Story Structure

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The Failure of “Mortal Engines”

December 20, 2018

One of the latest box office bombs of 2018 is “Mortal Engines.” The movie is based on a science fiction novel about cites that move...

The Awful Truth in Act IIb

December 16, 2018

Break a two hour screenplay into four, 30-minute segments and you get the following: Act I – Introduce the hero’s emotional dream Act IIa –...

The Emotional Journey

December 13, 2018

Strip away the emotional change in a hero and you wind up with a story heavy on action but empty of feeling, and that’s the...

Four Types of Obstacles

December 10, 2018

Conflict is the heart of every story and what creates conflict are obstacles. The purpose of any obstacle is to keep characters from achieving their...

Plot and Story

December 7, 2018

There’s a huge difference between plot and story. Plot is what happens and this is easy to visualize in a pitch such as “a lone...

Dialogue Must Be Interesting

December 6, 2018

In too many cases, novice screenwriters write dialogue that explains too much. You can see this in bad movies when the villain tells the hero...

The Key Emotional Motivating Factors

December 4, 2018

Every story is about emotional change. If a story lacks emotional change, it will likely be dull and boring. People aren’t watching “The Spy Who...

Start With Emotions First

December 1, 2018

Here’s Hollywood’s tried and true formula for creating a disappointing movie. First, come up with a great concept. Then start filming. A great concept can...

The Curse of Isolated Scenes

November 27, 2018

Watch a good movie and notice how every scene supports other scenes. In the beginning of “Star Wars,” Darth Vader is trying to capture Princess...

It’s Always About the Characters

November 24, 2018

The biggest mistake writers can make is to try to come up with an original story. That’s nearly impossible because there are few stories 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.