Hitting a wall & Trouble plotting out my stories

[Kevan]

A few things that always help me...

Remember there are usually 3 plotlines interwoven throughout the story--and each needs to be developed fully.

1. "A" story: the plot or the external conflict
2. "B" story: the subplot storyline that exposes the internal conflict (fatal flaw)
3. "C" story: the subplot storyline that explores the relationship issues a protagonist must face to achieve the overall goal of the plot

Character drives plot most of the time (except, for example, when the characters are mere chess pieces in a complex game, such as in Identity, which I liked btw), so don't spend too much time creating/pondering the external side unless your character puts you there.

Also, write from THEME and you'll discover that the possibilities are endless.

Also, write from CHARACTER FLAW--as PILAR ALESSANDRA points out in her On the Page DVD/Course--which can literally fill your script with all the necessary scenes! (Usually more than you need, so you just have to pick the best.)


Check out her awesome DVD and techniques.

http://www.onthepage.tv/

Tie in the 3 plot lines which Kyle has illustrated above and ensure they merge at the climax and all resolve at the end in some way. Consider your ending to begin with then work your way back using the 3 plot lines in whatever sequence structure you choose to use. Find your ending and work back to the beginning and know where your writing journey through 3 acts is taking you to. If you know your ending to begin with you know when you start to write you have a goal to get there to write that end to complete the script. Tie the end in with the 3 plot lines so they converge to give the end resonance, meaning and depth. And ensure your theme encompases and assists the end as much as it did the rest of your script pages. Know thy end first...