Genre is the best place for deep story and huge themes. That’s what sci-fi is actually for. Ask Octavia Butler. Action, horror, comedy…those are all playgrounds for big story. Bourne is about individual identity and free will. The whole Marvel universe oozes deep story. The Exorcist is about rejecting evil, Groundhog Day is about becoming…
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.
Read moreCONFLICT: FOR THE CONFLICT-AVOIDANT
If you are not a combative or confrontational person, it feels more natural to resolve your interpersonal conflicts quickly and shy away from the hard consequences of failing to do so in your story. Unfortunately, this is opposite of drama, which is what the story is for. Direct, no bullshit, one-of-us-is-going-to-lose conflict is exactly what…
Read moreHow to dialogue: Another beauty. Conflict, check. Personality, check. Entertainment, check. Erin Brockovich was written by Susannah Grant
Read more“I WILL MAKE UP MY OWN RULES OF SCREENWRITING”
Fair enough. Change up your structure, overwrite the dialogue, have dual protagonists. Make it work. Pro tip: Do not ignore the fact that it has to be coherent and interesting.
Read moreYOUR PROTAGONIST
SECOND DRAFT
I get a lot of resistance about my wrathful judgment of flashbacks. Here’s the caveat. Flashbacks are not the enemy. Unless they are lazy. Then they are the enemy. Like any other expositional scene that spoon feeds the reader information. A good flashback is dramatic and illuminating, like the flashbacks in The Usual Suspects, to…
Read moreIT OPENS WITH A GUY WAKING UP IN HIS MESSY ROOM
CLONE SCRIPTS: THE M.E.S.
There is a whole family of spec scripts that is identified by these elements in the first ten pages. A male lead 20-29. Who is white. Who pines for a better class of girlfriend than his own materialistic and demanding one. Whose job is unrewarding. Who is put upon by people who have expectations of…
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