MOD1 INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTWRITING

Story

An account of incidents or events.

Story

A statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question.

Story

Anecdote especially an amusing one.

Story

A fictional narrative shorter than a novel specifically: short story; intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work

Story

is a means of transferring information, experience, attitude or point of view.

Story

has a teller and a listener.

Story

No matter the medium, there must be the one telling the story and the one receiving the story.

Short Story

is a brief work of fiction where, usually, the main character faces a conflict that is worked out in the plot of the story.

Characteristics of a Short Story

A short story contains only one major character, plot, setting, and theme.

Short Story

usually focuses on a single conflict, character or emotional effect.

Setting

The __________ of a story is where and when it takes place.

Setting

involves both time period and geographic region, as well as individual locations within that region.

Setting

serves as the backdrop to everything that happens in a story, and often contributes significantly to its atmosphere.

Temporal Setting

the era in which the story takes place.

Environmental setting

the larger geographic area.

Individual setting

specific places within that area.

Character

A person or animal or really anything personified.

Character

There can be one main character or many, and often there are secondary characters, but not always.

Round

fully developed, has many different character traits

Flat

stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits

Static

Does not change

Dynamic

Changes as a result of the story's events

Characterization

It is, how the author develops the characters, especially the main character.

Characterization

This is done through:

• what the character does or says

• what others say of and to the character

• author’s word choice in descriptive passages

Direct Characterization

The author directly states what the character’s personality is like.

Example: cruel, kind

Indirect Characterization

Showing a character’s personality through his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, appearance or other character’s observations or reactions.

Protagonist

Main character of the story that changes – (death is not a change).

Protagonist

the most important character

Protagonist

changes and grows because of experiences in the story

Antagonist

A major character who opposes the protagonist

Antagonist

the _____________ does not change

Antagonist

Types of antagonists:

• people

• nature

• society

Conflict

• Every story must have a conflict, i.e., a challenge or problem around which the story is based.

• Without conflict, the story will have no purpose or trajectory.

• A struggle between two opposing forces

Internal

takes place in a character’s own mind.

(Man vs. Him(Her)self).

External

a character struggles against an outside force '

(Man vs. Nature Man vs. technology, progress Man vs. Society Man vs. Supernatural)

Theme

• The central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work.

• Idea, belief, moral, lesson or insight. It’s the central argument that the author is trying to make the reader understand.

• The theme is the “why” of the story

Tone

• The overall emotional “tone” or meaning of the story. Is it happy, funny, sad, depressed?

• Tone can be portrayed in multiple ways, through word and grammar choices, choice of theme, imagery and description, symbolism, and the sounds of the words in combination (i.e. rhyme, rhythm, musicality).

Point of View

• Vantage point from which the writer tells the story.

• “Who” is telling the story?

First person

• The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters.

• The reader sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or feels.

• Use of the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”.

Second person

(“you”) is not often used for writing stories.

Third person

• The narrator is someone outside the story, who refers to all the characters by name, or as “he, ” “she, ” “they. ”

• Centers on one character’s thoughts and actions.

Innocent Eye

The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being different from that of an adult).

Stream of Consciousness

The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.

Omniscient

• All knowing narrator. The author can center on the thoughts and actions of all characters.

• He can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and when he chooses.

Omniscient Limited

• The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, it, etc).

• We can see thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.

Omniscient Objective

• The author tells the story in the third person.

• It appears a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard.

• There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

Figurative Language

Involves some imaginative comparison between two unlike things.

Simile

comparing two unlike things using like or as. “I wandered lonely as a cloud”

Metaphor

• comparing two unlike things (not using like or as)

• Life is a roller coaster; it has lots of ups and downs.

Personification

• Giving human qualities to nonhuman things.

• “The wind howled”

Flashback

The present scene in the story is interrupted to flash backward and tell what happened in an earlier time.

Foreshadowing

• Refers to clues that hint at what is going to happen later in the plot.

• It is used to arouse the reader’s curiosity, build suspense, and help prepare the reader to accept events that occur later in the story.

Symbol

• An object, person, or event that functions as itself, but also stands for something more than itself.

• Example: Scales function is to weigh things, but they are also a symbol of our justice system.

Irony

A literary device that creates a contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality; between what is said and what is meant.

Verbal Irony

saying one thing but meaning something completely different.

