I like the way you articulate this because discovering story becomes a bottom up process where things like structure and character arc emerge from intuition.
The student stuck for two years who found her structure in ninety minutes isn't really a story about a faster method. I's a story about what she'd been missing the whole time. She knew the plot points. She'd lost the emotional journey that made her want to write it in the first place. INPO didn't just organize her beats; it reconnected her to why she cared.
This is actually how I'm finding the order and structure of a non-fiction book I am writing, so I think it has applications beyond just screenwriting. :)
This is exactly how I approach my scripts. I've also recently started adding a pass with "What's the worst thing my characters could do in this moment? What's the weakest thing they could do? What's the strongest/best thing they could do?". It's another way to let the characters react to each other and find the script's voice.
Beard Cinema Galaxy is my substack. I write film screenplays and stage musicals. If interested in reading weeky content (10 page episodes that drop every Friday at 9 am) then please feel free to join my site. Our current script is AROUND THE WORLD about a reality TV crew and their adventures as they film in countries arounf the globe.
Great article. Writing a good script simply means first you write a good scene. Any scene anywhere in the script. The order of what scene goes where is ultimately where a good director comes in. So just write a terrific scene. And then let that scene imagine itself onto another scene.
Sooooooooo interesting. 1) Thank you for putting it all in one document for us. This is a lot of work and you’re giving it away for free and that’s incredible and RARE. Most readers don’t realize how much work it is for us to explain something like this clearly to people who haven’t been in rooms yet.
And b) I do a weird mixture of this! I’m a 1/2 hour writer, mostly multi, and I am fully convinced of the Chuck Lorre method which I was lucky enough to learn. What *could* happen next. We come up with a bunch of natural, realistic options but with a comedic bent, of course. If you’re a good storyteller, you’ll build that story and act breaks will happen naturally. So I think I do “brick by brick” but also what could happen next? We all do it kinda the same and kinda different. Love this insight into your process and Sork’s! Thank you!
Yes! I think of it as "what do i actually want to write now?" Who cares what logically would happen, I want a new scene where the characters do XYZ.
I just watched Twinless yesterday, and I think it's a good example of this, too. We have the drama and the twist and the dramatic irony. Now just show great scenes, and the emotional journey takes precedence over 'what happens next.'
I had a writing residency this summer where I was finally able to have some dedicated time to work on my new play. For the last two years I have collected dialogue and ideas about this story and when I got to my residency, I was writing just everything out - focusing and so many new things were coming to me because I was thinking about all the possibilities. Thanks for this, Dara! It was both validating on my process and I am excited to continue thinking about all the possibilities. 💜
This is why I hand write so much in the beginning…. There is no ability to erase or re-order easily— you just generate as many possibilities as you can and then, upon reflection, the order starts to just kinda… fall into place.
Wait! This articulates a thing I have been doing for years without knowing there was any method at all to my madness! Wow! VINDICATED!!
Love this!
Wow. So good.
When I was in college, fellow acting majors would say: “but my character wouldn’t do THAT”
and the thoughtful professor would say:
But what if they did?
I like the way you articulate this because discovering story becomes a bottom up process where things like structure and character arc emerge from intuition.
Yes, as opposed to retrofitting one way or the other!
The student stuck for two years who found her structure in ninety minutes isn't really a story about a faster method. I's a story about what she'd been missing the whole time. She knew the plot points. She'd lost the emotional journey that made her want to write it in the first place. INPO didn't just organize her beats; it reconnected her to why she cared.
This is actually how I'm finding the order and structure of a non-fiction book I am writing, so I think it has applications beyond just screenwriting. :)
This is exactly how I approach my scripts. I've also recently started adding a pass with "What's the worst thing my characters could do in this moment? What's the weakest thing they could do? What's the strongest/best thing they could do?". It's another way to let the characters react to each other and find the script's voice.
so valuable, thank you
Love this (less rigid) approach to structure!
Beard Cinema Galaxy is my substack. I write film screenplays and stage musicals. If interested in reading weeky content (10 page episodes that drop every Friday at 9 am) then please feel free to join my site. Our current script is AROUND THE WORLD about a reality TV crew and their adventures as they film in countries arounf the globe.
Nice article. This is the sort of article I came to successful for. Thank you!
Came to *substack for...
Great article. Writing a good script simply means first you write a good scene. Any scene anywhere in the script. The order of what scene goes where is ultimately where a good director comes in. So just write a terrific scene. And then let that scene imagine itself onto another scene.
Sooooooooo interesting. 1) Thank you for putting it all in one document for us. This is a lot of work and you’re giving it away for free and that’s incredible and RARE. Most readers don’t realize how much work it is for us to explain something like this clearly to people who haven’t been in rooms yet.
And b) I do a weird mixture of this! I’m a 1/2 hour writer, mostly multi, and I am fully convinced of the Chuck Lorre method which I was lucky enough to learn. What *could* happen next. We come up with a bunch of natural, realistic options but with a comedic bent, of course. If you’re a good storyteller, you’ll build that story and act breaks will happen naturally. So I think I do “brick by brick” but also what could happen next? We all do it kinda the same and kinda different. Love this insight into your process and Sork’s! Thank you!
Yes! I think of it as "what do i actually want to write now?" Who cares what logically would happen, I want a new scene where the characters do XYZ.
I just watched Twinless yesterday, and I think it's a good example of this, too. We have the drama and the twist and the dramatic irony. Now just show great scenes, and the emotional journey takes precedence over 'what happens next.'
YESSSS!!!
I had a writing residency this summer where I was finally able to have some dedicated time to work on my new play. For the last two years I have collected dialogue and ideas about this story and when I got to my residency, I was writing just everything out - focusing and so many new things were coming to me because I was thinking about all the possibilities. Thanks for this, Dara! It was both validating on my process and I am excited to continue thinking about all the possibilities. 💜
This is why I hand write so much in the beginning…. There is no ability to erase or re-order easily— you just generate as many possibilities as you can and then, upon reflection, the order starts to just kinda… fall into place.
This is gold!