Lesson 1
Story Telling Proper Writing Format
- Present Tense
- 3rd person
- visual voice
- A character is “narrating” the story as it is happening
- Shows a more urgent and immediate feel to the story
- Commonly used in – screenplays (The story/film is unfolding as we read it), thriller & suspense genres
Passive VS Active voice
- Uses weak verbs
- tells what’s happening in the character head
- Distances the reader from the story
- uses strong action verbs
- shows the action
- uses an immediate sentence structure
- conveys the story in a lively manner
- Everyone WILL NOT HAVE PROBLEMS coming up with a list or excuses for procrastination.
- The biggest problem is getting STARTED.
- If you have a work in progress, NEVER stop for the night if you’re stuck.
- Always solve the problem and keep going until you are in safer water.
- A good night’s sleep is important. Sleeping on problems is a myth.
- if you can’t get started on a project, start writing anyways. To do this, you need to have some words to type.
- It does not matter what you write, you’ll soon begin to think and move on in your own rhythm / pace.
- Whose story am i telling?
- What is the point of this story?
- How can i engage the attention of the audience?
EXERCISE 1B : OPENERS
Examples:
Sally keeps glancing at her watch…
Joe opens the bottle and takes a whiff…
May closes her eyes and jumps off…
James paces around the hallway…
Mel opens the envelope. Her hand shakes…
DO NOT WRITE INCOMPLETE SENTENCES!!
Bob licks the blood off his fingers. He picks up the knife again, ignoring the pain searing through his fingers. His terrified mother closes her eyes in fear. His elder sister tries to stop him by snatching away the knife, saying “No! Let me do it!” ” I can handle it myself!” says Bob confidently. He raises the knife and swipes it downwards. The floor is covered by red patches of…. ketchup. The sandwich is successfully cut in two. Bob’s mother cries in joy, ” My, my! Bob is all grown up now!”
Lesson 2
ELEMENTS OF DIALOGUE
- Dialogue reveals character
- A character will talk about himself and other people will talk about him.
- Dialogue establishes relationships between characters
- Once you have established your main character’s POV, you can use dialogue with other characters to show that they have other attitudes, creating opposite/alternative POVs.
- This helps to create and sustain the element of CONFLICT between characters
- Good effective dialogue will move the story forward
- Dialogue communicates faces and information to the audience
- It conveys essential exposition.
- Characters will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline
- Dialogue comments on the action
- Dialogue ties the script together
- It is one the devices that YOU as a writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters.
- Dialogue Should Be Used Sparingly
- Never TELL The Audience What They Can See For Themselves!!
- Common mistake
- Students sometime never achieve a level of competence as they tend to reproduce conventional spoken language, long statements of ” real talking”, and defend their decision by telling us that: “It’s how the character speaks.”
- Students tend to create radio shows with images
- Good dialogue is not somebody’s ability to wright authentic speech as heard in real life.
- If that was all there is to it, you can just push a button the tape recorder and then go collect your Oscar
- Good dialogue is he illusion of reality
The Exercise:
Write a short scene composed of dialogue between husband and wife.
Husband: Imma back, biatch.
Wife: Excuse me, Mister! Do you have any idea what time is it now?
H: Time? It’s time to get my funk on! Take off your clothes, bitch.
W: What?! Are you drunk? We agreed that we were going to have a romantic dinner tonight! Were meeting with another woman?!
H: Nooo. Just me and mah homies. We had a blast… Why are those clothes still on? Get lost, woman!
W: ARGH!!! Screw you! You’re sleeping on the sofa tonight! *Walks off*
H: Phew… I’m glad those acting lessons paid off.
THE REAL EXERCISE:
- Repeat “THE EXPERIMENT” but:
- Husband And Wife are YOUR own parents.
H: I’m back.
W: So late? Where did you go?
H: Went to drinks with some friends.
W: Aiya, the dinner cold already. I’ll heat it up for you.
Purpose Of The Exercise : We Write Best What We Know Well
STORYTELLING TOOL 1: OBSERVATION
- adopt a keen eye
- develop a natural sense of curiosity
An observed event, when subject to simple questions, can set up a sequence of possibilities that will develop into a story worth telling
- whom am I writing about?
