Story Structure

Showing 1021 - 1030 of 1516 results

Multiple Change, Multiple Stories

March 2, 2015

The quickest way to make a dull screenplay is to focus solely on the hero. Today’s screenplays need multiple stories so that way multiple characters...

The Beginning Foreshadows the End

March 1, 2015

The best stories act like book ends with a beginning that mirrors the end. In “Whiplash,” the hero is practicing the drums in a room...

No Change, No Story

February 18, 2015

“Kingsman” and “Mortdecai” are both stories about someone having wild adventures in an international arena, much like James Bond movies. The big difference is that...

Learning From Bad Movies

February 15, 2015

It’s easy to watch great movie and either be inspired or totally depressed thinking you could never write something half as good as what you...

22 Pixar Story Guidelines

February 8, 2015

Pixar has an incredible track record of creating great movies. Although some of their movies have been less than stellar (“Cars 2”), the overall quality...

The Inciting Incident

February 6, 2015

Many screenplays take too long to get started. What the beginning of your screenplay needs is a sudden jolt out of the ordinary. One way...

Clear Goals

February 2, 2015

Right from the beginning, you audience has to know what goal your characters want to pursue. Sometimes the goal can be something specific such as...

Make It Relatable

January 26, 2015

“The Giver” was a popular young adult novel about a community that eliminates emotions in favor of sameness. The idea is to create the perfect...

Make It Complete

January 25, 2015

Watch sequels and they often feel inferior to the original because they’re not complete stories. If you never saw the original, the beginning of most...

Start with a Theme

January 20, 2015

Exciting and memorable stories don’t have the most action, but the greatest emotional appeal. To create a story with a strong emotional core, identify a...

About Wallace Wang

First place winner in Scriptapalooza’s 2023 screenwriting competition for the supernatural horror screenplay titled “Nightmares From a Past Life”. Author of “The 15 Minute Movie Method”, “Story Starter”, and “Writing Scenes for Screenplays” in addition to over 50 computer books. Writer of “Three of a Kind”, a situation comedy produced by San Diego State University’s film class that won a student Emmy award. Designer of the board game “Orbit War”, published by Steve Jackson Games, that simulates satellite warfare in the near future.