Writing Love: Screenwriting Tricks for Authors II: Story Structure for Pantsers and Plotters (Screenwriting Tricks For Authors (and Screenwriters!) Book 2)

ASSIGNMENT: Take a look at the dynamics of your own WIP. Who’s the Lover, and who’s the Loved One? Who’s the Pursuer and who’s the Pursued? Do those roles switch at some point?

KEEPING THE HERO/INE AND ANTAGONIST IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. Think of it as a chess game: the players are in a very small, confined space, and always passing within inches of each other, whether or not they’re aware of it. They should cross paths often, even if it’s not until the end until the hero/ine and the audience understand that the antagonist has

hundreds. The real question is: “What’s a good story idea?” I see two essential ingredients: a) What idea gets you excited enough to spend a year or two or more of your life completely immersed in it? and b) Gets other people excited enough about it to buy it and read it and even maybe possibly make it into a movie or TV series with an amusement pa

the woman is like a fairy godmother, or a deva spirit: in every culture, elderly women and men are magically capable of bestowing blessings (and curses!). That’s a bit of luck that we trust, in that moment.

dual protagonist, two characters working together (usually reluctantly at first) against some kind of outer antagonist — or — you will see equal characters who are each other’s antagonist, who both have to undergo major character arcs (which you could call a DOUBLE REVERSAL) in order to come together as a couple.

ASSIGNMENT: Make a list of ten high concept premises (that I haven’t already discussed here!). Try to define what about them makes them high concept for you. ASSIGNMENT: Make a commitment to come up with at least three premises a week. Try them out on your friends and family. Which ones make their eyes light up? Why aren’t you writing those stories

Here’s another way of looking at it: the potential of the setup is obvious.

important scenes or sequences in any book or film: a major shift in the dynamics of the story. Something huge will be revealed; something goes disastrously wrong; someone close to the hero/ine dies, intensifying her or his commitment (What I call the “Now it’s personal” scene … imagine Clint Eastwood or Bruce Willis growling the line). Often the wh

This continual opposition of the protagonist’s and antagonist’s plans is the main underlying structure of the second act.