IN THIS ISSUE• Spring Classes – Register Now! |
Spring Classes – Register Now!
SCREENWRITING FUNDAMENTALS MASTER CLASS ONLINE CLASS VIA SKYPE GROUP VIDEO PRIVATE SCRIPT CONSULTATION & INSTRUCTION FLAT RATE SCRIPT CONSULTATION TO REGISTER |
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Screenwriting Tip: Flaw = StoryIn life, we all have strengths and weaknesses. Well-developed fictional characters should have both, too. And your protagonist should have one weakness in particular – one specific personal flaw – that she is going to have to come up against before the end of your story. The protagonist’s flaw isn’t something like a mustache or a Southern accent that you can tack onto your script as an afterthought. The protagonist’s flaw is the story. This flaw and how your protagonist deals with it is actually what your story is secretly about. You could say that The Wizard of Oz is about a Kansas farm girl who wakes up in the Land of Oz and, to get back home, she has to follow a road through scary places so she can talk to a wizard she’s told can help her. But it turns out that she alone has the power to bring herself home, which she does by proclaiming “there’s no place like home.” That’s the plot. But what The Wizard of Oz is really about is a girl who wants to run away from home so she can escape her troubles instead of facing them. When she wakes up in a land far away, she finds she has all new problems that are even scarier than the ones she was trying to escape. When she finally is able to return home, she is so relieved to be back that she promises that she’ll never look for excitement further than her own backyard, because somewhere new won’t take away your problems; it’ll just make them worse. That’s the story. When you think about it, so very many movie plots revolve around a physical journey. It’s a great metaphor to use because, at the heart of it, every great story shows us an emotional journey. But if you don’t give your protagonist a real flaw to tackle, you’re giving her no place to go. |
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UT Press Publishing Jill’s Book!The Screenplay Workshop Director Jill Chamberlain has signed a contract with the University of Texas Press to write a book on her acclaimed Nutshell Technique! The Nutshell Technique is the screenplay structuring method that Jill created and is the cornerstone of The Screenplay Workshop’s curriculum. No, you can’t order your advance copy on Amazon yet. It’s not coming out until 2015 (and she’s got to actually finish writing it first…) But we’ll announce it when it’s available. |
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Alumni NewsKat Candler‘s feature film Hellion premiered at Sundance, and it looks like the screenings were a resounding success! Her film, which stars Juliette Lewis and Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul, got lots of exciting press coverage such as this great video by the Hollywood Reporter and this video in the Austin Chronicle showing the cast and crew at the premiere. And you can see her film for yourself when it screens at SXSW; here’s that schedule information. Don Fried‘s script Senior Moments has been optioned by Eden Rock Media. Jana Augsberger and Katja Emcke will produce. You can read more about the deal on Deadline. And another of Don’s scripts, Getting Betta, made the semi-finals in two different competitions, Screenplay Goldmine and Filmmakers International Screenwriting Awards. Congrats, Don! Andy Olson‘s script The Bubblegum Killer is a quarter-finalist for BlueCat Screenplay Competition, which means it was scored in approximately the top 5% of over 4000 entries. Semi-finalists will be announced in March. Way to go, Andy! Have you “liked” The Screenplay Workshop’s Facebook page yet? Do so by clicking here and you’ll get automatic program updates in your News Feed. The Screenplay Workshop is on Twitter as @jillchamberlain. To follow The Screenplay Workshop on Twitter, you need to follow @jillchamberlain. Alumni: be sure to email us about your news. We love to hear from you! Email news@thescreenplayworkshop.org. |
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