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

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.

ASSEMBLING THE TEAM which comes early in the second act. The hero/ine has a task and needs a group of specialists to get it done.

List # 2: The Master List The other list we’ve already talked about: that list of your ten favorite movies and books in the genre that you’re writing, or if you don’t have a premise yet, ten movies and books that you wish you had written.

The game-changing action of the Midpoint will very often cause the hero/ine to have to recalibrate the PLAN.

Generally what we hope for the character is the same as her or his INNER NEED.

it’s human nature to expend the least amount of energy to get what we want. So the hero/ine’s Plan will change, constantly — as s/he first takes the absolute minimal steps to achieve her or his goal, and that minimal effort inevitably fails. So then, often reluctantly, the hero/ine has to ESCALATE (or CHANGE) THE PLAN.

strong theme: Can a man and woman ever really be friends?

Harry Potter, for example, is what you could call a King Arthur story – the Chosen One coming into his or her own (also see Star Wars, The Matrix…) but it is told as a traditional mystery, with clues and red herrings and the three kids playing detectives (high school sleuth).

Of course you’ll want to weave Plants and Payoffs all through the story. You can often develop these in rewrites, and it’s a good idea to do one read-through just looking for places to plant and payoff.