Go Organic (With Your Screenplay Structure)
When you start fleshing out a new story idea…
Or when you’re trying to figure out which plot points go where…
Or maybe just when you think about everything you’ve read in screenwriting books…
Do you feel overwhelmed?
If so, today’s discussion is for you. We’re going to talk about how to develop an idea into a story. But instead of starting with rules and paradigms, let’s start with your seed of an idea and grow it organically.
Too many writers get stuck trying to get plot and structure “right”, when actually what’s “right” is simply what’s right for your story. What matters most is effectively conveying the story to the audience.
So here’s how to let the story itself guide you through finding its shape and structure.
What story are you telling?
Before we can really understand the natural shape of a story, we need to know what the story is. What target we're aiming for. Call it the screenwriting version of getting clear on your intention.
But that doesn't mean you can’t start before you have a really sharp understanding of what the project will ultimately be. It’s perfectly okay to write a draft or two or three (of the script or just of an outline) to explore a story concept, feel out how it comes together, and see what surprises it might hold.
At some point you’ll realize – Ah, THIS is the movie I’m trying to write!
Then you know what it is. You've locked in on the most essential, basic version of the story you’re telling.
If we can get to that simple, essential stuff at the core of your story then we have a bright North Star to help us navigate, and we can make sure your screenplay does what you want it to do.
When we know what story you’re telling, then we can see the organic story structure of it.
So that’s what we want to identify here – the essence. The stripped down, basic version of the story you’re telling. (We’re talking even more basic than a logline.)
The most common way to think about this essence statement is as a simple version of the concept. Something like:
It’s about a group of kids in search of lost treasure.
It’s about a woman who exposes a big company poisoning a small town.
It’s about a guy trying to save his daughter from kidnappers.
It’s about a formerly-abused woman who’s trying to help an abused girl.
But you might also find it helpful to identify a particular story dynamic or familiar plot “framework,” like:
It’s a David and Goliath story about a woman who takes on a big company that's poisoning a small town.
It’s about a naïve outsider who joins the popular clique at her new school, and learns all about the aggressive behavior of teenage girls.
Or even:
It’s Die Hard on the President’s airplane.
Whatever makes the story clear to you. There isn’t really a “right” answer here. The goal is to keep it as simple as possible (which will vary from story to story), and to crystallize the story you want to tell. In other words, get very clear about the movie you’re writing. Find the seed so you can sprout the story.
What are the parts that make up the story?
Three act structure comes down to setup, escalation, and resolution. That's the purpose of each section, its function in the overall picture.
But what are we setting up, escalating, and resolving? The main conflict. (You knew I was going to say that.)
Another way to look at it is this: a story is about someone trying to do something. That means they want to achieve a goal or outcome of some sort.
A story is composed of parts that all relate in some way to that goal and the conflict involved in achieving it:
In Act 1 the goal is created. (This is setup for the main conflict.)
In Act 2 the goal is pursued. (The main conflict escalates.)
In Act 3 the pursuit of the goal is resolved – the goal is achieved or not. (Resolution – we have the answer.)
If we know what the story at its most basic is, we can figure out what that goal is. And then it's a fairly short leap to identify the three parts of the story.
The goal might be more immediately identifiable in some stories, but that’s okay. Even if we stick to broad strokes or high-level descriptions right now, it’s still a starting point to work from and we can (and will) keep refining as we go.
So, going back to our examples, we can take the basic idea and see how it naturally blooms into those three phases of story:
Goonies is about a group of kids in search of lost treasure.
In Act 1, the kids decide they need to find the lost treasure.
In Act 2, the kids search for the lost treasure.
In Act 3, the kids locate the lost treasure.
Or, take Erin Brockovich:
It’s about a woman who exposes a big company poisoning a small town.
In Act 1, the woman notices there’s something dangerous going on in the small town.
In Act 2, the woman investigates the big company that's causing it.
In Act 3, the woman proves the wrongdoing and stops the company.
If you started with something like, “It’s Die Hard on the President’s airplane,” then you’ll need to specify what that means in story terms so you can see what the goal or main conflict is, then tease out the three parts.
Say you realize the story you want to tell is about the President trying to save his family from the terrorists who hijack his plane. Then we know:
In Act 1, the President’s plane is attacked and his family is taken hostage. (Which sets up the goal: to save his family from terrorists.)
In Act 2, the President tries to defeat the terrorists. (The main conflict escalates as the President pursues the goal.)
In Act 3, the President defeats the terrorists and saves his family.
