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
Fall is upon us. As the leaves change and the days get shorter, before the holiday struggle for cinematic accolades begins, let’s take a moment to reflect on a totally subjective, anecdotal look at the movies that have merited discussion so far this year. Seen in multiplexes and art houses, on date nights and alone … More The First Half of My Top Ten Movies for 2017 (So Far)
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
Once you’ve defined your premise and created 3-dimensional characters with a “Unity of Opposites,” how to realize your plot on the page…? Point of Attack At what point do you attack a story? People always say “start late, end early.” What does that really mean? What sets a story in motion? What makes a character … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 4: Crisis, Climax and Resolution
Now that we’ve discussed Egri’s take on the pivotal characters in a script, let’s look at how the protagonist and antagonist work in concert to create the dramatic structure that is your script. Orchestration There is a saying, “There is no action unless there is a need; and there is no need until there is … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 3: Conflict and Unity
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
People ask me how I developed my ideas and theories about writing for theater and the screen. They often ask where they can go to get more information and develop their own deeper understanding of the craft of screenwriting. Three Basic Rules I start by telling them my three essential rules: Put your butt in … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 1
Plotlines vs Loglines As we discussed last week, plotlines and loglines are different. Loglines are selling tools designed to excite an audience. Plotlines are designed to help you, the writer, clearly understand the beginning, middle and end of your script. A good plotline will distill the essential dramatic elements of your script down to their … More Plotline Essentials: “The 8 C’s”
From the Nitty Gritty to the 30,000-ft View Let’s take a break from dissecting the inner working of a scene. Let’s step back and examine the process from back to front. When you’re script is done and even before, when you’re in the middle of writing, if you tell someone that you’re working on a script, … More Loglines vs. Plotlines
Beginning, Middles and Ends In a screenplay, just like your plot, a well-structured scene will have a beginning, middle and end. Beginnings You must establish who the protagonist of the scene is and what they want. Except for the first time we meet a character, this is done BEFORE the scene starts. This is what … More The Well Written Scene, Part 2
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