Friday, December 14, 2018

Tips; Advice About Writing Your Scene: Setting the Stage

Every dramatic story is a quest of some kind:

  • A character wants something and must get it (goal)
  • Protagonists (major characters) have a goal:
    • Scene objective (short term goal)
    • Story objective (long term goal)
  • 3 basic principles of dramatic action:
    • What a character wants
    • Why the character wants it
    • What or who is keeping the character from getting what he/she wants
  • Ask:
    • Who is your character (protagonist)?
    • Where is the story set (setting includes time, place, season…)?
    • What is the situation here and now?
    • What is the situation outside the scope of the setting (society)?
    • How does the character (protagonist) feel about the situation?
    • What does the author (you) feel about the situation?
    • What are characters thinking about? [try to connect thoughts to actions…]
    • What does the character want from another character (or society)?
    • Why does the character want that? What is at stake for the character? (motivation)
    • What is the problem? (conflict)
    • How might the problem be solved? (conflict)
    • How will the past influence what’s happening now? How does the outside world impact what is happening now? (backstory)
    • What will happen? (plot)

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