Screenwriting
What is a "Story?"
If you are writing for Hollywood, you must have a very clear idea of what a “story” is all about.
Not everything that happens around us or we perceive constitute a story.
Here are some rules:
- A story must have a protagonist (the “hero,” the “person” whose story we are watching). It must be about someone. There are quiet a few European films without a clearly defined protagonist but they are not blockbusters either.
- The protagonist must have a desire. He or she must be trying to achieve or acquire something very badly.
- A story must have an antagonist, or the “bad guy.” Someone or something (could be a non-human entity as well like in the natural disaster movies) must be trying to prevent our protagonist from getting what he or she wants.
These three rules make up the backbone of what’s also known as the “dramatic conflict”: the hero desires something but something prevents him/or from getting it. - The ending of a story must be clear in terms of whether the protagonist gets what he/she wants or fails in doing so. If it’s mixed (as in the last scene of The Silence of the ) the writing must be very good to make sure what is attained and missed.
- The story must begin with introducing the protagonist and “where he’s coming from.” What makes the protagonist tick? What are her fears and dreams in life? These must be conveyed through images and not through “internal dialog” because you cannot shoot what’s going on inside someone’s brain with a camera.
- Then something happens and the protagonist cannot go back anymore even if she wanted to do so (Plot Point 1).
- The action rises with successive frustrations for the hero. Things get progressively worse for the protagonist. Antagonist seems to be winning.
We are tortured with the possibility that our hero (with whom we have hopefully identified ourselves during the first 15 minutes of the story) might fail and fail miserably.
Watch all Steven Spielberg movies to see how things keep getting worse and worse for the hero until… - Tat-taa! The hero reaches a point where he does something that launches the last no-turning-back phase of the conflict (Plot Point 2). This is the Moment of Turth for our hero. Then it should be a fight to the finish all the way to the end.
- The last few minutes should be reserved for “cooling off,” allowing the audience to catch their breath and revert back to the “normal world” as we know it. The balance is restored. Evil is beaten. Therapy session completed. Truth and goodness has triumphed once again. And we can all go back home with our faith renewed in the human kind and the powers that be.
Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.
In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).
You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.
You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials. While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited: http://www.lulu.com/content/263630
Article Source: Ugur Akinci