Category Archives: Story Development

Writing a Saul to Paul Story

A writer recently asked:

I am writing a Saul-to-Paul story whereby my protagonist begins the story with one goal in mind (i.e., persecution of a particular people on behalf of a dictator), but at some point through the story, he is persuaded to switch sides and overthrow the dictator.

Should my storyform reflect my protagonist’s initial goal or his later goal?

My reply:

It is important to separate the Main Character’s journey of growth from the protagonist’s journey to achieve a goal, even if a single character is both Main Character and Protagonist.

What changes in a Saul to Paul story is the Main Character’s attitude as to what is right and what is wrong.

In this case, the goal might be to do what is right, and his idea of “right” is what changes, but his goal to do “right” does not.

Melanie
Storymind.com

How to Grow a Sentence into a Story

Start with any sentence in your text, be it back story, something about your character or plot or even the outline of a scene.

Example: The dog ran over the hedge.

Now, ask as many intelligent, relevant questions about that sentence as you can (within reason).

Example: What kind of dog? How old is the dog? Does the dog have any physical deformities? What color is the dog? Does the dog have fleas? Does the dog have a collar? How fast was the dog running? Where did we first see the dog? Was it running then, or did it start? Why was the dog running (did it see something)? Was it running at something or away from something or just running? Was it running in a straight line? Did it have to jump to get over the hedge? How far above the hedge was it? Was it more like running through the hedge, than over it? What kind of plant is the hedge? How tall it is? How thick is it? Does the hedge look healthy and well-watered? Is the hedge trimmed and neat or unruly? What is the shape of the hedge? How wide is the hedge from side to side? Where is the hedge – a yard, an open field, between two walls in the inner city? Is the hedge on private property, and if so, what kind? Is the hedge flowering? Are there any bugs in or around the hedge? Is there anything hiding in the hedge? Are there any other dogs running? Are there any other animals or people present? How long does the dog run for? What happens when he stops?

Okay, you get the idea. By actually writing down these questions, rather than just trying to hold them in my head, I can now go back to each one and consider it separately, as one more potential piece of information to add to my original text.

Now if I have the answer right up front, already devised, or if it just comes to me as soon as I ask the question, then I can just add that answer right into to my text.

Example: What kind of dog? A Sheltie. Revised original sentence, “The Sheltie ran over the hedge.”

Now, a different vision comes to mind when the sentence is read and it alters the reader experience as well as enriching the story-in-progress.

But, if you don’t have an answer in mind, then let your Muse run wild and come up with a bunch of different answers, again within reason, so that you can then pick among the options for the most interesting choice.

Example: What kind of dog? Sheltie, Beagle, Bull Dog, Pit Bull, Poodle.

Now I have a choice, and each different option creates a completely different mind-picture and also leads the story into slightly different directions. So, I just pick the one I want to use and put that in the story.

Example, What kind of dog? A Pit Bull. Revised original sentence, “The Pit Bull ran over the hedge.”

Now this sentences takes on a whole different flavor than “The Sheltie ran over the hedge,” and it also provides more information and a deeper reader experience than, “The dog ran over the hedge.”

Last point – after you have answered all the questions and then revised your original sentence accordingly, you’ll probably find you have a paragraph of many sentences about that little bit of action. If that is enough development, you stop there. But if you still thinks your story still needs more richness and detail, then simply take each sentence of the newly revised version and start asking questions again. Go back and forth as many times as you need to expand any part of your story as far as you want it to go.

It is a simple technique, but a sure-fire powerful one. Just by taking the process out of your head and writing it down, question by question and answer by answer, your mind becomes clear, your Muse becomes free, and your story grows in leaps and bounds.

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Overview of the Master Storyteller Method

Master StorytellerThe Master Storyteller Method has four parts:

Part One: Create A Story World

What is a story world? Think: the world of Harry Potter or the Star Wars universe. Whether you are planning a single story or a whole series, creating a diverse and detailed story world will enrich and inform each story you draw from it.

Part Two: Draw Out Your Storyline

While a story world describes the environment, situation, and issues that will define your story, it is not a story itself. Drawing on this material, you will create a storyline for your Main Character / Protagonist that will begin with something that upsets the status quo, follows a quest (both personal and logistic) and concludes with a choice that will determine success or failure.

Part Three: Incorporate Story Points

Though your storyline may make sense and feel as it it touches all the bases, often a number of important story points may be missing, hidden behind the passion of your storytelling and vision. Here you will refer to a complete list of essential story points ranging from the goal of the protagonist to the issue at the heart of the story’s moral dilemma to ensure that every crucial dramatic element is not only included, but fully integrated into the natural flow of your story.

