Write the Damn Thing!
DAY 23
It’s a new day, time for a new post!
So yesterday we talked about defeats and loses. I hope you guys are having fun destroying your main character’s life. Remember, you can never be too evil. The eviler the better.
Tomorrow we’ll start writing our 4th and final act. So let’s use these pages to hook the audience once again. Let’s kick them where it hurts… that way they won’t change the channel in the upcoming commercial break.
Let’s get to it.
Key aspect of screenwriting: Lowest Point.
So your hero has run out of ideas. The defeats have been too great. Anyone would give up now… and so will your hero.
You might recognize this step in many movies — or TV shows — just by the way it looks. Imagine your hero walking down the street, rain is pouring down, a car passes by and sprays water onto him… he keeps on walking like nothing. Sad.
The thing we’ve been fearing all along has happened. Now, how is your hero going to react?
In a romantic film here is when the 2 main characters break-up for good. “I’m never going to find love again.” They think. They give up.
In Disney movies, we get clear-cut moments like this. When the soldiers discover that Mulan is a girl. Or in Zootopia, when Judy messes up her relationship with Nick and ends up going back home. In Inside Out, Joy sees how all of Riley’s memories are being erased, she might be next. Riley runs away from home.
This defeat gives our hero a second to reflect. Maybe something coming out of the ‘b-story’ will help our hero gain back some strength? We’ll see.
Stay tuned for more ramblings on screenwriting.
Day 23 task:
Finish writing Act 3. You Should be 2 or 3 pages short. Tomorrow we’ll start our 4th and final Act. Everything has been building up to this. Let’s make it count.
See you tomorrow!
Happy writing :)
Yesterday’s post is somewhere around here.
