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scripts in Morocco are written but are they written well or not ? We leave this question to be answered by the audience or the critics themselves.Surely , we have screenwriters in Morocco but are they as good as any other ones found in the world ?
Aspriring script writers are born in any minute.Still , now we have Youtube mainly we are motivatedl to write .Whether to begin by finding your original idea or the so called Premise or just find your timing and start to write .That is a question that any novice should ask herself or himself before starting his or her first script .
According to Allen Gregory; your script must have 5 elements to be embeded in your scripts
1-make your character LIKEABLE
2-Give your script a strong Re-read factor
3-Give your script a suprise in every scene
4-make your audience ask questions and do not asnwer these questions until the audience ask another question
4-Pit characters with opposing viewpoints in every scene
3-D Characters
One-dimensional characters are plain, simple and
unexplained. Readers or viewers briefly “see” one-dimensional characters
but these characters do not speak. The one-dimensional characters are usually
cashiers, salespeople, drivers, servers, nurses, joggers, or the person walking
down the street pushing a stroller.
Two-dimensional characters are similar to
one-dimensional characters except two-dimensional characters use speech or
gestures to react to what is going on around them Still, two-dimensional
characters are undeveloped and lack explanation, reason and depth.
Two-dimensional character reactions and interactions are often brief, but not
always. A character may be present the majority of the time, but when s/he
lacks history/backstory and complexity, the character is two-dimensional.
An effective, well-rounded, believable fictional
character usually has three dimensions:
- thoughts
- emotions; and
- actions.
In screenwriting, the three dimensions are frequently
described as:
- physiology;
- sociology; and
- psychology.
Three-dimensional characters have goals, ambitions,
desires, motivating forces, fears and values. In addition, they have
habits, mannerisms, cultural tendencies and styles that are audible or visible
to others. In other words, a 3-D character has an inside and an outside.
Flat, misused or poorly developed characters are the
best way to lose reader interest. Here are some tips for creating
three-dimensional characters:
A fully developed character has three dimensions:
1) Thoughts, 2)
Emotions, and 3) Actions.
A good character thinks, feels, and does things. A
"character type" does only one of the three.
Think of a brainy professor character who thinks, but never shows emotion and never does anything. He's a character type. Think of a grieving widow - all emotion, no thoughts, and no actions. Think of a tough cop - all action, no thoughts, and no emotions. All are character types. All are incomplete characters. All are boring stereotypes.
And yet, these cliches keep making appearances in spec screenplays...sometimes in (God help us) starring roles! ACK! KILL THEM...PLEASE!
Okay - thoughts, emotions, and actions. Where do these come from? Are these just randomly assigned to characters?
No.
Going backwards: Actions are based upon decisions and responses...which are based upon thoughts and feelings...which stem from attitudes...which are shaped by individual philosophies. Whew!
Why the individual philosophies? Everyone has one. Let's pick one: John believes the individual can make a positive difference in the world. Fine. This may or may not ever surface in the story, but it is important to know this about John. Why? Because his philosophy shapes his attitudes. John has a positive view on life. For him, life is not hopeless, not random, not pre-determined. Get the idea?
John's philosophy and attitudes influence his emotional state. This can be manifested in numerous forms, but, for the sake of simplicity, let's say that John is emotionally stable with others, but is hard on himself for not having accomplished more with his life.
With me so far?
Now, suppose the story is about John learning his country has entered a war. Can you guess John's goal? Can you guess which decisions and actions John might take? Can you see another line of action if John�s personal philosophy were, "Eat, drink, and be merry...for tomorrow you may die?"
Most screenwriters have heard experts saying that a character must have motivation, a goal, and to 'do' rather than tell. Although good advice, it is incomplete.
Philosophy -> Attitudes/Emotions -> Decisions/Emotional Responses -> Actions -> Goals.
If a writer supplies the information necessary to complete this formula, the result will be a three-dimensional character with thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Think of a brainy professor character who thinks, but never shows emotion and never does anything. He's a character type. Think of a grieving widow - all emotion, no thoughts, and no actions. Think of a tough cop - all action, no thoughts, and no emotions. All are character types. All are incomplete characters. All are boring stereotypes.
And yet, these cliches keep making appearances in spec screenplays...sometimes in (God help us) starring roles! ACK! KILL THEM...PLEASE!
Okay - thoughts, emotions, and actions. Where do these come from? Are these just randomly assigned to characters?
No.
Going backwards: Actions are based upon decisions and responses...which are based upon thoughts and feelings...which stem from attitudes...which are shaped by individual philosophies. Whew!
Why the individual philosophies? Everyone has one. Let's pick one: John believes the individual can make a positive difference in the world. Fine. This may or may not ever surface in the story, but it is important to know this about John. Why? Because his philosophy shapes his attitudes. John has a positive view on life. For him, life is not hopeless, not random, not pre-determined. Get the idea?
John's philosophy and attitudes influence his emotional state. This can be manifested in numerous forms, but, for the sake of simplicity, let's say that John is emotionally stable with others, but is hard on himself for not having accomplished more with his life.
With me so far?
Now, suppose the story is about John learning his country has entered a war. Can you guess John's goal? Can you guess which decisions and actions John might take? Can you see another line of action if John�s personal philosophy were, "Eat, drink, and be merry...for tomorrow you may die?"
Most screenwriters have heard experts saying that a character must have motivation, a goal, and to 'do' rather than tell. Although good advice, it is incomplete.
