Saturday Hot Links

Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: I don’t read the so-called screenwriting ‘gurus’. I just deal with writers who have plowed through their books, attended their weekend seminars, and bought their DVDs. Either through my blog or teaching, I interface with writer after writer who has been influenced by the ‘gurus’ and their approaches to story structure… which almost always are exclusively about plot.

Wrong! Plot is key. But it is only one aspect of story structure. It represents events which happen in the External World, what we see (Action) and hear (Dialogue) in a movie or TV episode.

There is a whole other layer to story structure which apparently gets ignored in many, if not most of the various tomes produced by the ‘gurus’: The Internal World of a screenplay universe.

The emotional life of a story. For whenever there is an Action, there is the underlying Intention of the characters, either conscious or unconscious. Where there is Dialogue, there is Subtext.

The External World is the domain of the story’s physical journey.

The Internal World is the domain of the story’s psychological journey.

To ignore what transpires in the Internal World is to create a set of events without meaning. And that does not constitute story structure, let alone a Story.

That’s why five years ago, I created Prep: From Concept to Outline. A six week online writing workshop, it represents a professional approach to ‘breaking a story’ while grounding that process in a story’s Internal World. Stage by stage through weekly writing assignments, participants immerse themselves in the lives of their story’s characters and through that work see the plot emerge and evolve.

In other words, we put meat on the bones of the old adage: Character = Plot.

So instead of some lifeless, formulaic script fit to a prescribed set of beats or plot points, instead muy Prep writers tap into the vitality of their characters and let them lead the way in determining where the story goes.

One of the primary criticisms I hear from people who work in Hollywood’s development side of things is formulaic scripts. I believe much of that derives from this reductionist ‘guru’ take that plot is the equivalent of story structure.

Wrong again!

No one knows the story better than your characters.

Prep: From Concept to Outline embraces that idea. We start with your story’s Protagonist, then work our way through each of your characters so that plot emerges from them.

My next session of the Prep online workshop begins Monday, August 17. Benefits include:

* An online structure of weekly assignments which motivate you to break your story.

* Weekly teleconferences in which we delve into your story.

* Peer feedback.

* My comprehensive notes and suggestions each step of the way.

* Stage by stage building your story.

* Learn a proven professional approach to breaking a story which you can adopt and adapt for all future projects.

Join me for what could be the most important learning experience you have ever had: Prep: From Concept to Outline.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!

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