Blueprint for Screenwriting: A Complete Writer's Guide to Story Structure and Character Development

179 Pages·2004·8.13 MB·English

by  Rachel Ballon

Blueprint for
Screenwriting
A Complete Writer's Guide
to Story Structure and
Character Development
This page intentionally left blank
Blueprint for
Screenwriting
A Complete Writer's Guide
to Story Structure
and Character Development
Rachel Ballon, PhD
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
Mahwah, New Jersey London
Copyright © 2005 by Rachel Ballon, PhD.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any
other means, without prior written permission of the pub-
lisher or Rachel Ballon.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
10 Industrial Avenue
Mahwah, New Jersey 07430
Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ballon, Rachel Friedman. Blueprint for screenwriting : a writer's
guide to creativity, craft, and career / Rachel Ballon.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Blueprint for writing. c1994.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-4922-X (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8058-4923-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Motion picture authorship. I. Ballon, Rachel Friedman.
Blueprint for writing. II. Title.
PN1996.B37 2004
808.2'3—dc22 2004046929
CIP
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-
free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
Contents
Preface: Blueprint for Screenwriting vii
Chapter 1 Creativity: Your Blueprint for Ideas 1
Chapter 2 Building Your Story 11
Chapter 3 Constructing Your Blueprint: Laying Down 2O
the Framework
Chapter 4 Story Structure: The Screenplay's 31
Foundation
Chapter 5 The Main Character 39
Chapter 6 Characters and Conflict 49
Chapter 7 Creating the Character's Emotional Arc: 58
The Heart of the Story
Chapter 8 The Psychology of Characters 67
v
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 9 Structuring Scenes and Acts 77
Chapter 1O The Outline, the Treatment, The Synopsis 88
Chapter 11 Script Format 96
Chapter 12 Dialogue 1O6
Chapter 13 Subtext 114
Chapter 14 Writing From Your Inner Cast 124
of Characters
Chapter 15 Overcoming Writer's Block 136
Chapter 16 The Completed Screenplay 150
Afterword: How to Survive 153
the Writing Game
Index 167
Preface: Blueprint
for Screenwriting
"The inner shape of a man's life is what he writes from and about."
—Ross MacDonald
Blueprint for Screenwriting is designed for anyone who wants to write
a screenplay from beginning screenplay writers to professionals
writers. It is for you writers who want to have a blueprint to refer to
when you write your script, so you'll have the correct story structure
and extensive knowledge of character development.
If you complete the Blueprint for Screenwriting exercises given to
you at the end of each chapter you will master the craft of structur-
ing a story for films and television movies. Your blueprint will enable
you to take your original idea and work it through until you have a
completed screenplay, which will be professionally written and
structured. Your well-crafted screenplay will showcase your writing
ability and illustrate that you know how to structure your writing
and develop memorable characters.
Think of yourself as the architect of your screenplay. Just as an ar-
chitect first creates a blueprint before constructing a building, you,
vii
viii PREFACE
too, must create a blueprint before constructing your script. A blue-
print keeps you headed in the right direction, gives structure to your
story and allows you to master the step-by-step techniques neces-
sary for writing a successful script.
Most people have the mistaken notion that writing a screenplay
is easy, until they try to write one. They soon discover they don't
know what to do next and usually give up after realizing how diffi-
cult it really is. How many of you have tried to write a feature film
or television movie and failed? Did you get bogged down in the
middle, have trouble developing the right structure, or just didn't
know what to do? You probably got frustrated and quit, because
you didn't know where to go, how to get there and what to do next.
These problems happened because you didn't have a plan or a
blueprint to follow.
This book will act as your guide and show you how to develop the
right story structure before you start writing your screenplay. By
building your blueprint first, every time you start a screenplay it will
not be written by accident or chance, but through the knowledge of
craft you'll learn in this book.
I first began teaching screenplay writing workshops at UCLA ex-
tension in the Writer's Program over twenty years ago and also con-
ducted screenwriting seminars at the American Film Institute in
Los Angeles. Eventually, I became an adjunct Professor in the
highly-respected School of Cinema and Television at University of
Southern California, where I taught screenwriting and character
development to writing students in the film school.
Over the past two decades I've taught thousands of screenplay
writers throughout the United States and Europe how to create a
blueprint for screenwriting. These writing workshops were always
well attended and it was not surprising that so many people wanted
to learn the craft of screenwriting. The film and television industries
afford writers great financial opportunities that few other industries
offer. Where else can an unknown writer break in at the top by sell-
ing a million dollar script?
All it takes to make you an overnight success is just one exciting,
fabulous script. Sounds easy enough doesn't it? Well, it isn't! Like all
overnight successes you must first pay your dues by learning plot, di-
alogue, theme, narrative, exposition, visual imagery, sound, action,
PREFACE ix
and mastering the craft of story, with an emphasis on structure and
character development.
Of course, if you don't want to sell your script that's just fine—to
just write for your self. However, most writers who consulted with
me about their screenplay did so because they wanted to write the
best one possible, so that a producer or studio executive would turn
it into a motion picture. It wasn't just for the money, but because
they wanted to share their vision and point-of-view with audiences
throughout the world. So you see, it isn't mutually exclusive to want
to be commercial and to also want to write a great script. In fact, if
you don't write a terrific screenplay you won't sell it. In either case
you still want to write a great script.
Originally, I wrote this book for the thousands of writing students
taking my workshops and classes who wanted to refer to my lec-
tures. I self-published my classroom exercises in a book called Blue-
print For Writing to be used by writers as a helpful resource for them
to create a blueprint to follow when writing. In fact, I used it as the
text for my screenplay writing classes at USC Film School and other
universities.
My purpose for writing Blueprint For Screenwriting is to teach you
how to "demystify" the writing process. I want to give writers who
haven't taken my workshops the same tools I have given my stu-
dents: to develop a blueprint to follow every time you start a new
screenplay—from original concept through to completed script.
Many individuals who attend my workshops were people already
working in the industry. Some are screenplay writers, producers, as-
sistant directors, readers, development executives, actors, and edi-
tors. Why do all these people take writing courses in structure and
character development if they are already in the business? Surpris-
ingly enough, many of them don't know how to structure a script
and want to learn the basics of what it takes to create a great story
and develop realistic and memorable characters.
After following the principles in Blueprint for Screenwriting many
students have had their screenplays optioned or sold. Some have
gotten staff positions on situation comedies and hour episodic dra-
mas for television. Others have received writing assignments from
production companies and networks, after their screenplays were
read by story editors and producers. They received assignments be-