riggs shakes his head, laughs.

RIGGS
Boy, you guys are terrific. You make me laugh, you just do.

At which point, appropriately enough, Punk #4 shakes a beer and sprays it in the old collie’s face.
The DOG pulls away, WHINING.
Riggs leans forward.

RIGGS
This your dog? Nice dog.

And then, he proceeds to do a peculiar thing: He starts to talk to the dog — in what seems to be the dog’s own language. Very weird, folks… He coos, snuffles, barks softly, then withdraws, listening, his ear to the dog’s muzzle. Riggs nods. Frowns. The others look on, puzzled. Then Riggs looks at each of the four dock workers.

RIGGS
Huh – You know what? He says he doesn’t want you to spray beer in his face. He says he just hates that.

A pause. Uncomfortable. Then –

PUNK #1
Oh, he does … ?

Screenwriter David Marconi also likes the em-dash, as noted in this scene from Enemy of the State

INT. CRYSTAL CITY, VIRGINIA, TALL OFFICE BLDG. – DAY
A well-appointed big-city law office filled with citations of merit and pictures of a wife and child. ROBERT DEAN, a likable young lawyer, sits behind his desk with his back to an OLDER MAN. He stares at a commanding view of Washington, D.C. as he listens to a tired, smoke and whiskey voice.

OLDER MAN (L.T.)
I don’t know how much longer we can hold out, Mr. Dean.

DEAN
I don’t know, either, L.T. Maybe you guys should get yourself a labor lawyer.

L.T.
Well that’s why I’m here, Mr. Dean. ‘Cause you’re a labor lawyer.

DEAN
Good point.

L.T.
Last night, Larry Spinks, he works the Steel Press, he goes to a bar with his wife Rosalie to have a glass of chianti ’cause it’s his birthday, and these two guys, these Guido mother-fuckers, they jump him when he goes to the bathroom.

DEAN
L.T., in this office I’d prefer you say Italian-Americans.

L.T.
I’m sorry, Mr. Dean. But Larry’s in St. Lukes now, so I’m a little — I’m not myself. The Union bosses say unless we take Bellmoth’s offer, it’ll only get worse.

DEAN
That’s because your Union bosses are those Guido mother-fuckers.

L.T.
I don’t under –

DEAN
The Union’s trying to railroad you into accepting terms worse than what you have now.

L.T.
Why would the Union –

DEAN swivels around in his chair and faces L.T.

DEAN
Because they’ve been paid off by Bellmoth.

L.T.
Mr. Dean –

DEAN
My name’s Bobby. I’m your lawyer. Don’t do anything ’till I talk to you.

DEAN gets up and walks a grateful L.T. to the door, calling to his secretary as they go –

DEAN (CONT’D)
(calling)
Martha! Larry Spinks, St. Lukes. Send him a case of chianti from the firm. And send his wife Rosalie some flowers.

Entering the Story: The First 10 Pages of a Screenplay

The first 10 pages of a script are the most important – that’s the amount of time you have to convince a reader to continue reading your screenplay. If you haven’t presented an engaging and riveting story by then – chances are you’ve lost your reader. He’ll either be bored or confused, or both.

In the first 10 pages (roughly 10 minutes of film time) you want to introduce, in a clear and compelling way, specific story elements that will entice a reader to keep turning the page.

Often those essential elements include revealing, introducing, or addressing:
* The protagonist
* The antagonist (or providing evidence of the antagonist’s existence)
* The central conflict
* The stakes
* The setting or “world”
* The tone

Here’s a look at the first 10 pages of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The script, written by James Cameron and William Wisher, hit all the “essential” elements within the first few opening scenes.

Pages 1 – 3:
Central conflict and dramatic question introduced
Stakes revealed
Tone set
“World” presented

Rows of cars jammed bumper to bumper in downtown Los Angeles. The scene dissolves to a hellish landscape revealing a heap of fire-blackened human bones and cars. The rush hour crowd burned down in their tracks. A title card reads: LOS ANGELES, July 11, 2029. Beyond is a playground with a half-melted jungle gym, a warped swing set, a sagging merry-go-round, and a burnt and rusted tricycle. A female VOICE speaks:

3 billion human lives ended
on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the
nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day.
They lived only to face a new nightmare,
the war against the Machines…

Metal humanoid machines with glowing red eyes and massive battle rifles hunt the dead terrain. A battle rages between the machines and a ragtag guerrilla army. The humans are mowed down. A female voice speaks:

