Screenwriting

Ch 6 Pg 9

INT. THRONE ROOM - DAY

A grand throne room, once a place of regal authority, was filled with tension. King Aldebrand, an aging but formidable ruler, sits on his throne, his face set in stone. Before him, EliDoras, draped in a long, flowing cloak embroidered with arcane symbols, stands defiantly. Court nobles murmur among themselves while guards stand at the ready.

KING ALDEBRAND:

"EliDoras, for your crimes against the kingdom, I hereby decree your exile. Never shall you set foot within these lands again!"

A FLASHBACK - EliDoras standing before a great, unfinished monument, his hands raised as dark energy crackles around him. The land wilts beneath his feet, and workers flee in terror as the sky darkens overhead.

NARRATION: "He sought to harness magic beyond mortal comprehension, promising prosperity but bringing only ruin."

King Aldebrand and his council stand in a war chamber, maps scattered before them, showing villages consumed by unnatural storms and crops turned to dust.

NOBLE:

"The sorcerer's experiments have brought famine and strife! His ambition knows no bounds!"

Back in the throne room, EliDoras clenches his fists, his eyes burning with defiance. His voice is sharp, filled with resentment.

ELIDORAS:

"You fear power you cannot control. But mark my words, this kingdom will suffer without me!"

Ch 6 Pg 10

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Two royal guards seize EliDoras by the arms, dragging him toward the great doors of the hall. His cloak billows behind him as he glares back at the king, a smirk forming on his lips.

ELIDORAS (WHISPERING):

"You will regret this, old man. The world is larger than your throne."

A desolate road stretches beyond the kingdom's borders. EliDoras, now a lone figure in the distance, walks into the wild lands, where shadows seem to welcome him. The faint outline of a hidden fortress looms in the background, barely visible through mist and jagged peaks.

NARRATION: But exile is not the end of his story. In the forgotten places of the world, power still lingers, waiting for a master bold enough to claim it...

A dark chamber deep within the mountains. Hooded figures kneel before a grand, ancient throne, carved with symbols of lost magic. A single, spectral flame hovers above it, pulsing with power. EliDoras steps into the light, his smirk widening.

ELIDORAS:

They think they have cast me away... but my rule has only just begun.

Here is the clean, cross‑disciplinary upstream checklist that stabilizes writing, composing, world‑building, and any creative discipline.

⭐ 1. Identity Check

Can you articulate the core identity of your project in one sentence?

If not, the downstream work will drift.

⭐ 2. Boundary Check

Have you defined what your project is not allowed to do?

Boundaries prevent tonal and structural collapse.

⭐ 3. Continuity Check

Have you defined the internal rules that govern your project?

Examples include:

- narrative cause‑and‑effect

- motif behavior

- harmonic logic

- world rules

- character consistency

Continuity is the backbone of coherence.

⭐ 4. Expansion Check

If your project grows, what must remain intact?

- themes

- motifs

- world rules

- character identity

- emotional logic

Expansion reveals structural integrity.

⭐ The real‑real summary

Creative disciplines look different downstream, but upstream they share the same architecture:

- identity

- boundaries

- continuity

- expansion

When creators stabilize these four layers, their work becomes:

- more consistent

- easier to revise

- easier to collaborate on

- easier to scale

- harder to break

Upstream clarity is the universal structure beneath every creative craft.

PART 1 — The Hidden Structure Shared by All Creative Disciplines

Most creators assume their crafts are fundamentally different:

- writers shape narrative

- composers shape emotion

- world‑builders shape environments

But upstream, they’re all solving the same structural challenge:

How do I create something that behaves consistently, expands predictably, and protects its identity as it grows?

Downstream, the tools differ.

Upstream, the architecture is identical.

Here are the four universal structural layers every creative discipline relies on:

⭐ 1. Identity

Every project begins with a core identity — the non‑negotiable truth that must remain intact.

- A story has a narrative identity.

- A score has a musical identity.

- A world has a cultural and structural identity.

Identity prevents drift.

⭐ 2. Boundaries

Every project needs a clear sense of what it is not allowed to do.

- A story breaks when it violates tone.

