Approaching Character: The Circle of Being
by Syd Field
Henry James, the great American novelist, in an essay entitled The Art of Fiction, asks a rhetorical question about the nature of character: “What is character,” he writes, “but the determination of incident. And what is incident but the illumination of character.” The key word of course, is […]
A Nineteenth-Century Guide to Screenwriting
by Michael Halperin
Victorians’ Secrets: A Nineteenth-Century Guide to Screenwriting, or How the Victorians Invented the Screenplay
It may seem peculiar in the 21st century to discuss screenwriting in the same breath as anything that had to do with the 19th century. What does one have to do with the other? After […]
Why Story Structure is the Key to Success
by John Truby
There is a system of thought known as the As-If Philosophy. In a nutshell, the As-If Philosophy says: We know we will die, but we act “as if” we will live forever. The ironic result is that our lives are not nearly as fulfilling as they could be. […]
The Five S’s of Screenwriting
by Kate Wright
Working with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jason Miller and the legendary Tennessee Williams offered me a tremendous entrée into the magical world of storytelling. As American icons, their extraordinary talent inspired the world; and as screenwriters, their remarkable ability to work through the visceral process of storytelling taught me […]
Plot Depth through Thematic Significance
by Martha Alderson, M.A.
Plot involves at least three primary threads: Dramatic Action, Character Emotional Development, and Thematic Significance.
Of these three elements, writers are equally divided between those who begin a project by concentrating on the Dramatic Action and those who begin with Character Emotional Development.
Dramatic Action writers tend to […]
Writing for Editing
by Gael Chandler
“The humbling truth is that the film is made in the editing room.”
-David Mamet introducing the nominations for editing during the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony
Editors are often called the last re-writers of the show. Another way to put this is that the editor is the architect of the […]
Techniques to Establish Pacing
by Gerry Visco
Pacing, as it applies to fiction, could be described as the manipulation of time. Though pacing is often overlooked and misunderstood by beginning writers, it is one of the key craft elements a writer must master to produce good fiction. Best-selling author Elmore Leonard recommends simply ‘cutting out […]
The Essence of Story
by James Bonnet
What is the essence, or heart and soul, of a great story? There are seven critical elements: the change of fortune, the problem of the story, the complications, crisis, climax and resolution of the classical structure, and the threat, which is by far the most important. In this […]
8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life
by Noah T. Lukeman
‘The moment comes when a character does or says something you hadn’t thought about. At that moment he’s alive and you leave it to him.’
–Graham Greene
Plot does not magically appear with the creation of a character; Frankenstein’s monster might open his eyes, but until he gets up […]
The Lost Language of Story
by Chris Soth
Acts or Reels?
If you’re like me, from your genesis as a screenwriter, from the very first screenwriting book you read, you were exposed to three-act structure – or from your first playwriting book, if you come from the theater. And if you’re even more like me, you felt […]
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