Horror Screenplay Update: He likes making new friends…
Published by on February 17th, 2006
That’s the theme of the creepy goings-on in my little world of horror right now.
After an epic writing session on Wednesday (which took so much out of me I couldn’t even blog about it until now - OK, so I forgot), the structure of the opening scenes, probably the first 30 mins or so, are established, the central characters and their conflicts are set up and all is steadily heading its way to death, destruction and severed limbs of all kinds.
Now comes the tough bit. I know the ending. Well, I know more than one ending, though they are all similarly plotted so at least I know how to get there. The establishment and build to that crucial point of no return, the beginning of Act 2 (for three act aficionados out there), the Commitment (Act 4 of a Nine Act structure) or Crossing the Threshold (if you are into the 12 Steps of Mythic Story structure).
If you are not into screenwriting then I suspect you’ve just grasped a molecule or two of the most important element of a screenplay (after characterisation, dialogue and plentiful coffee of course) and that’s structure. And there are about as many story and screenplay structure theories out there as there are so-called screenplay theorists desperately trying to say something slightly different to the rest.
For me, structure is critical. It helps by forming a skeletal foundation within which the writer can work with some knowledge of how the plot will be accepted, or otherwise, by an audience. Structure is most critical in TV writing, in particular working the story around ad breaks - then it gets on Sky 1 and they insist on breaking the story into more ad breaks than it was designed to handle.
Having not written much for a few years, I had to go back and re-read some stuff to jog my memory. One of the more interesting articles refers to the Nine-Act movie structure and in particular the Two-Goal Structure (yes, structure within structure within…). A Two-Goal plot sends the protagonist on one, often ultimately fruitless, quest only to throw them the old switcheroo and send him off the real goal mid-movie. It keeps things interesting.
One fact cannot be denied, “Over 190 of the top-200 money-making films of all time have two-goal plots. Steven Spielberg hasn’t made a single-goal film in twelve years.” Nuff said. Movies are about people sitting down and watching them. Write some art-house conceptual piece that only five people and their hamsters are interested in seeing and you miss the point entirely. Of course things are never quite that simple. Have a stunning Two-Goal plot and stick transparent, one-dimensional characters in there who only talk about beer and footie and you’ve not exactly got a box office hit, no matter how many Hollywood A-Listers you persuade to take their kit off.
So how does this relate to my
Well, I am working to a nine-act structure overall. Acts 0-4 are planned out in some detail, act 6 (that classic lowest ebb for the protagonist) is established (if not written), and act 8 at the end is solidifying. So that’s the easy bit done. It’s now the middle of the movie which has to be worked out. You know, that often slow moving and uninteresting bit between the buildup and the payoff. Get this wrong and people are asleep before you get to the end.
I’ve decided to keep away from the project entirely for a few days - lots of other work to catch up on anyway - while my subconscious works away at this central plotting challenge. I have a number of personal and global conflicts between characters to resolve, although the easy way out is just to have them killed off in some gruesome manner. That usually solves most conflicts, at least for them! The problem with a classic horror story structure is it really is just a matter of surviving ever increasing threats to existence. I want the characters to stand up in amongst all their experiences, good, believable characters who would be interesting regardless of whether they were having a limb sawn off by a crazed psycho florist or sipping coffee with a chum in Starbucks. Critically, I have to work out precisely where, when and how to make the final reveal of the main antagonist (nasty guy - who is also still in need of some backstory development), and I have to keep the pace building in steady incremental steps to the peak of tension near the end of Act 7. After that it’s just the easy bit of writing dialogue… doddle*.
The most important thing for me at this stage is despite the tight deadline and lots of other work on, the possibility of completing a feature (that’s 90-120 page) screenplay by mid March seems a reality. It is going to be a tough challenge, but hey, who needs sleep!
* No, it’s bloody-well not!
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One Response to “Horror Screenplay Update: He likes making new friends…”
February 17th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
I’ll keep the coffee flowing!