Save the Cat
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS
David Mamet • David Mamet Memo to "The Unit" Writing Staff
The KIND of story a story is does not always have anything to do with genre. Let me use a couple of recent movie examples to illustrate this. - What genre would you call Inception? Something like a sci-fi thriller, right? It’s futuristic; it uses dream technology; it has thriller elements and action. But what really drives Inception is that it’s a
... See moreAlexandra Sokoloff • Screenwriting Tricks for Authors (and Screenwriters!): STEALING HOLLYWOOD: Story Structure Secrets for Writing Your BEST Book
Not surprisingly, this is why scripts with murky goals result in a lot of boring scenes. Since the writer doesn’t know what the goal is, he’s unsure of which scenes are necessary to push the characters towards that goal.
Carson Reeves • Scriptshadow Secrets (500 Screenwriting Secrets Hidden Inside 50 Great Movies)
Try to have a beginning, middle and end in your key scenes (use of “threes,” like three acts), and end on a surprise.