#scriptwriting

[forsapphics]

(DOORBELL. Enter the LESBIANS.)

[rqbossman]

What makes a story a story?

I have been mulling something over for a while and have decided to share. As part of my job, I read a lot of fiction that's still in development. After a while, you start to see the same errors, misunderstandings and shortcuts crop up repeatedly with different creators and it gets me thinking what is the most elegant way possible I could explain the issues to someone wanting to improve? The one that comes up the most often and is the hardest to explain is: "Why don't people care about my characters and/or story". It's always a thorny problem and I think I have a workable answer that applies in most cases: A story is a series of revelations regarding compounding, unintentional consequences to character decisions. The further you stray from this, the less people care. It translates to: 1) characters have to make decisions otherwise there is no drama 2) Those decisions have to matter otherwise there are no stakes 2) The consequences have to interact with one another. A affects or causes B affects or causes C etc. otherwise there is no progression 3) There must be some unintended consequences otherwise there is no conflict 4) The consequences have to be revealed (even at least implied) otherwise there is no conclusion This works at the micro scale in terms of dialogue: The specific word/tone/movement a character uses affects how another character reacts in an unexpected or interesting way which in turn causes another reaction and these layer onto one another until a decision is reached and a consequence implied thereby completing the scene. It also works at the macro scale in terms of plot: The decisions characters made in a scene prompts/affects the characters and context of the scene that follows (even if we don't know it at first) and by the end those layered interactions have been revealed to us and we see the unexpected or interesting result.

In my anecdotal experience, most times people don't care about a work of fiction is not because of a technical issue with the execution but because the writer has subtly misunderstood what makes a story a story. Their main character doesn't make any decisions, the decisions don't seem to matter, it feels disjointed because consequences aren't layering, there's no conflict because there are no misunderstandings etc. There countless technical aspects which affect the quality of a piece of fiction but most times when someone asks me to help them make people care about their story they first need to realise they have misunderstood what actually makes a story at a fundamental level and they need to recognise that before things can improve. I dunno if this helps anyone. I hope it does. Sorry if it doesn't. If anyone wants to use this to assess their own work let me know what you discover, I'm genuinely curious.

[yosbin]

what the hell I watched the wgf x peter straughan script breakdown of conclave (2024), took notes, and made graphics of the script + screenshots so you didn't have to. have a visual guide.

[ietsmeteena]

Hi Byler fans, I have written something for you all. 💙💛

I am a neutral watcher of Stranger Things BUT I did feel like the connection between Mike and Will was very special, and season 5 (although was a BLAST) seemed to forget about these two. I understand the sadness for what “could have been.”

So! As a bittersweet I-see-you viewer of this show, I rewrote the one-on-one scène between Mike and Will in S5.

I want to say, I respect the original scène and think the writers are great at their jon, BUT this is a reminder that you can write your own story and believe whatever you want to believe.

[abootstrapparadox]

what you need to understand fundamentally about the doctor is that the doctor runs away from things. you must take this as a challenge to write the deepest and most devastating things. and then the doctor will run away from that too.

[aggressivewhenstartled]

“What’s the plan?”

Okay, I know I am late to the party in this one, but I have *finally* seen Heated Rivalry and it’s phenomenal and I have Thoughts.

One of my thoughts is about how different the same line is from different mouths.

FYI spoilers.

Ilya’s father has just died. The man was cruel and hard but Ilya couldn’t help loving him, and Ilya’s brother has been a lead weight Ilya can’t stop bleeding for. At the funeral, his brother corners him and asks him what his plan is now. Demands it. How are you going to take care of us now that dad is gone. It cuts Ilya down and is the final push to make him reject the role his family has for him.

Then in the last episode, Shane’s mom asks him the same thing. Whats the plan? But it’s *completely different*. She isn’t asking anything of him. She’s pivoting immediately to square up solid in his corner, ready to do whatever he needs. It’s so different. It’s the same line, both delivered from family after a shock, and it communicates so much more.

There isn’t a right way to love someone. There isn’t a right thing to say when they need you. It’s the context and the love and how you show it that matters, and the fact that this show and these actors managed to put so much into the simple, clean subtlety of the script that made the most throwaway lines stand out and show so much is just. This is just one detail in so much that shows the brilliance of everyone who worked on this.

So uh. Yeah.

If you haven’t yet, fucking watch Heated Rivalry. Jesus. This show is amazing. The acting is amazing. The CAMERAWORK, fuck. Well fucking done.

[realityrain]

𓂃⋆𓄯ྀི ̼̫ ˖ ✶ magical things to script ! ꕀ 🎹⋆࿐༄

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼i am very good at crafting potions, spells aswell as alchemy and chemistry

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ “supernatural search and rescue” basically when someone gos missing hiking or in a specifically supernatural area, they send these people in to investigate and solve cases better than regular people can 

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ there are many hidden supernatural communities of extreme variety almost everywhere

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ haunted hotels where kids get lost in portals to other worlds

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ national forests made to let beings keep their land

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ i can infuse belongs with my magic to track them or sense their presence in past events

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ different neighborhoods for different beings and their needs

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ magical schools hidden in between reality fabric for all kinds of students to learn and master their craft

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ farmer communities full of secret earth benders

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ my dreams can be used to tell me useful information and travel to different places / realms

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ governments “oblivious” to the activities at night

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ simple silly “folklore” classes in schools unknowingly just teaching history

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ rules on the craft to avoid exploitation

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ most people growing old with a magical companion

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ i can feel, read and even see peoples auras / “soul” and even get visions of most important events of their lives

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ arguments over magic techniques and their origins

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ seasons where magical activities are heightened and celebrated

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ supernatural black markets ???

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ library realms with endless amounts of knowledge

𓉳⫰ ⨳ ⧼ i can sense most types of magic forms and energy

[neitherlore]

after two weeks of not writing anything I just hallucinated and woke up to a full 10 page script in one sitting…I…how…

I will learn nothing about the value of rest and will simply assume my next bout of writers block is a supreme moral failing. ta!