SORTING THE IDEAS
When I asked you to create your ideas yesterday, I said a logline typically has the following:
1. a protagonist
2. with a goal/want/need/desire
3. and an antagonistic force
Thus, your hero has a desire, which is opposed by the antagonistic force, (be it a super-villan, or something less tangible) creating an central conflict. Conflict is the basis of drama. The more conflict, the better.
The stronger your protagonist’s desire/want/need is, the more difficult the goal is to achieve, and the less willing your character is in compromising, thus, the more inherent conflict present, which leads to a more interesting character to write about, more obstacles to throw at the hero, and a better story.
Now, hopefully you have about 5-10 ideas or more, that sound like the makings of a movie.
Flesh through your ideas and look for the ones where the protagonist has the strongest desire or most difficult obstacle to overcome. See if you can re-write the weaker ideas to contain more force.
DEVELOP A DRAMATIC ARC
Review your ideas again and select a few, or all of them if you have the time, and work on developing these dramatic points:
1. Point of Attack — This is where you start your story. Who is the story about, what’s going on in their life, what world are we in, and what is the genre? Start as late as possible and as close to the next point as you can.
2. Inciting Incident - This is what happens that changes your protagonist’s life. The inciting incident throws something out of balance. Something that your character will spend the better part of 100 pages trying to regain.
3. Turning Point One — This is often the first point where the protagonist acts. The inciting incident changes their life and they spend 5-10 pages avoiding conflict to get it back. The first turning point is where the hero jumps into the story, accepts his fate, and goes after what they want.
Example: In Star Wars, the inciting incident in my mind is when R2D2 runs away, and Luke meets Obi Wan. Then, Luke spends 5-10 minutes refusing to join Obi Wan to help the Rebellion. Turning point one is when Luke discovers that the Empire destroyed his family and he decides to help Obi Wan and the Rebellion.
4. Midpoint — The midpoint usually marks a decisive change in the actions of the hero. From turning point one to the midpoint, the hero is trying to reach his goal, and is being turned away by the antagonistic force. The midpoint is where the hero comes to terms with the fact that reasonable tactics aren’t going to work. He must act harder.
Example: In American Beauty, Lester spends the first half of the movie reclaiming parts of his identity. He works out, smokes pot, fantasizes about Angela. These are big, dramatic changes, but nothing compared to his second half actions.
Right around the midpoint, he blackmails his boss, blows up at the dinner table (remember when he throws the asparagus against the wall?), and thus, he applies at Smiley Burger for the least amount of responsibility possible. Midpoint. The protagonist is now all in.
5. Turning Point Two — We’re building for the climax now (the confrontation scene). This is the moment where the hero takes their greatest action in a last ditch effort to get what they want.
6. Climax — The climax is the final confrontation between good and evil. This is where the protagonist and the antagonist square off. This is the scene that resolves the central conflict of the entire script.
7. Resolution — This is where you tie up any loose ends, fulfill any promises not yet answered, restore the balance of good and evil. The resolution is typically short if done right.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Take a few ideas and put them through these points. Rewrite as necessary.
Having an idea fleshed out through these seven points won’t guarantee a great screenplay, but it at least helps you eliminate or rework weaker ideas, and find something that should at least be able to carry on for more than 20 pages.
NEXT UP - STEP 3
We’ll settle on a final idea and develop the major sequences of the story.
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