Scriptshadow Secrets (500 Screenwriting Secrets Hidden Inside 50 Great Movies)

genre on the spec market - This is because thrillers are inherently cinematic. You have action, tension, suspense, mystery, and urgency all wrapped into one.

that character must also have purpose, depth, personality, flaws, goals, and backstory.

It shifts the movie onto a different path, which is what a good midpoint will do.

The fatal flaw is the cornerstone of character depth, so you definitely want to include one if possible!

“The Goonies” is practically an advertisement for GSU (GOAL - find the treasure, STAKES - if they don’t, they lose their neighborhood, URGENCY - they only have 24 hours).

Not surprisingly, this is why scripts with murky goals result in a lot of boring scenes. Since the writer doesn’t know what the goal is, he’s unsure of which scenes are necessary to push the characters towards that goal.

The event you’re writing about should be the most important moment of your hero’s life

Irony is a fancy word for saying “the opposite of that which is perceived.”

Notice how much more compelling the scene is as a result. We know something bad is coming, and we can’t warn our heroes.