Drama is driven by conflict, and conflict is driven by needs. Needs spring from the cavernous emptiness that echoes inside us all. Flaws force people into bad decisions, down the wrong path, into dead ends. Stories exist to show that that damage is undoable. Success is possible, happiness attainable. You take a pastry chef whose…
Read moreSTRUCTURE BY FLAW
Act One: Show how the flaw is a problem. Inciting Incident: Show how the protag will be forced to face the flaw. Act Two Up: Show how the protag attempts to solve the problem without facing the flaw. Midpoint: Show how the protag accepts the flaw. Act Two Down: Show how the protag fails to…
Read moreTHE PROTAG’S FLAW IS…NARCISSISM
Don’t paste on flaws to satisfy conditions of the plot. If the flaw is narcissism or untrustworthiness or cowardice, then that is what the story is about. All of the elements in the story treat the question of the flaw, which is the writer’s angle on the theme. It’s not something you tack on.
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