Some Tools for Beginning Script Writing

Bruce Lee

Before I learned martial arts, a punch was just a punch and a kick was just a kick. When I studied martial arts, a punch was no longer just a punch and a kick was no longer just a kick. Now I understand martial arts, and a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick.

Bruce Lee

How do you write a story?  You could start at the beginning, add words, and close with “the end”.  I did this   throughout school and again while writing scripts for some short 5-10 minute films. Writing this way mimics how stories play out in our heads.  We picture our hero, then imagine some great struggle and finally visualize their final triumph. But this isn’t a great way to approach storytelling.

It’s inconsistent. Sometimes it come together, but often the second act is dull, or you can’t figure out how to connect the second and third acts.  Maybe characters are behaving incongruously, because the plot needs it.

It’s also inflexible.  Part of production is getting people, equipment, locations and a market.  Often you can’t get what you want.   If you’ve written the story as a gestalt you’ll rework the script holistically.  The longer the script, the harder this is.

The solution is a ‘theory’ of story.  The three act structure is an example: Act 1 – characters & initial incident, Act 2 – developing conflict, Act 3 – highest excitement and dénouement.  The theory isn’t there to constrain you, or mold you into a certain type of writer.   It’s for dividing a complex whole into manageable chunks.

Put another way, when you first learn to throw a punch, your instructor will have you slowly ape their movements.  Turn hips into the punch, keep your heel up, rotate your fist, fire your arm straight out.    Many details, but you focus on each part in turn.  Pretty soon it’s all internal.

A theory of story is like this. Your don’t follow it, you apply it so you can understand stories in a measurable/repeatable way.

Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.

Galileo

Some Theories

Here are some theories than I use to measure stories.  I’ve found the eight part story structure, character idioms, and scene-sequel methods most useful for the stories I’m writing.

• Eight Part Story Structure (plot structure)
• Character Idioms and Flaws (character structure)
• Three Act Structure (plot structure)
• Scene-Sequel Method for writing Scenes (scene structure)
• The Monomyth (plot structure)
• The Snowflake Method (approach to writing/rewriting)

I’m certain this isn’t every theory. If you know of any more please mention it in the comments!