I am a novice, first time screenwriter and I have stumbled across a pretty solid concept. I'm more of a concept guy than a plot guy, so I have some serious questions about if I'm doing this right. But I'm well aware that no one will take me seriously unless I actually produce copy, so I'm going it alone until I finish something that I might be able to pitch to a potential partner who knows structure better.
But my question is this: I know at the end of the second act, you have a major crisis that pushes the story forward to the final showdown in act three. My question is, exactly what should be the nature of that second act conflict, if the story is not some summer blockbuster but more of a middle-of-the-road drama. Should you hold back the major revelation of the story for the middle of the third act, or should you spill the beans then and the third act be more about the consequences of that second act crisis?
I know all of this is rather vague, but I'm willing to explain more if anyone is interested.
Ok. I guess I just need someone to bounce the concept off of to make sure it's as strong as I think it is. Really, I just need to shut up and write. That's the toughest part.
1 person likes this
Shelton Bumgarner Try writing a treatment or development document to start with. Write down everything you want to happen based on the concept you are thinking about. Once you've done that the story and what needs to happen within it/ the order things need to happen in will be so much clearer to you.
yes. that's exactly what I'm doing. I just love to talk about whatever I'm working on and it's fun to bounce ideas off of people. but I've pretty much settled on the concept and I'm going to write it up as a novella first before writing it as a screenplay.
Hi Shelton, I'm a novice too so feel free to ignore my advice but this is what I do.
After I have a premise, logline and a general idea in my head for how the story will pan out I create a beat sheet (that is generally unintelligible to anyone else) on an excel spread sheet. I refine it repeatedly until every beat is a juicy, indispensable one and I couldn't imagine telling my story any other way.
It allows me to check that the story has plenty "peaks and troughs" and also conflict (of course). I can use it to help plant seeds for things that will payoff further down the line etc.
Then I start to write my script and usually find subtle details and quirks I want to exploit as I let the characters loose into the world. Sometimes I'll discover large flaws that need fixing too. As best as possible I muddle through until I have my first draft.
I try to keep the story structure fluid and not focus on it strictly in terms of Acts. As long as every scene has either a testing obstacle or something fresh to reveal then I feel I'm on the right track.
After the first draft I can do a little fist pump and then keep working through it, refining it until there's not a single word or punctuation mark that I would change. Wash, rinse and repeat.
Then it is my intention to get my script optioned where I'm sure It'll be put through many re-writes haha
You don't "have" to use a specific structure but definitely there are structures that work. Don't write a story to a specific structure. Write the story and then review it to see if there are weak lulls, places where it's not moving forward, etc.
Without knowing the details of what the story is about many people use what you are referring to as the "second act" to move the story from setting/setup to "moving forward". Taking the opening establishment of your story and moving it towards the conflict or the coming together. Along that second act we are introduced to the obstacles that must be overcome, we're introduced to character backstory (if needed and if introduced as questions in the opening). Side characters appear/context characters appear. We pull the reader in more and have them buy in more to the protag. We define the antagonist more. We make the reader pick a side. We put the plans in jeopardy. We take the left turns/right turns that unexpectedly pop up.
Basically take us on the journey.
thanks so much guys. I'm not one for spread sheets of anything in my life, but your advice is useful. very useful. as I have said, really, what I need is to just shut up and write. I really enjoy how much more community there is with screenwriting than novel writing. that's one of the things that appeals to me about the process.
Hi Shelton. It's all about finding what works for you. I'm always making lists and can't believe some people can write straight from the top of their head but it definitely happens. There's plenty of support and resources on here for you. Good luck!
Shelton, I have a great article on script structure on my old film school website that covers the structure of the main screenwriting gurus. It is good to use for script structure, but don't think you have to abide by all the rules, hitting certain things on certain page numbers, blah, blah, blah. Just use it as a guide to help you move in he right direction. The software called out in the article is not something I use, but the article is great...and free! http://filmschoolnow.com/gurus.htmlhttp://filmschoolnow.com/gurus.html
Hello Shelton!
I am completely new to writing as well and I don't have any relevant education but from what I heard there are many ways you can structure your story and that depends on the writer and the story itself. What I found helpful for me is to create a detailed outline then read it out loud, see if it makes sense, judge if the scenes flow well etc etc and then just add the dialogue (wish it was so easy but I am sure you get the point).
Also thanks for posting this question. I love the answers and the support from everyone!