Go On Your Own Quest, Week 8: Time
“The Quest” has entered Week 8! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s a 24-week immersion in the screenwriting process and you can do it here — for free!
This week, we are reflecting on the subject of Time, mirroring the content the Questers are engaged with in Core VIII: Time. They are working through six lectures I have written building off the 8th Essential Screenwriting Principle: Time = Present. The lectures: Present: Being in the Moment and Writing in the Moment; Present-Past: Backstory and Non-Linear Storytelling; Present-Future: Destiny and Narrative Drive; Set-Ups, Payoffs, and Callbacks; Montage and Series of Shots; Flashback and Flashforward.
Apart from voices decrying the use of flashbacks and the typical advice to enter a scene late and leave it early, I rarely see anything written about time in relation to a screenplay. Yet movies have the power to manipulate time like no other narrative medium. Moreover because we write screenplays in the present tense, a whole host of dynamics flow from that foundation. But have you ever thought about time in relation to the stories you write?
For those of you who plan to Go On Your Own Quest, let’s begin this week long conversation about time with this question:
* What implications derive from a screenplay being written in the present tense?
This week, you can do some serious reflection about the nature and importance of time. If members of the GITS community really engage in a wide-ranging conversation about the subject, there’s no telling what insight each individual can gain, perhaps even a critical key to unlocking your understanding of the subject.
I strongly encourage you to Go On Your Own Quest. First off, you can’t sell a script unless you write it. Second, you can’t get better as a writer unless you write. Third, if you don’t write that script now, when are you going to write it?
So consider this your very own Call To Adventure. Will you heed the call?
I will be teaching the 1-week online writing course Core VIII: Time beginning November 5.
For background on “Go Into The Story: The Quest,” go here and here.
NOTE: One week from today, The Quest moves into Prep, six weeks in which Quest participants work up their stories from concept to outline. If you plan to Go On Your Own Quest, now is the time to be settling on the story you want to write. Mark your calendars! GOYOQ starts in earnest on Monday, September 10th!
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