WEEK 9 SCRIPT WORK

MES153 0902 3/31-4/13  | MES153 1000 3/27-4/15

Reminder: The Fiction Workshops are coming up. Scripts are due the day prior to the workshop you will be presenting your script in. See all key dates and deadlines here.

A Look Ahead at Upcoming Assignments & Due Dates

TIPS FOR WRITING A STORY

CONFLICT IS KEY

Drama is conflict. Stories need a clear protagonist with whom the audience can identify and empathize. That character needs a clear goal that she or he works toward but has trouble achieving it.

Remember: Main character + goal + PROBLEM = Story

SIX-POINT CHECKLIST FOR YOUR SCRIPT

1. Who’s the protagonist?

Just as a car needs a driver to get it where it’s going, stories need someone to drive the action. This person — the protagonist — should be in pursuit of a clearly defined goal. To help your audience identify with the protagonist and enter the world of your story, provide enough physical description or background or quintessential trait to let them see this individual in their mind’s eye. (See more in character intros below.)

2. What’s the hook?

To draw people in, begin the story with something that grabs and engages the audience – this is the hook.

Could be the description of a place, circumstance, event or premise that everyone understands and with which they readily identify.

The opening image and opening scene are critically important. You are introducing the audience to a WORLD. Show that world and your main character in it.

3. What keeps it interesting?

Predictable stories are boring. As renowned Hollywood script doctor Robert McKee puts it, “The stuff of storytelling is the gap between what we think will happen when we take an action, and what actually happens.” Find barriers and surprises to put in the way of your protagonist’s goals.

4. Where’s the conflict?

There is no drama without conflict. Put your character through a torture chamber.

5. Have you included telling details?

A single, telling detail such as that can replace a paragraph or more of description, and good stories have just enough telling details to set the scene and people it with colorful characters.

6. Is the meaning clear?

Finally, your story should have a crystal clear point, a reason for taking this particular journey. “We don’t need more information,” writes Annette Simmons in The Story Factor. “We need to know what it means. We need a story that explains what it means and makes us feel like we fit in there somewhere.”

CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS

There is not a set way to write a character description in your script; however, there are some general rules professional writers follow. Namely, less is more.

Short, sweet and to the point

Character descriptions are important to include, but they should be short, sweet, and to the point. Better that character’s actions and reactions throughout the screenplay define them but it’s good to give an idea of who your character is with just a telling phrase or two.

All caps for a character’s physical intro, then regular proper noun caps

Always format a CHARACTER’S NAME IN ALL CAPS when a character first appears in the script. This makes the reader pay special attention to the entrance. It stands out on the page.

Age range

Next, put their age-range in parenthesis (30-45 years old). Remember this is a role that must be cast, so this info helps the producer and the casting department know what age range of actors to cast.

Physical descriptions that foreshadow their character type

Don’t worry about detailing everything the character is wearing. But find a fragment or phrase that describes a visual character type. Is your character wearing a hat? Are they in a slim-fitting suit? Are they in a bathrobe with a White Russian in hand? Simple visual details like an outfit help readers visualize the character.

Write a single sentence that defines character traits

Pro screenwriters instantly define their characters w/ a well-crafted sentence.

• • You don’t want to mess with this guy
  • He has secrets that no one will ever know
  • She’s stronger and more determined than anyone in the room

EXAMPLES OF CHARACTER INTROS

Annie Wilkes in Misery

>Her name is ANNIE WILKES and she is close to Paul’s age. She is in many ways a remarkable creature. Strong, self-sufficient, passionate in her likes and dislikes, loves and hates.

Apollo Creed, in Rocky

The SPORTS COMMENTATOR is at the airport and about to interview the heavyweight champion of the world, APPOLLO CREED. Creed is 28 years old. He is a tall, smooth-muscled Black man with barely a scar on his light, coffee-colored face.

Sarah Connor, in Terminator

SARAH CONNOR is 19, small and delicate-featured. Pretty in a flawed, accessible way. She doesn’t stop the party when she walks in, but you’d like to get to know her. Her vulnerable quality masks a strength even she doesn’t know exists.

Alex Foley, in Beverly Hills Cop

ALEX FOLEY, a very good-looking, outgoing totally unselfconscious man of 23, hops down into frame from the top of the stack of cigarette cases. Axel is dressed very casually in a pair of jeans and a denim shirt.

Clarice Starling, in Silence of the Lambs

A woman’s face backs into the shot, her head resting against grimy wallpaper. She is tense, sweaty, wide-eyed with concentration. This is CLARICE STARLING, mid-20s, trim, very pretty. She wears Kevlar body armor over a navy windbreaker and khaki pants. Her thick hair is piled under a navy baseball cap. A revolver, clutched in her right hand, hovers by her ear.

Hans Gruber, in Die Hard

The doors to a service elevator open to reveal HANS GRUBER. Impeccably dressed, lean and handsome, he steps out into the lobby like he owns the building — and in a way he does.

Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo in Star Wars

The tremendous heat of two huge twin suns settles on a lone figure, LUKE SKYWALKER, a farm boy with heroic aspirations who looks much younger than his eighteen years. His shaggy hair and baggy tunic give him the air of a simple but lovable lad with a prize-winning smile.

The lovely young girl huddles in a small alcove as the stormtroopers search through the ship. She is PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA, a member of the Alderaan Senate.

HAN SOLO is a tough, roguish starpilot about 30 years old. A mercenary on a starship, he is simple, sentimental, and cocksure.

REMEMBER: WRITING IS STRUCTURE and REWRITING

By this time in this course, students should have a good understanding that screenwriting is all about structure. And a big part of that is incorporating important beats into the story — surprises, revelations, shocks, turning points, new understandings.

A story is NOT a series of events.

A story maps the transformation of a protagonist through his or her wanting something, trying to achieve or attain it, and encountering a lot of difficulty (conflict) along the way primarily through clashes with the antagonist. A story is a way for us to understand more about the world than we did before we took in the story.

Short Scripts to Read (or Re-Read)

As Stephen King put it clearly, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time — or the tools — to write. Simple as that.” Really, to write well, you need to be a good reader. Students should read at least one of these short scripts below before class on 4/10.

• “Bye-Child” (16 pages) | a short script by Bernard Maclaverty
• “The Door” (5 pages) | a short script by Juanita Wilson
• “A Work in Progress” (7 pages) | a short script by Wes Ball
• Treatment for The Terminator

WRITING ASSIGNMENT