While we’re on the topic of characters, here are a few more random thoughts about movie characters for you to chew on: Everyone Loves a Hero Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They face all kinds of challenges. What all heroes have in common is that, for one reason or another, we admire … More Random Thoughts on Main Characters
In Act One, your reader meets your main character. They form an opinion of who that characters is. Watching your character make decisions, face obstacles and takes actions — no matter how small and seemingly insignificant — enables your reader to hone and refine that first impression. Then what…? How do you keep your reader … More 5 More Tips for Creating Characters
While plots most be original and compelling, characters are the key to every great movie. Your characters are the emotional core of your story. It is through them that your audience engages and experiences the world you have created. To write great characters you must know them and understand them. They must live in your … More 3 Steps to Introducing Characters
Are You Ready to Write Your Script…? Egri offers a checklist for making sure you’ve put the necessary thought into your work before you start. If you’ve done the following 11 steps, your script will be ready to go! Formulate a premise. Choose the protagonist. Choose the antagonist. Create a unity of opposites. Choose the … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 5: When You Write Your Script
Last week, in our our examination of the valuable ideas in TADW, this week, we looked at what Lajos Egri had to say about the premise of your script and why it is so important. This week, let’s look at what he has to say about creating characters. Character Egri likens characters and their actions … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 2: Character
Kenneth Lonergan’s first writing/directing outing since 2011, Manchester by the Sea is a universal tale grief in which being your brother’s keeper includes all of the big and little baggage that we leave behind for our loved ones to care for, to mend to, and ultimately to preserve. LOGLINE: A troubled janitor must return, permanently, to … More Structure Breakdowns: “Manchester by the Sea”
After Moonlight, the only movie we could look at next could be La La Land. When Director Damien Chazelle first pitched this idea around town, there wasn’t much excitement. The film initially started as a Sundance Film Festival short and later become the “almost Best Film” at last year’s Oscars. This movie is a lovely, … More Structure Breakdowns: “La La Land”
Hey everyone, Happy Cinco de Mayo! Sorry for being away the month of April, but sometimes life happens. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about movies, dissecting movies and analyzing film structure to understand what makes a story work so that we can apply that to our own writing. After a month away, I … More Let’s Break Down Some Recent Films
What makes a Scene a Scene…? In my last blog, I defined a scene as a unit of story in which a character has a clear want that s/he either does or doesn’t get because of a conflict with another character, and the result of that conflict in some way advances the plot of your … More How to Write a Scene (Part 2)
What is a scene…? In screenwriting, there are many different ways to define a scene. Some will say that it is an event, something that happens or a “unit of story” that takes place in a specific location. As soon as the scene changes location, it becomes a new scene. I would disagree with … More How to Write a Scene
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