Screenplay Basics - Plot and Structure - Part Two

If you've already had a look-see at Michael Hauge's website or done at least your first (of many) reads of Christopher Vogler's, "The Writer's Journey," then you now have a pretty good foundation for understanding plot and structure and all the rest is just icing on the cake. That's what this second of five posts on "Plot and Structure" is for: to give you plenty of icing. Enjoy and don't let the profusion of different points of view on the same subject matter confuse you. Put two gurus together and you'll get three opinions. Keep what makes sense to you or is applicable to any current projects and save the rest for a rainy day.

Plot - The thing that Moves Your Story - From the article on the Visual Writer Website: "The easiest way to plot a story is to know two things: What your characters want, and what the situation is. When the characters are put in a situation, they are going to start working to get what they want." Also: "...remember that each scene is a little story in itself, so you have several little stories to write for your screenplay. " There's a bit more, including subplot and even review questions. Go see... Copyright © 1994, 1998 Dorian Scott Cole

What A Plot IS - From another wonderful website for writers called, "Story is Promise," comes this article that includes the following insight on the relationship between a plot and a story: "Understanding what a plot is creates a foundation for an ability to create one. Unfortunately for most writers, they are consumed with the idea of creating the effect of what a plot does without first understanding what a plot is." ©2000 Bill Johnson Read More... Although the article is geared toward the writer of novels and narrative stories, its basic sense of what a plot IS works well for screenwriters, too.

Structure:A framework for your words by Christopher Meeks "Underneath all good writing is a strong structure. You may not see it, but it's there. Narrative or not? Throughout the Web, you'll notice two ways to structure your words: Tell the facts or tell the story."

Thinking about Plot - a very short and simple explanation of plot and its basic elements. Again, geared toward the narrative writer but still making sense for the screenwriter.

Plot Point Checklist for Screenwriters - "This is the basic outline of the average movie made today. Give or take a few minutes." To the Rebel Artiste Self-Proclaimed Experts who piss on the notion of structure... talk to the hand. To the rest of you who simply want a well-rounded view of the subject of screenwriting, this little webpage will give you a basic plot structure to aim for but remember, every writer has to create their own skillset, their own bedrock of knowledge and then use all that to write with their own voice.

Dramatic Structure from Scriptseeker - What a shame that this website seemingly no longer exists (the url is a broken link). I did, however, manage to save the following paragraphs: "It can be argued that the primary purpose of art is to provide pleasure. That said, pleasure can be defined as the release from tension. The greater tension we are released from, the greater pleasure we feel. Climactic dramatic structure in a script is specifically designed to create, build, and eventually release tension, thus providing an audience with pleasure. The source of dramatic tension in a script comes through conflict. Two opposing forces are matched against each other and the dramatic tension of the story builds as they struggle to resolve their differences." Folks, please let me know if this website has come back online or if you discover it has changed servers (web address).

The Need for Structure - from Writer/Director Josh Becker and posted on the HollywoodLitSales Website, comes the following: "Acts one and two must end in places that are definitive; a position of no recourse for the lead character. If acts one and two don't end that way, they're wrong." And: "Screenwriting is a craft, and a very difficult one at that. You must master a craft before hoping to go beyond craft to art." And, finally: "Damn near all of the great film directors -- Wyler, Hitchcock, Ford, Huston, Hawks -- saw themselves as craftsman, not artists." Go read the rest...

Genre Fools, but Structure Rules - "...movie structure– how the characters are revealed and how the story unfolds." "Many writers don’t bother building a unique structure for their story; they merely grab their script’s genre by the throat and cling to it as their lifeline. The genre cliches become the spine of their story. Genre and structure are NOT the same thing." "Genre refers to the story elements the audience expects the movie to explore, like romance, danger, humor, horror, war, alien worlds, crime, or technology. The structure of a movie is the arrangement of scenes that reveals character and unfolds action - path of the storytelling. Don’t let your story genre limit your structural choices. Great story structure transcends any trendy genre elements that attempt to stifle it." "Genre supports structure -- but doesn't replace it!" Original article by Lenore Wright. First published on the Breaking In website, another fantastic resource for screenwriters. It seems the original url to the article is now a broken link so I have linked to the Google cache page for this article. That link, too, will eventually expire. There are a couple of websites that catalog old articles that can't be found anywhere else and I'd appreciate it if someone could leave a comment here to provide any such links to those websites.

Why Story Structure is the Key to Success - by John Truby 1. American Film is All About Story - Why? Because film is the art of change and the art of juxtaposition. The combination of these two things means: Film (and TV) are the closest media to pure story, much more than novels or plays, and Story structure is the key to a great script. 2. Hollywood is in the Business of Buying and Selling Genres - The first trick to genre writing is that you have to hit all the story beats unique to that form. Each genre is complex, so that alone is difficult. But there’s more. You have to hit all those beats in an original way. Do read the complete article to get the benefit of Mr. Truby's expertise.

Plot Tips from the Storymind Website includes: Plot Holes Subplots A Story's "Limit" How characters, plot, and theme interrelate True Liabilities Illegal Plot Progressions Storyweaving and Storytelling Jurassic Park: Building a Better dinosaur ...and a lot more!

Nine Act Structure Homepage - "This page is devoted entirely to story structure in film and interactive games. " Learn about the Nine-Act Structure: Caveat Scriptor: an introduction to me and the Nine-Act Structure. The Anatomy of a Screenplay is a good place to start. The Two-Goal Structure my story structure paradigm. The Nine-Act Structure is a refinement of the two-goal structure. A Structural Analysis of Myst for game designers. What people are saying about the Nine-Act Structure - selected comments. It's an interesting website and yet another point of view to consider.

Structure and Character - from the Book "Story" - by Robert McKee "We cannot ask which is more important, structure or character, because structure is character; character is structure. They're the same thing, and therefore one cannot be more important than the other. Yet the argument goes on because of a widely held confusion over two crucial aspects of the fictional role - the difference between CHARACTER and CHARACTERIZATION." Read more...

Five power-points in stories Copyright © 1997, Dorian Scott Cole "A powerful plot may sell a story even with weak characters. Plot is that valuable. In a recent survey, most movie-goers listed plot as the single most decisive element in what drew them to see the movie. In the highly competitive screenplay arena, good plots must be exceptional. In this writing tip I give clues to strategic points that make powerful plots. Avoid formulas - Caution! Don't use this section as a formula. I often read stories which sound like they originated from a plot point machine, and they are so predictable and stereotypical in form that they sound unreal. Instant story in a can, just add water. These clues to creating stories are a guide, not a blueprint." Read more...