Structure

There is an expression about how you can determine your real values based on how you allocate your resources. This is true for screen time as well.

A huge part of Act 1's job is to get the audience to believe the protagonists's often outlandish choice that drives us into Act 2.

How could a movie possibly work when the dramatic question is answered at the end of Act 2?

I approach each screenplay structure as a fractal and have found that the most satisfying screen stories follow this pattern.

The midpoint doesn't change the character. It just changes their direction.

When structuring your story, you don't have to start from scratch. There are plenty of places to look for inspiration, and one of them is genre.

You never want the audience to wonder what the story is. Let them think they know. And then reveal it to be something more.

There is no “B Story”; only the main story. And that main story has subplots that support and deepen it.

Narrative momentum is the force that keeps the audience compelled to continue watching. It's why a good 3-hour movie can go by so much faster than a bad 90 minute film.

One of my primary goals as a writer and a teacher is to simplify. We need to get out of our own way. We do this through a process.

The moment when a character earns ownership of their change by surrendering something they once valued but is no longer aligned with their new value system.

Our response to a screenplay doesn't come in the language of structure. It comes in the language of emotional response.