Story Structure

Showing 911 - 920 of 1516 results

Make Every Scene Interesting

February 4, 2016

Take any screenplay turned into a great movie and rip a scene out at random. Then study that scene. Chances are good that simple scene...

Rile Up the Emotions

February 1, 2016

Nothing makes a scene more interesting to watch than something that stirs up the emotions. The simplest emotion to stir up is the threat of physical...

Unity of Story

January 28, 2016

Every movie should really tell just one story. If you’re telling a mystery, every subplot should also be a mystery. If you try telling different...

Making Exposition Interesting

January 25, 2016

One hallmark of a bad movie is that at the end, the villain has to explain everything for the benefit of the hero and the...

Make Each Character Interesting

January 22, 2016

Your main characters should always be interesting in some way. That doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be likable, but that they need to grab...

Recycling Story Plots

January 19, 2016

Many people worry about creating original stories that have never been told before. That’s pointless. The real secret is not to create an original story,...

Creating Sympathy for the Hero

January 16, 2016

Nobody will care about your story if they don’t like your hero. Even if your hero is actually the villain, you must make the hero...

Planting Setups

January 13, 2016

Every important story plot must be set up ahead of time. First, this item must be highlighted somehow to make it memorable although initially it...

Creating a Story in Layers

January 9, 2016

At the very least, your screenplay needs a hero pursuing a goal. The pursuit of that goal creates conflict that makes your story interesting. The...

The Unsolvable Dilemma

January 6, 2016

The ending makes the biggest impact so you need to plan your ending before you start writing and write yourself straight into a dead end....

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.