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- “The object of writing is for someone else to perceive things as you perceive them.”
- When assigning an action to a character think: "how would i act that as an actor, how would i direct it to be acted?"
- "We [the writers] do the acting. We do great acting, it’s just no one sees it, it’s all in our brain."
- There are 4 basic questions a screenwriter should be able to answer about their story:
- Who is the hero?
- What do they want?
- What’s stopping them from getting it?
- What’s at stake?
- "When <flawed hero at start of story> is forced to <call to adventure>, he has to <opportunity for emotional growth> or risk <what’s at stake>."
- These elements shouldn’t just be obvious in your overall story but in EACH SCENE. Who wants what in this scene and why? Who is stopping them trying to get it and how do they thwart our hero?
- EVERY CHARACTER SHOULD WANT SOMETHING, even if it’s just a glass of water or to leave the room.
- People are people; plot is not a force.
- Minor characters don’t disappear when your major characters have forgotten them. They have wants and lives and fears all their own. People move. While your character is moving, so too is the rest of the world. What characters want should drive what they do; not what the plot demands. This applies to non-fiction writing as well. You can’t appropriate people for your own agenda.
- The secret to character is contradiction.
- The Godfather: why do we find the Don engaging? “The cat”. The mafia boss is stroking a cat. What was the intention of the writer here with this touch of domesticity? To provide a counterpoint to the expectations of the stereotype. It’s a contradiction and it’s the key to great characterization. It stops them being clichés and helps the audience warm to them because no matter how great they are, they’re flawed like us, and no matter how bad they are, they have redeeming qualities, like we do on a good day.
- Actions have consequences.
- Whatever your character does, it must cost her something. You buy a shirt, it costs money. You need a favor, it must be returned. Choosing love over friendship, both are irrevocably altered. If she has something you call a flaw, it must have negative consequences for her or it’s not a flaw at all.
- Juggle as many ongoing projects, half-formed ideas, job applications and query letters as you can reasonably handle. More lottery tickets means more chances to win.
- Endings are hard, especially for character-driven scripts. Bottom line: don’t settle for neat-and-convenient when you could have messy-and-emotional.
- Don’t leave your protagonist alone to think about things. Cut any scene where he looks through a file or figures out a code.
- A protagonist who succeeds because of her wits is usually much more likeable than one who succeeds through brute force, good looks or dumb luck.
- How to trim page-count and improve pacing: cut a scene on its strongest beat. Just get out when the action hits a peak. When we next see those characters, the audience will fill in the missing action from context.
- Find the ‘watershed’ line of dialogue in every scene. You know — that one line that twists the situation and turns the conflict in a different direction. If you can’t find one, maybe there’s something wrong with the scene.
- If your characters don’t say horrible, soul-crushing things to each other during the dark point, you’re doing it wrong.
- Reluctant protagonists are tricky. You have to actually show us the moment when they commit to the cause/goal. Why? Because “Oh well, guess I’m doing this now” isn’t a very interesting character beat.
- The point of a first draft is just to exist. Nobody should ever spend more than three months on a first draft, unless they’re hand-chiselling it on a stone tablet.
- Set every scene. Don’t make me wonder what room of the house they’re in, or why somebody just started talking when you didn’t even tell me they were present.
- When you tell a friend or loved one your idea, listen for two key phrases: “Sounds interesting” means they don’t like it. “I’d watch that” means they do.
- Acting out your own screenplay will not only make it better. It will give you a sense of what actors have to go through to slip into your character’s roles, and if the roles are worth slipping into.
- If this character never gets to say or do anything cool or interesting, why the hell would an actor want to play this part?
- Is this the most interesting thing your character could possibly say in this situation? No? Might want to change it, then.
- If you’re giving notes on somebody’s script, don’t criticize their basic concept. Try to imagine the coolest possible version of that concept, then help them to get there.
- Before you start, make a list of everything that’s cool about your concept; everything that gets you excited. Try to hit most of it in the outline. Refer back to the list as needed during scripting — it’ll keep you on target.
- Put your protagonist in uncomfortable situations as often as possible.
- Make sure the main conflict of the story is an absolutely "unsolvable puzzle" for the main characters.
- Every time it looks like they'll succeed, send them a twist that mucks up their plans.
- Place other characters in their lives that either sabotage or disrupt your main character's usual coping strategies.
- Alternate "hope" and "hopelessness" whenever possible. The first pulls us back in and the second makes us worry.
- Force them to do the one thing they would never do.
- Don't give them the easy way out. Leave them in pain for as long as possible.
- Make sure their internal conflict is represented in a graphic manner.
- "I think that stuff like that – little, weird, funny things that have nothing to do with the story – is what makes a show more interesting and fun to watch. :)" Dan Schneider
- "whenever I'm stuck on a scene, I change the weather. Works every time!"
jan 10 2011 ∞
may 16 2012 +
may 16 2012 +