Philosophy -> Attitudes/Emotions -> Decisions/Emotional Responses -> Actions -> Goals.
If a writer supplies the information necessary to complete this formula, the result will be a three-dimensional character with thoughts, emotions, and actions.
A
story has a minimum of seven steps in its growth from
beginning
to end:
1.
Weakness and need
2.
Desire
3.
Opponent
4.
Plan
5.
Battle
6.
Self-revelation
7. New equilibrium
Day 1
* How to find the perfect story design
* Three confusions that hurt writers
* Uncovering the myth of 3-act story structure
* Seven Steps to deep structure
* Creating the single driving force
* Variations to classic story structure
* Key weaknesses of myth, fairy tale and drama
* Developing a great premise
* Building the hero from the ground up
* How the "character web" works
* True character change and how to write it
* Five Major character changes
* Sequencing the moral elements of the story
Day 2
* The 22 building blocks of every great script
* Pacing by character growth, not page number
* Keys to the perfect opponent
* Creating the visual world
* Using the subplot
* Setting the tag line
* Building the reveals
* Choosing the right story shape
* Creating the strong middle
* The trick to scene sequencing
* How to write 3-track dialogue
* Secrets of building the scene
* Dialogue that increases the conflict
Day 3
* Detailed Analysis of the Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime, Detective, Fantasy, Horror, Love,
Masterpiece, Memoir-True Story, Myth, SciFi, Thriller and Mixed Genres
* What each genre really means
* The central theme of each form
* Key structure techniques for each genre
* Mixing genres: The best strategies for story success
* Bending the genre rules for originality
* Techniques for transcending each genre
* How to find the perfect story design
* Three confusions that hurt writers
* Uncovering the myth of 3-act story structure
* Seven Steps to deep structure
* Creating the single driving force
* Variations to classic story structure
* Key weaknesses of myth, fairy tale and drama
* Developing a great premise
* Building the hero from the ground up
* How the "character web" works
* True character change and how to write it
* Five Major character changes
* Sequencing the moral elements of the story
Day 2
* The 22 building blocks of every great script
* Pacing by character growth, not page number
* Keys to the perfect opponent
* Creating the visual world
* Using the subplot
* Setting the tag line
* Building the reveals
* Choosing the right story shape
* Creating the strong middle
* The trick to scene sequencing
* How to write 3-track dialogue
* Secrets of building the scene
* Dialogue that increases the conflict
Day 3
* Detailed Analysis of the Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime, Detective, Fantasy, Horror, Love,
Masterpiece, Memoir-True Story, Myth, SciFi, Thriller and Mixed Genres
* What each genre really means
* The central theme of each form
* Key structure techniques for each genre
* Mixing genres: The best strategies for story success
* Bending the genre rules for originality
* Techniques for transcending each genre
Once
the weakness and need have been decided, you must
give
the hero desire. Desire is what your hero wants in the story,
his
particular goal,
his
goalNeed has to do with overcoming a weakness within the character
If
you try to write a love story with two main
characters,
you will have two spines, two desire lines, two tracks
the
story is trying to ride.
character
4. Give your hero a moral as well as a
psychological need.
The
most powerful characters always have both a moral need
and
a psychological need. Remember the difference: a
psychological
need only affects the hero; a moral need has to do
with
learning to act properly toward others. By giving your hero a
moral
as well as a psychological need, you increase the effect the
character
has in the story and therefore increase the story's
emotional
power.
Creating
Your Hero, Step 2: Character Change
Character
change, also known as character arc, character
development,
or range of change, refers to the development of a
character
over the course
of
the story. It may be the most difficult but also the most
important
step in the entire writing process
your
story.
KEY
POINT: Always begin at the end
of the change, with the self of revelation then go back and determine the
starting point of the change which the hero's need and the desire then figure out the steps of development in between
To
create a double reversal, take these steps.
1.
Give both the hero and the main opponent a weakness and
a
need (the weaknesses and needs of the hero and the opponent
do
not have to be the same or even similar).
2.
Make the opponent human. That means that he must be
capable
of learning and changing.
3.
During or just after the battle, give the opponent as well as
the
hero a self-revelation.
4.
Connect the two self-revelations. The hero should learn
something
from the opponent, and the opponent should learn
something
from the hero.
5.
Your moral vision is the best of what both characters learn.
The
double reversal is a powerful technique, but it is not
common.
That's because most writers don't create opponents who
are
capable of a self-revelation. If your opponent is evil, innately
and
completely bad, he will not discover how wrong he has been
at
the end of the story. For exam-ple, an opponent who reaches
into
people's chests and rips their heart out for dinner is not going
to
realize he needs to change.
Books about scriptwriting to read :
The technique of screen and television by Eugene Vale
Screenplays and the screenwriter’s Workshop by Syd field
Framework by Tom Stempel
On Screen writing by Edward Dmytryk
The screenwriter’s handbook by Constance Nash et Virginia Oakey
Writing Scripts by Wells Root
Screenwriting by Tom Stempel
Film Scriptwriting by Dwight and Joye Swain
Script models by Robert lee and Robert Misiorowski
The Primal Screen by Bob Shanks
Making A good script great by Linda Seger
Allel K. Gregory on screenwriting
The art of dramatic writing by lajos egris
The anatomy of screenwriting by john truby
Writing in pictures by Joseph Mcbride
