Evolution of a Screenwriter

Do you remember when you first decided to become a screenwriter? I can. I saw Birth of a Nation during its first release back in….

No, not really… I’m old, but NOT that old! No, I first fell for screenwriting when I took an Introduction to Screenwriting class at the local community college back in ‘02. 2002, not 1902.

I had a passion for writing fiction – even had some short stories published – and I had taken all of the fiction writing classes at Wake Tech and the only writing class available was, tada! Introduction to Screenwriting. The goal of the class was to complete an Act I first draft and the rest, as they say, is history.

From there it was just a matter of consuming every screenwriting book I could find, read tons of screenplays, etc. My writing philosophy was strictly Sid Field – three act structure, plot points, mid-points by the numbers, by the page, ad nauseam. Slowly I discovered other screenwriting gurus: Mckee’s Story – devoured that book several times; ran across Jeff Schechter’s Four Act Structure; Hal Ackerman’s Write Screenplays That Sell: The Ackerman Way; Inside Story by Dara Marks – loved it. And last, but not least, Unk over at The Unknown Screenwriter. You get the idea….

No longer am I an old school three act kind of guy. Now I plan my screenplay as Four Acts:

• ACT I: (Orphan, Loner, Disunity) – The protagonist finds herself in a new situation that leaves her alone, orphaned — sometimes physically, sometimes psychologically—and surrounded by chaos/disunity.
• ACT II: (Wanderer, Explorer, Deconstruction) – The protagonist wanders / explores / deconstructs her new world learning the rules of this new world from mentors, friends and, yes, even her enemies.
• ACT III: (Warrior, Activist, Reconstruction) – The protagonist now knows how to fight the opposition, becomes more active in trying to reconstruct her world.
• ACT IV: (Martyr, Death, Unity) – The protagonist dies – metaphorically – she has martyred her old self in order to bring unity back to her world and in the process – hopefully – is reborn a better person.

When the first draft is complete I print out my screenplay in ten (10) page sequences, then edit/rewrite each sequence with the intention of ending each sequence with a cliff hanger and/or transition into the next sequence.

Put the whole thing back together and make another pass concentrating on character, action description, and plot. Now I should have a screenplay I won’t be embarrassed to show to other screenwriting friends and/or send out to story analysts.

This is where I am today – in the months ahead I may be somewhere else, hopefully as a better writer. Let me know how you do it – we can all learn from one another.

Keep Writing!