Category: Writing Workshop

Our Screenwriting Tips selection today deals with PLOT.

866: The most powerful method for refining motivation and stakes in your script is to ask, “So what?”. So what if the protagonist loves a man her parents disapprove of? So what if the villain learns all about the hero’s plan? So what if the main character doesn’t get that big promotion she wanted? And so on.

863: The point of plot is to break through your protagonist’s outer persona and reveal the true character within. To use an unsavory metaphor: you’re the interrogator, your protag is the prisoner, and your script is the rack.

850: Every skill, trait or item your protagonist uses to get out of a tight spot should be set up earlier in the script. A hitherto unmentioned ability to speak Latin is just as jarring as a hitherto unmentioned gun.

848: Don’t think of the end of Act Three as being about answering questions and tying off threads. Think of it as getting the protagonist to the point where there’s no more story to tell.

828: Your job is to upset the scales. Force characters who love each other into conflict and competition. Force characters who hate each other to work together.

811: Your protagonist’s past is not the key to their character arc. Their present is. The most important events in their emotional journey need to take place in your script’s timeline, not before it.

781: If you find yourself writing a scene in which one character walks in and describes what just happened off-screen… stop. You’re writing a play. This is supposed to be a screenplay — “show, don’t tell”, remember?

733: In reality, people don’t always have perfect back-and-forth conversations. They’re often just waiting for the right moment to say something they really want to say. Use this fact to create turning points that flip your scenes around.

722: When you come up with a ‘big idea’ (e.g. a world where nobody can lie, a future where vampires rule over humans), don’t go with the first protagonist or plot that springs to mind. Think around the big idea — consider every angle and version until you find the right one for you.

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We continue our review of the best Screenwriting Tips of the past few months. Today, some advice on THE CRAFT of writing.

872: Become a collector. Collect ideas, bits of dialogue, kinds of people, things that move you, social trends. You never know when you might need them.

871: If you’ve got a zealous, all-encompassing worldview to sell, your screenplay is not the place for it. Readers/audiences can smell preaching from a mile away.

862: At some point in the planning phase, backstory goes from ‘useful information which will inform the script’ to ‘useless distraction from real work’. That’s when you stop planning and start writing.

851: The only way to understand story is to think about story all the time. You should be mentally dismantling the structure of the movies and shows you watch; your time of being a passive audience member is over.

849: When someone sends you negative script notes, read them once, twice, three times… then again the next day. You’ll react with progressively less emotion, and the notes will seem more and more reasonable.

812: When deciding what to cut in the rewrite, your job isn’t to look for what’s bad. The most beautiful dialogue in the world could be a total pacing killer. Your job is to cut the bits that slow down the story, whether they’re brilliantly written or not.

762: Chances are, you’ve been in a relationship with another human being. So write about what being in a relationship feels like for you, not what you think a movie relationship should be.

741: Change your working environment once in a while. New surroundings can give you a new perspective on plot problems.

740: A good pitch gives a sense of the genre and tone. If people have to ask, “So is it funny, or…?” at the end of your pitch, you haven’t done your job.

738: Which films do you wish you’d written? No, scratch that — which films are you actively, obsessively jealous of? That’s your brand. Write in that genre and style and you’ll always be passionate about your work.

735: Meet and work with interesting people who you suspect are much smarter than you. It’s one of the quickest ways to improve your work.

731: Ask yourself “logic questions” — after all, they’re one of the first things pitchees and potential buyers ask. Logic questions are about internal consistency and world cohesion, e.g. “Why is the monster attacking this specific town?”, or “Why does she agree to marry him when she’s shown to be terrified of commitment?”, etc.

730: Writers are vultures. And there’s no shame in that. In fact, taking several old ideas and combining them into one new idea is something to be proud of.

729: It’s hard to spontaneously generate witty phrases and neologisms; great lines arise from the clash of conversation. So when you hear someone say something clever or interesting, write it down. You might get to use it in a script some day.

Hope you liked those!

It’s been a while since our last compilation of Screenwriting Tips, and pay attention because they’ve moved to a new address! This week we’re going to catch up. As there are so many good tips, we’ll divide them by topic. Today: CHARACTERS.

873: What does the love interest offer the protagonist? What does he or she provide which is currently missing from the protagonist’s life? If your answer is “a relationship”, it’s time to dig deeper and find the real answer.

868: Your protagonist should probably not be an idealized version of yourself. And if they are, at least give them your flaws as well.

836: Consider making the ‘funny best friend’ character into the protagonist. You clearly prefer writing in her voice, because she’s in every scene and she seems to have more lines than the lead.

813: Characters can’t just be pushed around by plot. Early in your script, prove to us that your protagonist has agency of her own by letting her make an unexpected decision.

789: When writing conversations between old friends, cut dialogue to the bone. They have their own in-jokes; they know what the other is going to say. When they fight, remember it’s not the first time they’ve ever fought.

788: Suicidal characters aren’t automatically sympathetic. In fact, it takes a lot of work to elevate them above annoying. Wanting to die just isn’t a narrative-friendly goal.

780: Try to give every character — even villains and sidekicks — a chance for the audience to love them. Just one line or one moment for them to be exactly who they are, without apology.

749: When you introduce a new character, have them moving, acting, striving towards a goal in their very first scene. Show us that character in high gear. If you start them off in neutral, it’s much harder to get a sense of who they are.

739: “He’s got nothing left to lose” is pretty meaningless as a description of character. Doubly so when you misspell it as “loose”.

So what do you think?