Narration occurs when a character or unseen person tells the audience important information to help them understand the story. Narration typically appears in the beginning of a story because if it appeared in the middle of the story, the narration would interrupt the flow of the story. Narration typically condenses lots of information in a […]
This is the way far too many people write a screenplay. They come up with a rough idea and before they know what the complete story might be, they start writing it as a screenplay. Since they don’t know where the story is going or what crucial information needs to be revealed, they write flabby, […]
Most people write boring scenes where characters get along and nothing changes from the beginning of the scene to the end. So the solution is to write scenes where characters do not get along and something changes from the beginning of the scene to the end. To do this, create greater contrast. Think of every […]
Watch a bad movie and you’ll see lots of conflict involving physical fighting, car crashes, explosions, and gunfire. Yet, you may sill feel bored because all of this conflict ultimately means nothing. The real purpose of conflict isn’t just to block the hero from achieving a goal, but to force the hero to make a […]
In every story, two things must be crystal clear: We must know what the hero wants right from the beginning, even if that desire may not be clear to us at the moment. By letting us know what the hero wants, the story can then tease us as the hero gets closer and further away […]
Every story needs a villain. Sometimes there’s just a series of villains the hero must overcome but sometimes there’s a single villain who drives the entire story from start to finish. Whenever you introduce a villain, always introduce their power and foreshadow their defeat. In “Terminator 2,” the single villain is the liquid metal Terminator. […]
Far too many writers play it safe by telling mild stories where nothing bad really happens to the hero but nothing outrageous does either. This creates a tame, meek, dull story that’s about as exciting to ride as a children’s roller coaster that barely goes up and down. What every story really needs is massive […]
No hero can succeed on their own. The only way a hero can succeed is through the guidance of a mentor. Ideally, this mentor should be someone the hero can immediately see can help them, but that would be boring. To make your story more interesting, always make the mentor someone who appears least likely […]