Story & Structure

In late 2009 I wrote an essay for Lumina, called Make our Myths. This essay argued that the purpose of Australian feature film production is not to tell our own stories. The purpose of our feature film production is to make our myths. by Karen Pearlman The essay went off like a firecracker, with excerpts … Read more

Blake Snyder describes it thus: “The Covenant of the Arc is the screenwriting law that says: Every single character in your movie must change in the course of your story. The only characters who don’t change are the bad guys. But the hero and his friends change a lot.” (“Save the Cat” 2005 p134). This is a … Read more

I am not an expert by any means. But this I learned behind the scenes: There are seven rules you should muster, for you to write a tentpole blockbuster. . 1. Rule number one, is a controversial nail. Your hero must be male. It’s because his motivations are primal and plain, we make his journey … Read more

In a new regular series on The Story Department, Jack Brislee will shatter all the screenwriting principles we have so strongly advocated. First he introduces us to the rule, then explains how it has been successfully broken (or bent). The Rule: Introduce the Protagonist on Page One! Well, maybe not exactly on page one, but … Read more

In the long-form drama world of episodic and serialized television it is not the writer-director moniker that holds sway as top dog. It is the Showrunner – a curious title that embodies a diverse array of responsibilities. LA Times columnist Scott Collins writes about Showrunners as; “Hyphenates,” a curious hybrid of starry-eyed artists and tough-as-nails … Read more