- who is my character?
- what is he/she/it like?
- what does he/she/it do?
- what happens to him/her/it in the story?
EXERCISE: AWARENESS LEVEL
- People rarely observe familiar people or things closely
- Most people pass through the day with 20% – 30% awareness
- Their MOVEMENTS
- Their PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
- The SETTING/PLACES they’re in
EXERCISE: PEOPLE-WATCH
- walk into library/canteen, etc. and watch people pass by.
- eventually, one will catch your attention.
- write down as many details as possible through observation
- repeats steps 1-3 for a second character
- transcribe all these details into the “PEOPLE-WATCH” page
Lesson 3
Review Exercise 2: people-watch
1. Take out a phone book.
2. Point to a name at random.
3 Continue looking for an address.
4.Attach the name and adress to a people-watch
5 Repeat steps 1 – 4 with your other character.
6. Now ask yourself: ” what wold character A do to provoke Character B to an extreme.”
Characterization: Defining the character
A STORY STARTS WITH A CHARACTER
- A Character is the heart and soul and nervous system of your screenplay
- It is through your characters that viewers experience emotions. It is through your characters that they are touched.
<without character, there no action>
<without action, you have no conflict>
<without conflict, you have no story>
<without story, you have no screenplay>
developing characters
When developing a character, ask yourself:
- who is your character?
- What does he want?
- What is his quest?
- What drives him to the resolution of the story?
1. Establish your main character.
Character should have a 3 Dimensional structure.
a) Physiology
- Sex
- Age
- Height, weight
- Colour of hair, eyes, skin
- Posture
- Appearance
- Defects, abnormalities, deformities, birth marks, diseases
- Heredity
b) Sociology
- Class(lower, middle, upper)
- Occupation: type of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability for work
- Education: amount, kind of schools, marks, favourite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes
- Home Life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents separated/divorced, parents’ habits, parents’ mental development, parents’ vices
- Religion
- Race, Nationality
- Place in the Community: leader among friends, clubs, sports
- Political Affiliations
- Amusements: hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads
c) Psychology
- Sex life, moral standards
- Personal Premise, Ambition
- Frustrations, chief disappointments
- Temperament: choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic
- Attitude towards life: resigned, militant, defeatist
- Complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias
- Personality: extrovert, introvert
- Abilities: language, talents
- Qualities: Imagination, judgment, taste, poise
- I.Q.
- What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/hide?
Seperate the components of his life into 2 basic catergories:
a) Interior – the interior life takes place from birth until the moment your story begins. It is a process that forms character. [when you start formulating your character from birth, you see your character build in body and form]
- How old is he when the story begins?
- Where does he live?
- does he have siblings? what kind of childhood did he have?
- what was his relationship to his parents?
- what kind of child he was?
- Is he married, single, widowed
b) Exterior
- the exterior life takes place the moment your story begins
It is a process that reveals character.
- Who are they and what do they do?
- Are they sad or happy with their life?
- Do they wish their life was different? Another job, another wife?
>> You must create your characters in relationship to other people or things
All dramatic characters interact in 3 ways:
1. They Experience conflict in acheiving thier dramatic need. eg, need $ – rob a store, rob a person?
2. They interact with other characters either in an antagonistic, friendly or indifferent way
3. they interact with themselves. eg, He overcame his fear of being caught by pulling off the robbery successfully]
CONFLICT
- definition (Opposition of persons or forces)
- It is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills, and creates the plot
- Conflict is the central feature of the screen play – man against man – man against environment – man against self
- It’s variations of sex, age, religion and culture which provide variety to the Conflict
CONFLICT=CHANGE
- Change is common to everyone
- Change is universal!
- bodies chage
- seasons change
- lives change
- relationship change
- feelings change
- locations change
- technologies change
As universal as change may be, people often resist it for fear of the unknown. Poeple must learn to cope with change if they want to survive The action in drama depends on conflict.
Conflict
- PLOT cannot be constructed without conflict.
- As your characters attempt to reach their goals, they come into conflict with each other.
