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

179 Pages·2004·8.13 MB·English
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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-

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