Story Structure

Showing 1331 - 1340 of 1516 results

Don’t Imitate Blockbusters

September 8, 2011

Blockbuster movies like “Avatar” make millions of dollars in profit, but here’s why you should avoid trying to write a similar story like that. When...

Backstory

September 2, 2011

Every interesting story has a backstory, which is what happened to the characters before the story gets started. To make your story richer and deeper,...

Revelations

August 28, 2011

There’s a big difference between showing an audience something and getting them intellectually and emotionally involved. Bad movies just show an audience different scenes like...

The Domino Theory

August 21, 2011

A well constructed story works because all the pieces fit together. When studios throw additional writers on a project, each writer tends to pick and...

Motivation

August 17, 2011

The hero of any movie never succeeds based on his or her own desires. Instead, there’s always an outside motivation to push forward and succeed....

The Villain is in Control

August 11, 2011

Most screenwriting books have it wrong. The story isn’t about your hero pursuing a goal and overcoming obstacles. Your story is really about your villain....

The Hero’s Lesson

August 7, 2011

Every story is a learning process for the hero. The point of every story is for the hero (and the audience) to learn something important...

Deadlines

August 3, 2011

Nothing keeps an audience glued to their seats than a deadline. If the villain ties a lady to the railroad tracks, there’s no suspense until...

Subplots

July 29, 2011

What makes every story richer and deeper are subplots. A subplot is a mini-story within your story, but you absolutely need one in your story...

The Theme and Storyline

July 22, 2011

Before you start writing, define your theme and storyline to help keep every part of your story focused in the same direction. When someone asks...

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.