Situational Irony

A contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really does happen.

Dramatic Irony

occurs when the reader knows something important that the characters in the story do not know.

Allusion

Reference to a statement, person, a place, or events from:

• Literature

• History

• Religion

• Mythology

• Politics

• Sports

Suspense

• A feeling of tension, anxiety, or excitement resulting from uncertainty.

• An author creates suspense to keep the reader interested.

Atmosphere

A feeling of tension, anxiety, or excitement resulting from uncertainty. • An author creates suspense to keep the reader interested.

Imagery

• Creating a picture in the readers mind through description

• Language that appeals to the senses. – Touch – Taste – Sight – Sound – Smell

Gothic Fiction

Referred to the middle ages but now extends to a type of fiction which lacks the medieval setting, but develops a brooding atmosphere of gloom and terror, represents events which are uncanny or macabre or melodramatically violent and often deals with aberrant psychological states.

Gothic Fiction

It distinguishes itself through the narrative technique of using suspense and the development of atmosphere to enhance the plot thereby capturing reader interest.

Poetic Justice

Is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished.

Plot

• The events that happen in a story are called the plot.

• In a plot you typically find an introduction, rising action, a climax, the falling action, and a resolution.

• Plot is often represented as an arc.

What is a Plot

• Plot as a literary term is defined as the structure of events that make up the movements of a story through time; characters and settings are organized around the plot in a logical pattern of cause-andeffect.

• Plots can be simple or complex in structure.

• A complex plot with many interrelated elements is sometimes called an imbroglio.

• Plot is also sometimes referred to as a storyline.

Without the plot there is no story:

• In a story, something must happen; otherwise, it’s not a story.

• Plot includes the events of the story and conveys the key themes, messages, and meaning of the narrative.

• A plot is what gives a story its energy and emotion.

• A good plot engages readers so they want to know what will happen next.

Story Writing

• A narrative or story is a report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in a sequence of written or spoken words, or still or moving images, or both.

• Narratives may also be nested within other narratives, such as narratives told by an unreliable narrator (a character) typically found in noir fiction genre.

Exposition / Introduction

In the exposition, the setting and characters (especially the main character, known as the protagonist) are introduced, as well as the main problem, conflict or goal of the story.

Rising Action

• The rising action phase of a story involves an inciting incident.

• The inciting incident pushes the plot into motion, events begin to build, the protagonist acts, and the plot becomes more complex.

• During this phase, there is often a sense of tension

Rising Action

Consists of a series of complications.

These occur when the main characters take action to resolve their problems and are met with further problems:

• Fear

• Hostility

• Threatening situation

Climax

• The climax is the turning point of the story. It involves a “climax” (hence the name) – the central struggle.

• The protagonist faces the main challenge which will eventually lead to the outcome or goal of the story.

• Typically, this is the most emotional part of the story, and it often involves the most action.

Falling Action

• The story begins to wind down, loose ends get tied up, events are resolved, and we learn the results of the protagonists’ actions.

• These events are a result of the action taken at the climax.

Denouement / Conclusion

• In the denouement, the conflict ends, and the problem or goal is resolved (could be positive, negative or neutral).

• It shows how the situation turns out and ties up loose.

Overcoming the Monster

• In the stories, this is where the hero must destroy the monster to restore balance to the world.

• In the real world this could be overcoming an addiction, fighting off a purvey boss, debt, beating an illness or any thing else that requires something to be defeated for the hero to win.

Anticipation

• The hero is made aware of a monster in a far-off land.

• He may be tasked to defeat the monster by his gods or his government, or he might choose to rise to the occasion on his own

Dream

This is where the hero begins his journey.

The process includes his preparation for battle and his expression of his goals.

The monster is usually still far away, but the distance between hero and villain is closing. (Either the monster is closing in, or the hero is on the hunt.)

Frustration

• The battle begins.

• The hero and monster are face-to-face on the field of battle.

• This is where the reader, and the hero, start to doubt the hero’s ability to win.

• The odds are sorely stacked against him.

Nightmare

• This is the black moment.

• The time in the battle when it seems all hope is lost, and the future is more than just bleak—it’s the end

Miraculous Escape

• The tides turn because of the hero’s efforts, ingenuity, and/or determination.

• He is able to defeat the monster, and good triumphs over evil.

• In addition, the hero is often awarded riches or a prize of some sort.