Screenwriting : Any tips on structure? by Lauren Gibbons Paul

The main difference in a pilot seems to be ensuring that most of the main characters are introduced. Setting up characters - protagonist, antagonist, the "world". "Tying up loose ends doesn't seem to make sense for a pilot - Just me, but I would focus on establishing the world and why the watcher would be interested in watching episode II. I.e., where might this all be going. Good luck!

Thanks, Richard! Yes, I totally agree about the loose ends thing not being appropriate for a pilot.

Yearn, Turn, Burn, Learn, Earn

The pilot can act as a microcosm for the whole show, giving a taste of things to come on a smaller scale. You can leave a cliffhanger at the end illuding to something bigger (depending on the type of show you are making) but you don’t have to introduce everyone that will be in it or all of the moving parts that will become important later. When pilot scrips get too cluttered with this sort of thing it can take time away from character development and structure. Have you written a pitch deck? 9 times out of 10 executives will look at your pitch deck before the pilot, so you can use the pitch deck to go into more detail about characters, plotlines etc. without having to try and cram all of this into your pilot episode. See my blog post about this from a few months ago here: https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-writing-your-pitch-deck-will-improve-yo...

Structure is a poorly defined word. It can mean that your story wanders everywhere. It events happened in different order it would feel structured. Or it could mean so more formal pattern to the writing.

I believe the protagonist and the structure go hand in hand. If the protagonist is manic and all over the place the less formal structure would push that feel forward.

The one thing I check in my own writing is “are things happening in the place the need to happen”. Sounds like a strange statement.

But if you divulge a piece of information, what happen if that is done two pages later. How does it effect the story and the characters.

Keep your protagonist ACTIVE, and ask yourself: "Am I TELLING a STORY or just DESCRIBING a SITUATION." Think "Fat Tootsie."

Did the reader give out any details about why they didn't rate your structure?

The reader did not give details. I should have used my question to ask that. I think I'm getting a better idea now. Ewan Dunbar You're teaching me how to write a pitch deck! (I'm in your seminar.) Thanks!

Got to have a clear goal, conflict, and resolution. make sure the acts flow.

Structure as craft depends upon each writer’s mind, sensibility and “operating system,” some of us get very granular and mathematical, other writers are applying intuitive nurturing growth structured less like a database and more like a lush thriving garden. So I think it’s something we have to explore and develop individually, that said I find that McKee’s advocacy for continuous changes in “value charges” in his book STORY helps me to observe details, sustain pace, continuity and consistent tempo, and to craft structurally on multiple levels; hopefully once organic story unity is created, the scaffolding falls away and the cohesion remains!

Might be an issue of where the beats of the story fall, which is contingent on your story length and genre. I’d look into that, I know, because it’s what I’m doing to improve my pilot at the moment. Good luck!

Nice to meet you, Lauren Gibbons Paul. There's a lot of great advice in the comments. Structure in TV (and features) is also about the storylines. Here's an upcoming webinar that might help: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/WEBINAR-How-To-Use-A-B-and-C-Story-...

This is from a book on pilots and structure by Daniel P Calvisi. The guy basically sat down with a pad and a timer and worked out what happened where - so it's to be taken as a VERY general analysis and a rough guide. It's not a bad book but I wouldn't say he has a lot of expertise beyond putting this together by watching pilots. He's around on the internet/podcasts. Act Breaks are determined by the broadcaster - not the writer or producer and historically have been based on TV breaks.

Jon Bokenkamp

Teaser: 1-12

Act One: 13-21

Act Two: 22-28

Act Three: 29-38

Act Four: 39-44

Act Five: 45-57

The Good Wife (CBS) Pilot:

King & King

Teaser: 1-16

Act One: 17-29

Act Two: 30-44

Act Three: 45-54

Act Four: 55-64

Sleepy Hollow (FOX) Pilot:

Kurtzman & Orci & Iscove

Act One: 1-14

Act Two: 15-30

Act Three: 31-40

Act Four: 41-47

Act Five: 48-62

Bates Motel (A&E) Pilot:

Cuse, Ehrin and Cipriano

Teaser: 1-8

Act One: 9-22

Act Two: 23-39

Act Three: 40-52

Act Four: 53-58

Act Five: 59-60

Devious Maids (Lifetime) Pilot:

Marc Cherry

Teaser: 1-4

Act One: 5-18

Act Two: 19-30

Act Three: 31-39

Act Four: 40-52

Extant (CBS) Pilot:

Mickey Fisher

Act One: 1-12

Act Two: 13-30

Act Three: 31-43

Act Four: 44-56

Act Five: 53-58

General Template

Teaser 1 – 3 3 pages

Act One 4 – 16 13 pages

Act Two 17 – 27 11 pages

Act Three 28 – 40 13 pages

Act Four 41 – 50 10 pages

Act Five 51 - 58 8 pages

Daniel P Calvisi's book on writing scripts ("STORY MAPS: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay") is great, John Fernando. It really helped me learn how to structure scripts.

I used to write and help story edit radio mysteries, and my ex-wife and I wrote a graphic novel for Marvel about fifteen years ago. What Tammy, my ex, used to tell writers is that if you're having problems with your structure, why don't you boil your screenplay down to a two-three page synopsis? That should give you the skeleton of your story's structure, at least, and you can see better where things need to happen, and where you might need more things to happen so your story doesn't sag in the middle like an overweight Dachshund.

Also, John Mezes is running a Pitch Practice on Thursdays at 5:30 PST (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Pitch-Practice-Invitation-t... ). While the purpose is to get you to pitch your screenplays better, pitching it to somebody will highlight where your story structure works...and where it doesn't. It'll also highlight how your protagonist comes off, which you have gotten notes on....

Hey Lauren, I know that you’ve probably moved on by now and found your way, but just wanted to provide another source Incase it can be of any use. I entered the Final Draft comp and received notes and my adjudicator gave me this blog post:

https://thescriptlab.com/features/screenwriting-101/8930-how-to-structur...

To this day, this is the best / most comprehensive summary of tv Pilot structure I have seen. I hope it helps someone lol