The whole basis of any story is conflict. To create conflict, you need a hero so the audience has someone to cheer for. Without a hero, there’s no conflict but just someone nobody cares about doing something mildly interesting. A hero isn’t necessarily doing something good. In “Pulp Fiction,” the heroes are organized crime members […]

Every character must be memorable in some way. The simplest way to define a character is by their appearance. Are they big or skinny? Do they belong to a specific ethnicity? Do they wear their hair or clothes a certain way? In most cases, the character’s appearance isn’t that important because a casting directory might […]

The next time you write a scene, imagine you’re writing a silent movie. That means your characters can’t speak. Instead, they must convey their needs and their attempt to get what they want solely through physical action. Once you can tell the bulk of yours tory through physical, visual action, then you can worry about […]

There’s a reason why movies are also called “motion” pictures. That’s because everything needs to be moving at all times. The more active every scene appears, the easier it is to follow the story. At the very least, avoid talking heads. That’s where two people sit and talk and nothing happens. Sometimes you need these […]

Nothing should come easy to your hero in pursuit of a goal. If it comes too easy, the story is boring. The more the hero must struggle, the more satisfying the eventual victory will feel. To create problems that a hero must overcome, you have three methods: Obstacles Opponents Dilemmas Obstacles represent physical problems in […]

At the simplest level, a story is about a hero overcoming physical obstacles to achieve a goal. While this can be visually interesting, it can get dull after a while. Just watching physical action means little if you don’t also have an emotional stake in the hero. The best conflict doesn’t just involve physical struggle […]