Skynet, the computer that controlled
the machines, sent two terminators
back through time. Their mission:
to destroy the leader of the human
Resistance… John Connor. My son.
The first terminator was programmed
to strike at me, in the year 1984 before John
was born. It failed. The second was set
to strike at John himself, when he was
still a child. As before, the Resistance
was able to send a lone warrior. A protector
for John. It was just a question of
which one of them would reach him first…

Pages 4 – 8
Antagonist and ally introduced
Conflict increases
Tone expanded
Additional information regarding the “world” presented

The parking lot of a truck stop. An electrical current strikes between two tractor-trailers. In the sudden flare of light a muscular, naked figure emerges. He enters the truck stop diner to obtain clothes and transportation. His strength and invincibility is demonstrated as he takes on a group of tough bikers and easily subdues them all. He electronically assesses the damage – determining he has caused no deaths. Exiting the premises with his treasures (a leather ensemble, biker boots, and keys to a Harley), he is confronted by the diner manager who holds a shotgun. The Terminator calmly takes the man’s weapon… and his sunglasses. He slides the shades on and rides off on the Harley.

Bridge overpass. A young police officer exits a squad car to investigate the electrical disturbance. A flash of light… then the cop is attacked from behind by a muscular, naked figure (clearly another guy sent from the future). Cool and expressionless, the man-from-the-future slides into the squad car, now wearing the police officer’s uniform, and uses the computer to locate an address for John Connor.

Pages 8  – 10
Protagonist and additional ally introduced
Conflict continues to rise

Garage of a suburban house. A 10-year-old John Conner (ripped jeans and long hair) and his friend Tim repair a dirt bike. A hard rock song blasts from a boom box. We learn John is living with his foster parents – and he considers them “dicks”. He disregards both his foster mother and father’s commands to clean up his room, and instead speeds off on his dirt bike.

Pescadero State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Security guards patrol the exterior. A muscular, determined, and defiant Sarah Connor uses the steel furniture of her cell to do pull-ups. A group of medical interns led by Dr. Silberman peer into her room.

EXERCISES TO HELP YOU ENTER THE STORY EFFECTIVELY

1. Read the opening scenes of your script and identify which essential elements are revealed in the first 10 pages or so – you don’t want to “force” your story, but obviously the more “essential” elements that are presented early in the script the more likely the story will capture and hold a reader’s interest.

2. Review the first 10 pages of your script and describe, page-by-page, what happens in the story. Is what happens in the first few scenes engaging? Is the presentation of what’s happening in these scenes arranged effectively to provide the most impact or could what’s happening be presented later in the story to allow for more essential elements to be revealed earlier?

3. Read a few of your favorite scripts (or watch the films) to see how the screenwriters entered the story. Note which elements were presented in the first 10 pages and how they were revealed. Did the screenwriter do an effective job of hooking you within the first 10 minutes?

6 Ways To Ensure All Your Scenes “Play”

Great scenes ‘play’ – they seem to be effortlessly compelling, engaging the reader and involving him on the journey. So what’s the difference between a scene that plays and one that feels flat?

Scenes that are designed to purely reveal exposition or character, or that consist of ‘on-the-nose’ dialogue are often dull. Scenes that evoke emotion, contain conflict and stakes, change the dynamic, allow audiences to gain insight, and push the story forward are the scenes that make a story work.

Here are six ways to ensure all your scenes ‘play’:

1. Know Thy Conflict
Scenes revolve around conflict – two (or more) conflicting desires at direct odds with one another. If the forces are tangential the conflict is diluted. A well-written scene presents clearly opposed forces. It is the back-and-forth dynamic, the push-and-pull, the action-reaction component, of the scene that makes it compelling – as the conflict steadily increases and ultimately reaches a crescendo. Note (1) who is driving the scene, (2) what does that character want, (3) who or what is opposing that character’s desire, (4) what does that opposing force want, and (5) track the action/reaction conflict throughout the scene to ensure it is developing – and not static.

2. Evoke Emotion
If the audience feels nothing (or worse, feels boredom) at the end of a scene – then the scene didn’t deliver. Remember, character emotions don’t equate with the audiences’ emotions. A character in a scene may collapse to the floor and cry when her lover leaves her, but the audience doesn’t necessarily feel what the character feels (sadness and loss) – depending how the screenwriter designed the story, the audience may feel relief (good thing that bastard is out of her life), justice (she got what she deserved), or fear (what will happen now that she’s left alone with that serial killer on the loose.) A helpful exercise is to note what emotion each scene evokes – whether it is anxiety, curiosity, laughter, joy, fear, sadness – and determine if it is delivering the intended emotional punch.

