Story Structure

Showing 381 - 390 of 1516 results

Defining the Four Major Plot Points

December 8, 2020

Plotting a story isn’t easy so one way to start is to define your beginning and ending. The beginning should be the opposite of the...

Upping the Stakes in a Story

December 5, 2020

There’s an interesting book by Matthew Dicks called “Storyworthy,” which explains how tot ell a compelling story. Although the book is based on the author’s...

What’s the Heart of Your Story?

December 2, 2020

There are two parts to every story. First, there’s the external action such as car crashes, gunfire, and explosions. Second, there’s internal action that involves...

Three Levels of Obstacles to Stop Your Hero

November 29, 2020

The whole basis of any story is conflict. To create conflict, you need a hero so the audience has someone to cheer for. Without a...

Defining Characters in Multiple Layers

November 22, 2020

Every character must be memorable in some way. The simplest way to define a character is by their appearance. Are they big or skinny? Do...

Stop Talking and Minimize Dialogue

November 15, 2020

The next time you write a scene, imagine you’re writing a silent movie. That means your characters can’t speak. Instead, they must convey their needs...

Keep Everything in Motion

November 10, 2020

There’s a reason why movies are also called “motion” pictures. That’s because everything needs to be moving at all times. The more active every scene...

Obstacles, Opponents, and Dilemmas

November 5, 2020

Nothing should come easy to your hero in pursuit of a goal. If it comes too easy, the story is boring. The more the hero...

Create Inner Conflict to Tear Your Hero Apart

November 2, 2020

At the simplest level, a story is about a hero overcoming physical obstacles to achieve a goal. While this can be visually interesting, it can...

Know Your Characters Before Writing

October 28, 2020

If you start writing a screenplay without knowing your characters, you’ll most likely create generic dialogue that could be spoken by anybody. That crates bland,...

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.