Structure The two key elements to narrative momentum. 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.
Structure The two most important decisions in your screenwriting. 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.
Structure The most important part of Act 3. 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.
Structure How to interpret some of the most common screenplay notes. Our response to a screenplay doesn't come in the language of structure. It comes in the language of emotional response.
Structure How I learned screenplay structure. Plots seem complicated when you're in the moment, but when you lay them out scene by scene it's clear how simple they really are.
Structure How to structure a story with a relationship at the center. Relationships are vital for every story. Audiences care deeply about relationships, perhaps more than anything else. But what about when the relationship is the story?
Structure The key to a sensational inciting incident. The most effective inciting incidents are personal, and the best ones evoke an emotional reaction from the protagonists and from us.
Structure The want drives everything. Without a want, the narrative is stagnant. But with it, we can map out the entire story structure.
Structure Exposition: Find The Emotional Connection In Your Screenwriting The early challenges of sloppy exposition are due mainly to a lack of confidence and trust. Which is also kind of the bad news. It takes time to develop those two things.
Structure Five Phases of Feature Development I left my last agents at Paradigm over a disagreement about two spec scripts. I liked them. They didn't.
Structure The Midpoint An event at the midpoint of the movie that reverses what was previously believed to be true, changes the stakes, or otherwise creates a new environment or given circumstances for the protagonist
Character Tools For Character-Driven Dramatic Questions Last week, I wrote about plot-focused dramatic questions and how they can make your job much easier. But not every story wants one...