3. Allow The Audience To Discover The Meaning
If the scene is too on-the-nose it deprives the audience of the joy of gaining their own insight and discovering what lies beneath the surface – the real meaning of the scene. Well-crafted scenes don’t spoon-feed information to the audience, they unfold with layers of subtext.

4. Come In Late, Get Out Early
Keep your scenes lean, tight, and focused by cutting extraneous, unnecessary material. Enter the scene at the latest possible moment and end it immediately upon (or before) resolution.

5. Make a Change
If the scene concludes on the same note as it started, nothing has happened. There should be a clear change – it could be a change in stakes, or direction, or knowledge, or any element that affects the story.

6. The Ending Is Only The Beginning
Good scenes drive the story forward. They open up new questions, create complications, and establish problems that need to be resolved. Successful scenes create a level of suspense (regardless of genre) that inspires the reader to turn the page to find out what will happen. The ending of a well-crafted scene leads directly into the next scene – such as this classic scene from The Silence of the Lambs:

CRAWFORD
We’re trying to interview all of the serial killers now in custody, for a psycho behavioral profile.
Could be a big help in unsolved cases. Do you spook easily, Starling?

CLARICE
Not yet.

CRAWFORD
You see, the one we want most refuses to cooperate. I want you to go after him again today, in the asylum.

CLARICE
Who’s the subject?

CRAWFORD
The psychiatrist – Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

CLARICE
The cannibal…

CRAWFORD
I don’t expect him to talk to you, but I have to be able to say we tried… Lecter was a brilliant psychiatrist, and he knows all the dodges.
(hands her the manila envelope)
Dossier on him, copy of our questionnaire, special ID for you… If he won’t talk, then I want straight reporting. How’s he look, how’s his cell look, what’s he writing… Now. I want your full attention, Starling. Are you listening to me?

CLARICE
Yes sir.

CRAWFORD
Be very careful with Hannibal. Dr. Chilton at the asylum will go over the physical procedures used with him. Do not deviate from them, for any reason. You tell him nothing personal, Starling. Believe me, you don’t want Hannibal Lecter inside your head… Just do your job, but never forget what he is.

CLARICE
And what is that, sir?

This scene works on every level… opening up more questions, creating complications and problems, evoking emotion in the audience (curiosity, apprehension), creating conflict (though subtle) with dynamic action/reaction, increasing the stakes as the scene progresses (ending with the crescendo warning from Crawford), entering late and getting out early (before Clarice’s question is even answered – it is Dr. Chilton who answers her question as the next scene opens), and compelling the reader to turn the page to find out what happens next…..

YOUR TURN: How do you ensure a scene ‘plays’?

3 Steps To Creating Supporting Characters

Supporting characters “support” the story, plot, theme, and most importantly, the protagonist – either with achieving his/her goal or obstructing the hero along his path.

Here are three steps to help you create effective supporting characters:

1. Clarify Function
You can determine which supporting characters are needed and create ways they will serve the narrative through-line (the things they will “do” in the story) once you have a clear understanding of their function and purpose. The supporting character’s function may be to:

Move the Story Forward
In The Sixth Sense, Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) needs a dead-people-seeing kid (Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment) to move him toward discovery and redemption. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) needs supporting character Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) to help him get Back To The Future. Each of the supporting characters in Jerry McGuire (from Rod Tidwell and Ray Boyd to Avery Bishop and Bob Sugar) serve to teach the protagonist life-altering lessons.

Define the Protagonist
In Liar, Liar, the supporting character Max (Justin Cooper) helps define Jim Carrey’s character (attorney Fletcher Reede) as a self-absorbed, dishonest man, and a negligent parent – and the ongoing interaction between the two characters helps reveal the hero’s subsequent transformation.

Convey Theme
The character of Newt in Aliens is used effectively to expand upon the theme of ‘motherhood’ deftly woven throughout the story.

2. Create Contrasts
Contrasting the main character’s and supporting characters’ feelings, attitudes, lifestyle, opinions, and choices helps create conflict and complications, adds texture, and allows alternate points of view to be explored. In Star Wars, supporting character Han Solo – a daring, reckless, world-weary, “I don’t care about anyone but me” smuggler, contrasts sharply with protagonist, Luke Skywalker – a straight-arrow, clean-cut, idealistic but inexperienced farm boy.

3. Add Details
It’s the small, well-defined details that help create realistic and memorable supporting characters, from the calm, in control, matter-of-fact demeanor of Winston “The Wolf” Wolfe (Harvey Keital) in Pulp Fiction to the sarcastic, complaining, and bungling but deadly nature of Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) in Fargo.

YOUR TURN: What techniques do you use to create effective supporting characters?

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