Alright – so that’s broad strokes. Just the basics. We still have a lot to figure out, including specifically how each of these big swaths of story play out. But this is the starting point.
It’s the organic structure of the story – what makes up each of the main parts (the beginning, middle, and end) based on the core idea of the story you want to tell.
This all may sound too simple to be useful, but clarifying your own thoughts and getting a solid grasp on what you're writing early in the process makes everything that comes later so much easier.
The pieces that make the parts
So we’ve figured out what are the basic parts that make up the story we’re telling. A natural next step then is to figure out what pieces make up each of the parts:
In Act 1 the goal is created.
So we need to know how the goal is created.
And since we know good stories require conflict, we need to know who or what is opposing the protagonist’s goal.
In Act 2 the goal is pursued.
What kind of action does the character take to pursue the goal?
What makes the goal increasingly more difficult to achieve?
In Act 3 the pursuit of the goal is resolved – the goal is achieved or not.
What changes – new information or attitude – to enable the character to make a final push toward the goal?
Does the character ultimately succeed or fail?
Just six questions, but it gives you the broad strokes of the whole plot, in what I hope feels like an approachable way of finding it.
For example, if you’re developing the story for Little Miss Sunshine, you might come up with:
It’s about a reluctant family on an urgent cross-country road trip for their youngest member to compete in a beauty pageant.
In Act 1, the family learns they must take the road trip together for the girl to compete.
In Act 2, the family tries to reach the destination in time.
In Act 3, the family delivers the girl and she competes in the pageant.
Sounds lame? Has none of the charm of the movie? That's okay.
Right now we're just finding the plot framework that you'll use to showcase the compelling characters, relationships, emotion, etc. This is the vehicle that delivers the entertainment.
So we have the Little Miss Sunshine parts, but what about the pieces that make up those parts?
In Act 1 the goal is created:
The family learns Olive has a chance to compete, but they will have to drive cross country together to get her there.
The conflict comes from the difficulty of the road trip itself, as well as the challenge of this dysfunctional family spending time together.
In Act 2 the goal is pursued:
The family drives cross country, racing the clock to reach their destination and struggling to get along.
Car troubles, racing the clock, personal crises and philosophical differences make it increasingly difficult to get there on time.
In Act 3 the pursuit of the goal is resolved – the goal is achieved or not.
The family is able to put aside personal struggles to let Olive get her shot.
Olive competes and the family comes together to help her feel like a winner.
So again – we’re not focused on nailing down specific plot points or events yet. We’re just working out what basic information we’ll need to include in order to fulfill the function of each part of the story. And this is all in service of that basic story essence we identified.
Watch the story blossom
At this point, you may want to start thinking about the character and additional pieces that we’ll need if we want to make this story meaningful. Things like:
Why must the character pursue this goal?
What’s at stake?
How does the plot action specifically challenge this character and force a transformation?
How is the character’s transformation proven out?
Another next step could be to finally work out some specific plot points, starting with the major plot points, of course.
Just like the parts and pieces work together to tell the larger story, this is true of the major plot points as well.
We can see the shape of the story through the major plot points:
Olive learns she has a chance to compete in the pageant. (Inciting Incident)
The family reluctantly hits the road on a cross country trip to get her there. (Break into Act 2)
During the trip, Grandpa dies. It's an emotional blow, as well as a time delay. (Midpoint)
They're racing to complete the final leg of the trip when brother Dwayne has a personal crisis and refuses to continue. (Low Point)
But when Olive stands by Dwayne, he returns the favor and allows the family to resume the trip. (Break into Act 3)
Olive competes but the crowd hates her. Seeing this, the family jumps to her defense and make her feel like a winner, regardless of what anyone else thinks. (Climax)
Structure tells the story. Instead of thinking about major plot points as a bunch of structure “rules,” think of these turning points as the story in a nutshell.
Grow your screenplay with intention
I hope this more organic way of growing a story will be another tool you can use in your development process.
This exercise is all about identifying the basics. Looking past everything else to make sure the bones are there. Starting with a seed and letting the story sprout.
Want more metaphors? We could look at this process like mixing paint color. If the essence of your story is “green” then you know you need to put blue and yellow together to give green to your audience.
Or like cooking. If you set out to make a lasagna, and you clearly know you want lasagna, then you can figure out what each of the layers are and include them.
Let’s get clear on the story you’re telling so you can create it with intention. The story at its most basic will tell you what its essential parts are, and then building each of those parts becomes a series of organic, incremental – and totally manageable – steps.