WriteMovies Writing Tips – STORY, PLOT, NARRATIVE

by John | Jan 3, 2017

Think of your script like a house – it needs a structure and blueprints (narrative) which must be put in the right order (plot), before adding any furnishings (story).

Remember these are three different things! Plot points, inciting incidents, structure, storylines… so many different aspects for you to take into consideration for this, and all of these tips have beem taken from actual script consltancies for WriteMovies.

PLOT – “Plot is the writer’s choice of events and their design in time.” (McKee, 1999:43)

• Critical moments – the crucial component in delivering a memorable and compelling, critical moment –  that what happens has to be both plausible and inevitable, according to what we already know about both characters and the situation they are in
• Avoid developing your plot using coincidences or deus ex machina-esque plot devices – these are deeply unsatisfying.
• For example, if a character suffers from a sudden aneurysm, this might be authentic to real life, but the lack of connection it has to the plot does not gratify the audience. We like to feel that everything is connected
• Be careful when altering the pace of your script – if the plot has otherwise been full of energy and jeopardy, it would be somewhat unsatisfying to have a slow-paced and low-key ending.
• A distinctive and vibrant setting is almost pointless if it’s coupled with a familiar and predictable plot and vice versa.
• A script should explore all answers (or, at least 2 answers) to its central question. Otherwise, the script will feel like the writer is only giving their own (biased) opinion. For a discourse to be created, more than one side to an argument must be heard.

STORY – “A story is the embodiment of our ideas and passions in Edmund Husserl’s phrase the ‘objective correlative’ for the feelings and insights we wish to instill in the audience.” (McKee, 1999;66)

• Sometimes you may need to move further from an authentic source material in order to fulfill the potential of your script.
• The plot and the story you are telling is just as important as the theme you try to embed in it.
• Believability and authenticity within the diegesis is pivotal.
• Sometimes how you tell your story – with distinctive tones and images – is more important than what the story is telling.
• If you’ve got a love story to tell, introduce the love interest character subtly, or we may all recognize the whole future story arc in seconds.
• With true stories you must make a decision, to tell the story authentically or to adapt it to improve the storytelling potential.
• The story of your script can be strengthened if all of the main action points arise as a direct consequence of elements we’re already familiar with in the central plot.Unexpected jokes and set-pieces can propel the characters through the story.

Narrative  – The structuring of events that happen in the story, in a specific order. It’s the blueprints, the architecture, the recipe, for your script.

• Although following ‘the hero’s journey’ structure may be formulaic, it does mostly provide an excellent structure for the plot of your script.
• Your story can, more often than not, fit into the 3 Act Structure no matter how many acts it has. Having four acts (“1”-“2”-“3”-“4”) can be set up as “1”-“2″”3”-“4”, meaning Acts 2 and 3 can be viewed as a sole Act, Act 2.
• It’s been argued that 13 episode arcs work particularly well for television shows – with HANNIBAL exploiting that system, and George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire) has expressed he would have made GAME OF THRONES using the same structure…”With thirteen episodes, we could include smaller scenes that we had to cut, scenes that make the story deeper and richer.” – http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/game-of-thrones/30921/george-rr-martin-wants-13-episode-game-of-thrones-seasons
• The 13 episode arc in the 3 Act Structure would look like this – Act 1 = “1””2″”3″ Act 2 = “4””5″”6″”7″”8″”9″”10″ and Act 3 =”11″”12″”13″. This shows that Acts 1 and 3 have a 3 Act Structure for themselves, with Act 2 having two 3 Act Structures that could be utilized (episode 7, could and probably would serve as the season’s midpoint).

We’ll help perfect your narrative, plot, and story of your script with our consultancy packages, which you can order right HERE!

Got any writing tips to share? Tweet us at @WriteMovies using the hashtag #WrMWritingTips.