Exciting Coincidence?

“A strong inciting incident is an event that happens to the protagonist, never an action by the protagonist“, I said. Then I asked you for exceptions, i.e. strong Inciting Incidents that are actions by the protagonist. Now have a look at the first three responses I received: 1.) THELMA & LOUISE, 2.) PULP FICTION and … Read more

The Story Revolution

Nafa – Choctops Meeting: 18/2/08 (Report by John Haly, Thank you to Tony Chu) Karel -a Belgian producer and script consultant – founded OZZYWOOD Films and The Story Department (which is a unique Australian blog and online resource for screen story theory). Karel headed production and programming at London’s Digital Broadcasting Company and was a … Read more

How important are format and style?

The first step for many aspiring screenwriters is to purchase a piece of pricey screenwriting software. Some call it retail therapy. You are not a screenwriter until you have made that sacrifice, until you have invested money in your career, right? I call it a waste of $250. Your first draft should be a quick … Read more

The Three C’s of a Scene

Your primary focus is on story and less on writing scenes, sharp dialogue or gripping action. Inevitably, though, once figured out your characters and their journeys, you are down to the daunting task of writing that next draft. You will be writing at the scene level, and a slightly different set of rules comes into … Read more

Inciting Incident: Event, not Action.

When talking about story structure, many people talk about where exactly in the story the structural element needs to happen. Often this is expressed in terms of a page number, or even a percentage of the film’s total duration. I would prefer to leave such quantification aside for a moment and rather look into what … Read more