Story Structure

Showing 1061 - 1070 of 1516 results

Make the Horrible Consequences Clear

October 29, 2014

One common failing of bad movies is that you have no idea what could happen to the hero if the hero fails to achieve a...

The Carrot and the Stick

October 22, 2014

There are two ways to motivate people: the carrot and the stick. With the carrot, you motivate them by giving them a goal they can...

One-Way Doors

October 15, 2014

Imagine a scene where the hero doesn’t know what to do so he does nothing. Not a very exciting scene, is it? Scenes are exciting...

Making a Scene Interesting

October 14, 2014

Every scene must grab the audience’s attention right from the start and give a hint on what the conflict will be about. The best way...

The Structure of a Scene

October 9, 2014

A scene tells a mini-story with a protagonist (not always the hero of your main story) trying to achieve a goal that an antagonist (not...

Setups and Payoffs

October 3, 2014

Riding a roller coaster to the top of a hill is the set up. The pay off is the ride down the steep incline on...

Avoid Sequels

September 28, 2014

An astonishing number of novice screenwriters seem to be creating screenplays that set up sequels for their own story. They look at the success of...

The Villain is the Hero

September 25, 2014

In the 2012 time travel movie “Looper,” the hero is a hit man who kills people sent back from the future. One day he finds...

Make Something Happen

September 24, 2014

The other day I saw a bad movie where the opening scene started like this. First, an airplane taxis to the airport terminal. Second, the...

Why Are You Writing?

September 19, 2014

Here’s a simple question to ask yourself. Why are you writing? Far too many people think that writing a novel or screenplay is easy and...

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.