RE: How I Improved My Scripts 300% After Film School

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How I Improved My Scripts 300% After Film School

in film •  7 years ago 

Hi @filmstudio! Welcome to Steemit!

My favourite structure template to date is as follows:

ACT I
1.) stasis: once upon a time...

2.) trigger: ...something out of the ordinary happens...

ACT II
3.) quest: ...causing the protagonist to seek something...

4.) surprise: ...but things don’t go as expected...

ACT III
5.) critical choice: ...forcing the protagonist to make a (difficult) decision...

6.) climax: ...which has consequences...

ACT VI
7.) reversal: ...the result of which is a change in status...

8.) resolution: ...and they all lived happily ever after (or not).

Each point can be interpreted in various ways, allowing it to be applied to an assortment of stories.

Compare #2 from your link, "But they want something." to #2 from above "something out of the ordinary happens". The specificity of the former somehow feels more limiting, especially to a newer writer that might learn more heavily on the structural template.

I'm actually working on a story now where "something out of the ordinary happens" is more apropos, as the protagonist doesn't really want anything beyond a specific outcome to an immediate situation until after that something out of the ordinary happens.

Anyway, all that being said, both templates are quite useful. Probably just one more so than the other (or some other template entirely) depending on the story. Thanks for sharing. I love talking about story structure. ^_^

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