Go On Your Own Quest — Week 8: Time

The 2013 version of The Quest has entered Week 8! Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following 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!

Plus you can join The Black Board, the Official Online Writing Community of the Black List and Go Into The Story, another free resource to help keep you inspired and on target at you Go On Your Own Quest from FADE IN to FADE OUT on the first draft of your original screenplay.

This week, we are reflecting on the subject of time mirroring the content the Questers are engaged with in Core VIII: Time.

For those of you who plan to Go On Your Own Quest, we began our week-long discussion on time Monday with this question: What implications derive from a screenplay being written in the present tense? You may read that discussion here. Tuesday’s question: Do you write in “the moment”? How would you describe that experience? That discussion here. Wednesday’s question: Flashbacks: Thumbs up or thumbs down? Discussion here. Yesterday’s question: What is your favorite nonlinear movie? Why? Discussion here. Today’s question:

* How important are setups and payoffs?

If you plan to participate in the Go On Your Own Quest challenge, you have 1 week before we move into the Prep part of the process. Time this week to ask yourself: Why is time so important in a screenplay and what are ways I can effectively manipulate it?

If you’d like to access the same Core content as the writers participating in The Quest, I will be teaching Core VIII: Time starting Monday, November 18. More information on that 1-week online class here.

Why wait? You can have immediate access to the content of all eight Core classes by signing up for The Core Package. This enables you to go through all of the Core lectures (48 total, each written by me), tips, techniques and optional writing exercises on a self-paced basis as well as take any of the 1-week classes as I offer them. Plus The Core Package offers a nearly 50% savings compared to if you took each Core class separately. For more information on this unique offer, go here. And now is a great time because last week, I just began the entire cycle of 1-week Core classes, starting with Core I: Plot.

Meanwhile I encourage you to head to comments to discuss today’s questions. And for a related discussion on The Black Board, check out these topics:

• Set-ups and Pay-offs
• Pay-Offs and Reincorporation
• How do you write a twist reveal?
• John Yorke: understanding the climax as the obligatory scene

For more information on Go On Your Own Quest, go here.

Onward!

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