Story Structure

Showing 1311 - 1320 of 1516 results

Loglines and Thoughtlines

December 27, 2011

You can condense every movie into a logline, which summarizes what the story is about. However, you might also want to capture a thoughtline to...

Less Vs. More

December 21, 2011

Most movies subscribe to the belief that audiences want to see more. More explosions, more action, more car crashes, more special effects, and more computer-generated...

From Selfish to Selfless

December 16, 2011

One way to roughly structure your screenplay is to divide it into two halves. The first half shows the hero striving to achieve a selfish...

What Does Your Hero Want?

December 12, 2011

To get your audience involved in your story, make sure your her’s goal is crystal clear right fro the start. Then make the audience care...

Change is Necessary in the Hero

December 7, 2011

Every story is about change. Your hero isn’t the only who changes. The hero’s actions always change everyone around him or her. Every story is...

Integrating Action with Story

December 2, 2011

Too often movies degenerate into mindless action without any substance behind it. However, action is necessary is nearly every story but you need to know...

Three Steps to the Hero’s Goal

November 27, 2011

One characteristic of a bad movie is that you have no idea why you’re watching certain scenes because you have no idea what the hero...

The Three I’s of Your Hero’s Goal

November 21, 2011

Every screenplay must have a great ending that makes the rest of the story worth watching. To make sure your ending will meet all expectations,...

Making Life Hopeless for Your Hero

November 16, 2011

The beginning of your story lays the foundation for the rest of your screenplay. Create a strong foundation and you’ll have a great story. Create...

The Impossible Goal

November 10, 2011

One element that makes for a compelling story is to have your hero try to achieve an impossible goal. Audiences love watching an underdog overcome...

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.