Part Four:  Refine Your Structure

Even if you have every essential story point represented, it does not necessarily mean that they are all working together toward the same dramatic purpose. In this part of the Master Storyteller Method, you’ll plot your story points against a unique structural template to determine where some of your dramatic elements may be working against each other or where holes and inconsistencies in your structure may exist. You’ll have the opportunity to choose which story points you’d like to adjust to make your story more structurally sound and which you wish to leave as they are because they work so well as is at a passionate level.

By the time you have completed the Master Story Method, your story will be passionately expressive and structurally sound. Your characters will be compelling, your plot riveting, your them involving, and your genre not quite like any other.

 

Top Ten Tricks for Screenwriting

Trick 1

Screenwriting 101

Screenplays are blueprints for movies. As such, they are not art, but instructions for creating art. Therefore, there are two things every great screenplay must have: A good story, and a clear and understandable description of how it should be told.

Trick 2

Teaser

Though not absolutely required, it is usually desirable to start your script with a teaser scene. This can be an intense emotional experience, a thrilling bit of action, or an offbeat introduction to a strange world. It might advance the plot, set the theme, and establish the time and location, introduce characters, or just serve as a roller coaster ride to get the audience involved.

Trick 3

Remember your audience

Your audience is the cast, crew, and all the agents, readers, development executives or producers who may become involved in the purchase or production of your script. Your audience is NOT the people sitting in the theater. Like the old game of “telephone,” your purpose is not to tell a story but to tell other how to tell the story. And your purpose is not to impress movie go-ers, but to impress those who decide if your project will get the green light for production.

Trick 4

Don’t be overly literary in your scene description

Many production personnel frown on anything but straight-forward prose. The purpose of a screenplay is to tell people how to tell a story, not to tell it yourself. Still and all, successful screenwriters often violate this rule because they can get away with it. And, if you are planning on directing the movie yourself, you may want to capture your intended mood. On the other hand, you don’t want those considering your project to be bored, or find your words too dry. So, the concept is to be as efficient as possible in conveying both the information in your story and the feeling of what it will be like on the screen.

Trick 5

Don’t get stuck in a genre trap

Genres are guidelines, not rules. List your favorite genres; list your favorite elements in each genre. Then, gather together all the elements you might like to include in your script. Pepper them throughout your screenplay so that your genre develops, rather than being set at the beginning and then stagnating.

Trick 6

Use “Tracking Dialog”

Break up all long speeches into back and forth conversation. Sure, there are exceptions to this, but in general, conversation is far more interesting both in sound and in how it can be presented visually.

Trick 7

Find interesting and believable ways to drop exposition

Have you ever seen one character tell another, “He’s at Dollar-Mart, you know, that big national chain store?” If it were so big and national, the other character would already know this information! One of the best ways to drop exposition is in an argument. You can then exaggerate and bring out information a character might already be expected to know by using it as a weapon. And for simple exposition, try billboards, newspapers, answering machines, photos on mantles, two people talking about a third, and any other technique that doesn’t hit the audience over the head or smack of cliché.

Trick 8

Don’t preach

You should have a message, but don’t present it as a one-sided statement. Rather, show both sides. If you are interested in passing judgment on Greed, also show Generosity. Never put them both in the same scene side by side, but make sure the audience gets to see how well each side does on its own in at least once scene each per act. In the end, the audience will sum up all the instances in which they saw how each side performed, and will draw their own conclusions (that you have craftily led them to).

Trick 9

Give your Main Character a personal issue as well as a goal to accomplish

A story with nothing more than a logistic quest, while perhaps thrilling, is heartless. Your Main Character should grapple with an issue that pressures him or her to consider changing their mind, attitude, or nature in some way, large or small. And don’t just present the personal problem and then resolve it at the end. Unless you argue it (usually through another character who is philosophically or morally opposed to the Main Character’s view) the ultimate change or growth of your Main Character will seem tacked on and contrived.

Trick 10

Characters don’t have to change to grow.

They can stick to their guns and grow in their resolve. There are two types of characters, those who change their natures (or minds) in regard to some issue, and those who stick it out and hold on to their views. The obstacles in a story drive a character to the point of change, but whether or not he or she will change is the issue, after all. Sometimes they should change and don’t. Other times they shouldn’t and do. Each of these presents a different message, and is less overused than the character who should change and does, or shouldn’t and doesn’t.

Write your screenplay step by step…