Introduction to Screenwriting

Hello again,
The first class of the new section of Intro to Screenwiting went really well. A lot of really bright, motivated students. I believe this will one the best classes yet. The first class is always the hardest one for me. Not only do you need to present the materials, but you need to establish a good relationship with the students. Much like a writer must present his story , but also establish a trust or relationship with the reader or audience.

With many movies the writers and director start out very well. They have interesting opening scene, likable characters and the plot flows along at a good pace. But some where near the end of the second act or into the third act something happens that makes the viewer feel a little cheated.

The problem can be a character suddenly acts totally out of character. Someone who through out the film acted intelligent, suddenly does something stupid. why did they act that way, because the writer couldn't figured out how to move the story forward unless the character did something stupid. I think that is laziness on the writers part.

Or when some one or some thing is introduced to solve the problem that was never set up in the begining of the story. Or when something is introduced early on in the story, but is never seen again in the rest of the story.

My point is don't get lazy in you story. Make your characters as smart as the people who pay to see that movie. Don't cut corners to make your story work. Plan the story out in advance and you will run into less problems later on. You will see the places in your story where you may need to come up with a clever way to move the plot along and not have to cheat to make your story work.

Keep writing!

Until next time...