- A score breaks when it contradicts emotional logic.

- A world breaks when it violates its own rules.

Boundaries protect coherence.

⭐ 3. Continuity Logic

Every project requires internal rules that govern behavior.

- cause‑and‑effect in writing

- motif and harmonic logic in composing

- governance and world rules in world‑building

Continuity is what makes the work feel unified.

⭐ 4. Expansion Path

Every project must be able to grow without breaking.

- sequels

- series

- transmedia

- adaptations

Expansion exposes whether the upstream structure was real or improvised.

Upstream clarity is the universal architecture beneath all creative work.

Part 2 gives creators a simple, repeatable checklist to apply this structure to their own projects.

This year, I don't want to just focus on scripts, I want to focus on relationships that help get scripts into production. This will be very important to me to move forward as a writer.

As I begin on my next script, I'll focus on what I should do to forget the right relationships to get this script into the right hands.

What are you guys working on this year?

I want your honest opinion on an ending I’m seriously considering. No hype. No marketing brain. Just instinct and taste.

Before you answer, here’s what Season 1 actually does.

It follows a man who is already dangerous before the story begins. Not unhinged. Not lost. Just… ahead of the moral curve in a way that makes people uncomfortable. He doesn’t chase power. Power keeps finding him at the worst possible moments, and every time it does, it costs him something human.

Season 1 isn’t about rise. It’s about exposure.

We watch him make fast, surgical decisions that save the day and quietly ruin lives. We watch him protect people who give his life weight. Friends who challenge him. A woman who believes truth matters even when it’s inconvenient. A family built from shared damage, not blood. These people aren’t props. They are the reason he hasn’t tipped fully into something colder.

And the season keeps asking one question again and again:

How much can one person carry before survival itself becomes a punishment?

By the time we reach the finale, the tension isn’t about whether he wins. He does. That’s not the twist.

The twist is what winning leaves behind.

So here’s what I need your take on.

Would you consider an ending where the protagonist survives… and everyone else dies?

Not shock for shock’s sake.

Not a reset button.

Not a multiverse undo.

Permanent loss. The hero lives. The world is saved. And the cost is every emotional anchor that made saving it worth something.

Would that feel brave to you?

Or would it feel like the story crossed a line it shouldn’t have?

PART 1 — The Hidden Cost of Writing Without Structure

Most screenwriters think their biggest challenge is the draft in front of them.

It isn’t.

The real challenge is the lack of upstream structure guiding the draft.

When a writer jumps straight into scenes, pages, or dialogue without first stabilizing the upstream layers, three things happen every time:

- the story drifts

- the characters lose identity

- the world becomes reactive instead of governed

None of this is a talent issue.

It’s a structural issue.

Upstream structure is the part of the process most writers skip because it feels “non‑writing.”

But it’s the part that determines whether the writing phase is smooth or chaotic.

Upstream clarity answers questions like:

- What is the identity of this story?

- What rules govern this world?

- What breaks the continuity?

- What is the story not allowed to do?

- What is the writer protecting as they move downstream?

When these answers are missing, the draft becomes a search.

When these answers are present, the draft becomes an execution.

Upstream structure isn’t extra work.

It’s the work that makes everything else possible.

PART 2 — Building Upstream Structure Without Overcomplicating Your Process

Most writers assume “structure” means adding more steps, more templates, more rules.

It doesn’t.

Upstream structure is simply the act of defining the non‑negotiables before you write.

Here’s the clean version:

1. Identity

What is the story about at its core?

Not theme — identity.

What must remain true no matter what?

2. Boundaries

What is this story not allowed to do?

What breaks the world, the tone, or the logic?

3. Continuity Logic

What rules govern the world, characters, and cause‑and‑effect?

What keeps the story from drifting?

4. Expansion Path

If this story grows — sequel, series, adaptation — what must remain intact?

These four elements form the upstream structure that protects the downstream writing.

When a writer defines these early, the draft becomes:

- faster

- cleaner

- more consistent

- easier to revise

- easier to pitch

- easier to expand

Upstream structure isn’t about restricting creativity.

It’s about protecting it.

When the upstream is clear, the downstream becomes inevitable.