I’m sure we all know this phrase, and many writers and screenwriters talk about small details that distinguish characters from one another and make them unique, one of a kind, memorable and most importantly, authentic. Giving the characters small details will make them come to life. The characters that have minor quirks are automatically much…
How to Create Compelling Characters?
I hate when someone tells me that the characters, which I created aren’t compelling without giving me any specifics in which way they aren’t compelling, or not offering any words of wisdom that would help me turn things around for my protagonists. Such useless feedback is just garbage that confuses writers, shakes their confidence, and…
Can Your Story Surprise and Be Inevitable at the Same Time?
How many times have you seen a film and could easily predict what was going to happen next? The plot was unsurprising, the characters unoriginal, and it felt like you’ve seen that story many times over. Of course, no one wants to write predictable stories with flat characters, but sometimes the pressure from other people…
When The Story Takes Over
I wasn’t planning to write about exploring new story ideas this week, but since I keep preaching about being flexible with life, spending and, of course, creativity, flexibility should also apply to me. So, in the spirit of flexibility, I’m here to report that this week something pretty exciting happened. I haven’t been in the…
What Is the Theme of Your Story?
The protagonists’ stakes and obstacles give the audience the reasons to care for the story and the hero, while the theme depicts what the story is really about. In screenwriting, the theme adds another dimension to the stor As a filmmaker/writer, you don’t need to explain your theme to your audience. However, the story’s theme…
Until There Is Drama, There Is No Film
For the story to work dramatically, all the screenplay elements (stakes, external antagonist or obstacles, intimate opponent, actions the characters take or avoid taking) need to be visible for the audience from the start of the film. The only storytelling element that can be slightly delayed is the hook. But the hook still shouldn’t be…
Logical Characters Aren’t Dramatically Interesting
We all know that our protagonist needs to have an antagonist and/or obstacles to take action and reach the goals they set themselves to achieve. However, since life and real people are complicated, fictional characters shouldn’t be much different. In real life, we often stop ourselves from following and reaching our dreams and goals. Something…
Does Your Hero Need an Intimate Opponent?
In some stories, facing the external antagonist or an obstacle (we covered this subject here) isn’t going to work for the hero. If that is the case, your protagonist may need an intimate opponent. An intimate opponent is someone close to the main character, someone, the protagonist may even consider a friend or an ally,…
Let’s Talk About Theatrical Distribution Window!
Recently James Murdoch said that theatrical window “is gone for good”. If it’s true, what that means for us, indie filmmakers and content creators, who rely on video/film as part of our creative work? Well, this is what I think will happen: Film/video distribution will become more democratised and having films screen only in theatres…
What Is at Stake for Your Character?
If the character in your story doesn’t want anything, doesn’t have any goals, and not much is at stake for them for not reaching those goals, you’re risking that your story will feel flat and forced. If the stakes aren’t high enough (something to motivate, push your character to take decisive action to reach their…