- The end of the story nears when the protagonist and antagonist approach their goals and the conflict rises to generate maximum suspense and excitement
CREATING CONFLICT
- The protagonist and antagonist must be locked together with NO POSSIBLE COMPROMISE BETWEEN THEM.
- Characters of strong conviction and Purpose who will fight for what they want.
- More EVENLY MATCHED they are, the stronger the battle will be and the more suspense will be aroused.
EXERCISE 3 : 50 WORD STORIES
- Write an essay of EXACTLY 50 words
- Post 5 stories each on a ”50 Word Stories” Page on your blog.
Review Exercise 3: 50 word stories
>> Purpose:
- BREAKS DOWN THE MYTH OF HANDLING ONLY 1 IDEA AT A TIME
- ENCOURAGES PRECISE AND CONCISE WRITING
- Teaches basic script editing skills, to focus and reveal the essential elements.
Lesson 4
DYNAMIC ACTION
<< story is a action>>
- Action encompasses any kind of movement, activity and interaction between the characters and also their surroundings
- Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way do through action.
<<film is behaviour>>
- Action is the manifestation of behaviour.
- The complexity of the human psyche and interaction is better understood when it is possible to watch the actions, nuances and reactions of the characters.
<<dynamic action>>
- Has the potential to enrich the experience of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension.
MOVING PICTURES
The power of any story lies in the narrator’s ability to project a mental picture for the audience
Interactive Loacation
- Location
- A physical location
- A place in which
- Interactive locations is:
- - A physical setting and surrounding that interacts with the characters of the film by positively heightening their action
- it can enhance the impact of the action and heighten stakes.
- Eg, a high rise building invokes more suspense than a low rise building if the character is afraid of heights
Storytelling tool 2: Memory
- Your memory is a wonderful cabinet of past incidents which you have experienced or been told.
- These memories are points of reference to your own past existence.
Tip:
- WRITE what you do not know because you will find some part of you that does know.
- THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR PERSONAL DISCOVERY!
EXERCISE: LETTER TO SOMEONE FROM THE PAST
- This might be a person to whom you can no longer speak to
- Could be someone you completely lost touch with
- Even someone who is dead
You should described yourself exactly as you are in present time and then try and contrast that image with how you were earlier, when you and the recipient were together.
You cannot wright letters to pets, plants. Have to write about yourself last time and now.
Purpose of the exercise
- The letter is a practical, personal example of how a character – You – undergo an inevitable process of change.
- This process of change is an essential ingredient of any effective story.
- In dramatic writing, the very essence is character change.
Lesson 5
Storytelling tool 3: Experience
- A storyteller should be concerned with the potential of every experience.
- Everything about you- where you weer born, what food you eat, the bump on your forehead- your experiences are unique and irreplaceable
- Many of your experience are universal and translatable and can be used in any location.
TIP FOR WRITING:
- If you don’t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for awhile.
- See how he relates to the world he has been thrown into
>>> Plunder your own personal background!
The things that happen to you as you grow up and the things that are currently happening to you make terrific story sources.
>> Purpose of the exercise
- A true story is not necessarily a good story.
Good stories have to be worked and re-worked.
- True life stories do not offer neat and relevant ending.
- Life is unpredictable
- In a story, we can and must control the events and sequences so that it gives the appearance of being like life.
STORY TELLING TOOLS
1. OBSERVATION
2.MEMORY
3.EXPERIENCE
What is going to appear in quiz.
- Writing in third person
- Writing in present tense
- Writing in the visual voice
week 2
- The role of conflict / creating conflict
- Element of dialogue
- Story telling tool 1 : Observation
week 3
- Characterisation : defining the character
- Developing characters
week 4
- Dynamic action
- story is action = film is beaviour
- Interactive location
- Storytelling Schematised
- Storytelling Tool 2 : Memory
week 5
- Storytelling tool 3 : Experience
- Summary of the 3 storytelling tools and techniques
-Pabrik Dodol – Ari Rusyadi
-The Call Home – Han Yew Kwang
-Wet Seasons – Michael Tay
-The Secret Heaven – Sun Koh
-Autograph Book – Wee Li Lin
-Sunat – M. Raihan halim
Quiz is week 7 (4th june 2010)
Worth 10% of your overall grade
