Watch a good movie and notice how every scene supports other scenes. In the beginning of “Star Wars,” Darth Vader is trying to capture Princess Leia’s starship. The action in this scene directly leads into the ending where Darth Vader finally finds the location of the rebel base and the rebels finally get the stolen […]
The biggest mistake writers can make is to try to come up with an original story. That’s nearly impossible because there are few stories and just variations of these few stories. Don’t try to be original in creating a story. Be original in creating the characters in your story. The difference lies in trying to […]
Look at any scene and it needs conflict, change, and character development. Conflict pits two sides against each other where one comes out a winner. Change occurs at the end where something at the end is different than the beginning. Character development provides us with more information about the characters in the scene by reinforcing […]
When you’re writing a comedy or a drama, the end goal is the same. In the beginning, the hero wants to achieve an emotional goal. In the end, the hero either achieves that emotional goal or not. In a comedy, the story almost always ends on a happy note (except for dark comedies). In romantic […]
Everyone can come up with a great idea for a story. The hard part is taking that great idea and turning it into a believable plot. The same idea can spawn two completely different stories. Look at the difference between “Jaws” and “Jaws 4” to see how the same idea (a shark attacking people) can […]
Heroes are admirable because they fight an uphill struggle against tremendous odds, so the best way to increase the odds against the hero is to make sure everything works against the hero. The two main factors that can work against the hero are: Luck Minor characters Luck never works for the hero but can work […]
Along with horror, comedy is one of the cheapest types of movies to film because most of the time, the settings are contemporary with few special effects, car crashes, or gunfire. However, writing comedy is not easy because humor is subjective. When writing a comedy, remember that comedies are always about a serious story underneath. […]
Every story fits within a specific type of genre such as romance, horror, or action. The type of genre you story fits under largely defines the type of story you’re telling. For example, any romance follows this basic formula: The hero is lonely and risks settling for the wrong love The hero finds true love […]
Every hero is trying to achieve an emotional goal, which means overcoming a character flaw from the past. To achieve this emotional goal, the hero must pursue a physical goal that forces the hero into confronting his or her character flaw. This character flaw then defines what type of obstacles the hero must face and […]