#48 - What’s The Shape
Edition #48 of the Lighthouse miniLetter!
You'll always get:
Three examples of great screenwriting
Two quotes about storytelling
One thing to think about
Plus some fun links at the bottom.
Three examples of great screenwriting
The Long Goodbye
Screenplay by Leigh Brackett
I like the way that everything in this passage is introduced right as we become aware of it. We learn of the adjoining bedroom when its light comes on. We fully see what’s in this room when Phillip snaps the lamp on.
I also like the distinction between “loner” and “lonely man” which Marlowe is both.
The Terror (Pilot)
Script by Dave Kajganich Based on the book by Dan Simmons
I’ll just come out and say it: I absolutely love ancillary materials between the title page and page one.
The script absolutely needs to hold up on its own, but these can be helpful in filling in that gap that always exists between the screen and the page. It can provide a lens through which the following pages are seen through, or just provide some necessary context that the screenplay format simply doesn’t allow for.
They’re like tasting notes for wine, priming me for what’s to come..
One Long Night
Written by S. Christian Roe
I love the way this opening moves between sounds, images, and ideas.
Celebration? No. Too angry.
Chaos echoing outside a shaking metal barrel.
Torn vocal chords.
SCREAMING, furious, fearful crowd.
It’s written like you’re not just there seeing it, but feeling it.
Maybe this is why:
"Based on first-hand experiences at police brutality protests"
Nothing wrong with letting people know you know what you’re talking about. Roe walks the walk.
Two quotes about screenwriting
“I can think of nothing that an audience won’t understand. The only problem is to interest them; once they are interested, they understand anything in the world.”
“The vehicle of horror allows characters to be broken.”
One thing to think about
What is the shape of your story?
Is it from A to B?
Is it from A to B to A?
Is it from A to B to C to D to A? Is it from A to B to C?
What about multiple protagonists or ensembles? Is it A to B to C, and D to E to C?
Is it A to B, and B to A?
There are infinite combinations of this, and I’m not just talking about the geographic locations your characters go.
Understanding where your characters are in relation to where they’ve been, where they’re going, and where the others are can help clarify the language, tone, setting…you name it!
It’s okay to define it simply.
What is the shape of your story?
Have a great draft,
David Wappel
PS Don’t Miss
I use JustWatch all the time to figure out which streaming service has a movie or tv show I want to watch. (Or more often the case now, figure out that it doesn't live anywhere!)
Don't know the keyboard shortcut for unique keyboard characters, like ※ ⁋ ₺ ℡ ♛ ⚧ and even hieroglyphs like 𓀓 𓁹 𓅓? Just use this site. (That's what I did.)