Rebecca

Screenwriter, dog lover.

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

P.S. @MathxsFN - like the extra challenges and secrets.

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@Jalf_Map Your maps are always awesome. Thanks for taking time to create ✨️

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@Jalf_Map SephirothGirl1 has completed the deathrun! Cool map - challenging but not frustrating. Love the colours - very fresh! Room for me on the wall? 🤩

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@MathxsFN SephirothGirl1 has completed the deathrun! Nice map

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@Jessica_Locke_ It's my favourite part!

[Lisa Michelle Lutes @LisaLueyLutes]

@storyandplot While I do edit my work for a few drafts, I'm glad I went the route of writing 20 scripts instead of rewriting one or two to death. I learn something new with each one and still feel like I'm teetering on competent.

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

As you learn screenwriting:

- First, be bad. That’s where almost everyone starts.
- Then, get competent.
- Next, learn to be good. Most don't get here.
- After that, be consistently good. That’s what it is to be a pro.
- Do that, and you may even be brilliant once or twice.

This is a very normal order.

Trying to be brilliant before learning to be competent is more likely to generate self-doubt and frustration than good work.

Make it less about and more about the story. That is usually the fastest way to get where you want to go.

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@RWWFilm I'm plotting my feature, The Wreckers. It's a passion project which has been huge fun to research. Every day has been challenging in the best ways. It's made me remember why I love screenwriting so much.

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@klhicks912 When it's one I particularly love, yes. Some projects have an extra special something - those are the ones are where I'm a nervous wreck 😄

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@zeuez The cat looks very wise, so I believe them - congrats!

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@LeonThomasBraun @austinfilmfest Congratulations!

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@MWMuso Congratulations!!

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@scriptcat haha this image (and context) is great! A good reminder for us all.

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@KevinJHoward2 @austinfilmfest Awesome - congrats!

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@dani_hanks @austinfilmfest @Justineugene Congratulations! This is an awesome achievement

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@Stefan_Mani_ Absolutely! So much emotion...
My memory fails me on how they managed to launch the season but, I think the writer's had done some scripts (or outlines maybe?), before the strike, and so these became what the season was based around.

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

Like most writers, my early screenwriting was structured mostly around plot.

It didn't work.

It wasn't until I started structuring around the character's emotional journey that things changed.

This is one way I do that. 👇

I always want to simplify the process whenever possible.

The more we simplify, the more confident and decisive our decision-making.

So, with that in mind --

I try to identify the character's emotional and spiritual state of mind through each act and find the simplest way to describe that line of action.

A favorite example is DIE HARD, where John McClane spends Act 2A just trying to call the cops. That's it. Everything follows that line of action. There are action scenes, plot twists, and executions, but that is the basic throughline of that act.

John MacClane tries to contact the police.

That character's external want should track with the character's emotional journey.

Why? Because all character is:

1. What they want.
2. What they're willing to do to get it.

Which is illustrated through their CHOICES.

John McClane is still at the point where he wants, expects, and would rather rely on help.

When he finally does alert law enforcement, we hit the midpoint and the famous line, "Welcome to the party, pal!"

This is why the midpoint is so important. Not because it changes the stakes or the situation but because those changes change the character's direction.

Die Hard in the simplest of terms:

Act 1: He wants his wife to repent.
Act 2A: He wants to find help.
Act 2B: He needs to figure this out himself.
Act 3: He is the only one who can save his wife.

The character's emotional throughline drives the next action.

Another example is from a project I sold. Even though it's an action comedy, I modeled the basic structure after a revenge film.

Act 1: Orginal Sin.
Act 2A: On the Hunt.
Act 2B: Loss of Humanity
Act 3: Regains Humanity

The plot is underneath, of course, but this is the character's journey through the acts. An event at the end of each act forces a choice, and that choice initiates the shift to a new driving action.

The Avengers is ultimately a buddy movie with the "team" at the center.

Act 1: Assemble the team.
Act 2A: Fight amongst themselves.
Act 2B: Defeated because they are not unified.
Act 3: Victorious because they are.

Inside the throughlines are plot mechanics, tension, and great scenes, but the goal is to have the emotional journey dictate the driving action and describe it in the simplest of terms so you can let it guide your decisions as the storyteller.

Mote: while four throughlines are the most common, you're not limited to four. GROUNDHOG DAY has eight shifts in the character; one with each sequence.

Sequence 1. He's a jerk.
Sequence 2. Confusion
Sequence 3. Fear and desperation.
Sequence 4. Exploits his power.
Sequence 5. Depressed and suicidal.
Sequence 6. Uses his power for good.
Sequence 7. Finds true humility.
Sequence 8. Lives the perfect day.

My writing grew exponentially when I stopped seeing stories as plot mechanics and more as character journeys with simple driving actions that carry great scenes and sequences.

Like anything, this tactic works better for some projects and less for others, but if it works, I embrace it.

I am always looking for big choices that narrow my later choices.

This may sound counter-productive, but it's infinite choices that freeze you up!

The more you can shrink the pool of possible choices that help your story, the better.

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

THAT'S A WRAP FOR THIS POST!

I hope this helps a little. If you enjoyed this post and are interested in screenwriting:

1. Follow me @storyandplot for more of these.
2. Repost to share it. Just one click!

[Katie Klein 🦋 ✨ @katiekleinbooks]

To encourage your protagonist to accept their mission, either every excuse not to needs to be stripped away, or the stakes so high they can’t be ignored.

#amwriting #writingcommunity #writingtips #WIP #screenwriting

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@katiekleinbooks I like the way you phrased this 🤔

[Rebecca @grayscripts1]

@screencrafting Absolutely!