The Young Screenwriter's Guide

People have told stories since ancient times across many generations and civilizations. Thanks to these stories, we know of many heroes who inspire and entertain us. Old heroes like Hercules, Perseus, Robin Hood, King Arthur, and many others have paved the way for modern heroes like Superman, Optimus Prime, and Harry Potter, among countless others. Of course, what are heroes without their adventures? Heroes face challenges and perils alongside their companions and allies who clash against their opposition: villains and henchmen who battle our heroes in an exciting conflict that entertains us. Stories were told orally by tribe elders from generation to generation. With many advancements came new ways to tell stories, from written language to books, from paintings to photography, and photos to moving pictures: modern cinema. There are many ways we enjoy movies. We can watch the latest releases at the movie theater or on streaming platforms. Movies are everywhere! They are the work of many talented and creative people collaborating to create a finished film. From laborers, artists, and technicians to producers and directors…they all work together to bring a story to life. Now, the process of creating a movie starts with the screenwriter. The screenwriter is responsible for creating a document that presents the exciting adventures the heroes will face in an explosive narrative made to entertain us. This document is what we call the movie script. That is what you’ll learn to write with this book! A screenplay or script, for short, is a document about 90 to 110 pages long that contains the story of the movie that a film crew will create. The script has all the elements needed to move it from the script’s pages to the silver screen. Now comes the question: What is a story? A story is a collection of events that, when told in a logical order, creates a narrative that entertains. As screenwriters, we call these events plot points. Plot points help move the story forward by bringing changes, conflicts, and challenges to the hero or the protagonist. Remember that a story can have multiple plot points, yet a certain number of plot points are necessary when writing a script. The Greek philosopher Aristotle once identified three segments of a story: a beginning, a middle, and an end. This idea is accurate for most stories, even for a short joke you tell your best friend. For example: Beginning: Two muffins were sitting in an oven. Middle: One turned to the other and said, “Wow, it’s pretty hot in here.” End: The other one shouted, “Wow, a talking muffin!” In the late 1970s, screenwriter Syd Field applied Aristotle’s concept of a beginning, a middle, and an end to what we now know as the three-act structure. This structure breaks down the script into three parts: Act One, Act Two, and Act Three. Each act has its specific plot points that help the story move forward from (you guessed it) the beginning (act one) to the middle (act two) to the end (act three). THE THREE-ACT STRUCTURE As mentioned before, the three-act structure, also called the paradigm structure, was popularized by Syd Field in the late 1970s, and it is still used today by modern screenwriters. Syd Field broke the story down into three acts. Let’s start with… ACT ONE The first act is always the setup of the story. It introduces the protagonist and the situation they will face. In a feature film, it is about twenty-five to thirty minutes long. Act one contains two major plot points. The first plot point is the inciting incident. The inciting incident is the event that sets the story forward. For example, when Spider-Man (Tom Holland) interferes with Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) spells and cracks open the multi-verse in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). This event presents the problem that will affect Peter Parker for the rest of the story. The inciting incident occurs early in the story, usually in the movie's first ten minutes. Remember that this is the hook to grab your audience’s attention. The second main plot point in Act One is the key incident. Also known as plot point 1, it occurs at or slightly before the end of the first act. In Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), the key incident happens when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) returns to his home to find it destroyed by imperial stormtroopers. Luke decides to go with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) to take R2-D2 and C-3PO to the rebellion. The key incident presents what the story is about and helps propel the protagonist on their journey. The protagonist is the main character of the story. And there is the first act of your script: the beginning of the story, which leads us to… ACT TWO The second act is where you develop your story. It is usually from fifty to sixty pages long in a feature film. Many plot points change the story and propel it in a new direction. This act includes challenges and opposition to the protagonist. Like the first act, act two has two main plot points. The first plot point is the midpoint. As the name suggests, this event happens in the middle of the script. It usually presents a low point for the protagonist. In Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, this moment comes when the Millennium Falcon is captured by the Death Star’s tractor beam when they arrive at the Alderaan System. And oh, boy, are our heroes in trouble! The second plot point in Act Two is plot point 2. This event is the point of no return that leads our protagonist to the end of the story. This happens when Luke Skywalker volunteers to be an X-wing fighter pilot to fight at the Battle of Yavin. This event leads us to… ACT THREE The third act is the ending of the story. It is usually the same length as Act One: twenty-five to thirty minutes long.