Story Structure

Showing 21 - 30 of 1516 results

How to Create a Unique Story

June 8, 2025

There are no original plots in a story. There are only original ways to tell a story using details that are unique to that particular...

Are You Making This Common Mistake of Screenwriting?

June 4, 2025

Screenwriting is a skill and any time you learn a new skill, you’re going to make mistakes. Even though mistakes are inevitable, you must eventually...

Introducing the Superpower of the Hero and Villain

May 31, 2025

When you introduce the hero and villain for the first time, make sure you show their superpowers. For the hero, this superpower will be their...

Do You Know the Real Purpose of a Scene?

May 27, 2025

The biggest mistake novices make when writing scenes is thinking the sole purpose of a scene is to give information about the story to the...

Creating the Emotional Impact of Setups and Payoffs

May 19, 2025

Every story must create an emotional experience. Every story must have a major emotional experience. Think of Luke in “Star Wars” finally trusting the Force...

What’s the Big, Compelling Idea of Your Story?

May 11, 2025

Before you start writing a screenplay, ask yourself one question. What is the big, compelling idea of your story? If you can’t think of the...

Make the Midpoint of a Story Foreshadow the Ending

May 7, 2025

The best stories feel unified. Perhaps the most subtle way to unify a story is to make sure the midpoint and the ending work together....

Two Ways to Identify a Flawed Story

May 3, 2025

There are two easy ways to tell if a movie’s structure is flawed or not. First, just study the opening and ending scene. Second, analyze...

Surprises Always Need Setups

April 29, 2025

Always play fair with your audience. When you don’t play fair with your audience, your story introduces something out of the blue that surprises the...

Think of Every Scene as a Short Story

April 25, 2025

The biggest mistake in writing a screenplay is writing poor scenes. The difference between a poor scene and a good scene is that a poor...

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.