· ASSIGNMENTS: 1. Make two blank structure grids, one for the movie you have chosen from your master list to analyze, and one for your WIP. You can just do a structure grid on a piece of paper for the movie you’ve chosen to analyze, but also do a large corkboard or cardboard structure grid for your WIP. You can fill out one structure grid while you

· ASSIGNMENT : Choose a protagonist you particularly respond to, and watch that film or read that book making note of the specific techniques the storyteller uses to bring that character to life.

· Mysterious Stranger or Traveling Angel (Mary Poppins, Shane, the Reacher books, Nanny McPhee, KPAX) · Three Brothers (The Godfather, The Deerhunter, Mystic River) · Reluctant Witness (Witness, Conspiracy Theory, Someone to Watch Over Me) · Wartime Romance (Casablanca, From Here to Eternity, Gone with the Wind) · High School Sleuth (Brick, Twiligh

· Rashomon (Rashomon) · Redemption (Groundhog Day, Jaws, Tootsie) · Hero Falls (Chinatown, The Godfather, The Shining) · Alternate Reality (It’s a Wonderful Life, Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, The Post-Birthday World). A variation of this is “The Road Not Taken” story (Sliding Doors, Family Man) · Chase/On the Run (The Fugitive, Thelma And Lou

ASSIGNMENT: As a writer, it’s important for you to know yourself and understand what works best for you. So I urge you to spend some time pondering, and writing on this question: are you a plotter or pantser? What are your process quirks?

Once you know the kind of story you’re writing, you can look at examples of that particular story pattern and get a sense of the structural elements and tricks common to that story pattern — the key scenes a reader wants and expects to see in these stories.

· Alien Attack (Signs, The Day the World Ended, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) · Slasher (or Ten Little Indians, which was the play and film that started off that genre) · Changeling Child (Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, The Orphan, Harry Potter) · Man Against Nature (Jaws, Twister) · Fish Out of Water (The Proposal, New in Town) · Ensemble Myster

· ASSIGNMENT: Choose some movies (I always suggest three) from the Breakdowns section and watch one at a time, following along with my breakdowns, or even better, going act by act, stopping at the end of each act to identify the key story elements, and then comparing your notes and observations with mine. If that seems overwhelming, try this incred

· ASSIGNMENT: Write out premise lines for each story on your master list. · ASSIGNMENT: If you already have an idea for your book, also write a premise for your own Work In Progress (WIP). Try to include these story elements: protagonist, antagonist, conflict, stakes, setting, atmosphere, and genre.