The single biggest mistake writers make is that the story idea the writer comes up with is not original.
The 1 st key to success: an original idea professionally told is an unbeatable combination.
1. No clear goal for the hero, with a specific endpoint event that tells the reader whether the hero succeeded or failed.
1. When you write your story, start with the goal and figure out everything else from that. Do nothing more until you have a clear, strong, and extended desire line.
What’s the 4 th big structural mistake in the premise? No plot twist at the end of the premise.
Writers often use the wrong genre to develop the idea, or they impose a bunch of pre- determined genre beats onto the idea instead of finding the story events that are original to the idea.
Key point: most hit films and best selling novels are a combination of 2, 3 or 4 genres.
These have to do with two genre families: speculative fiction and crime.
High concept has one great flaw: it only gives you 2 or 3 scenes, the scenes where the flip is made.
Create a group of opponents who each approach the hero’s central moral problem in a di fg erent way.
Plot has more techniques you need to know than all the other major writing skills combined.
Key point: true plot comes from the choreography between the hero and all the opponents. And the details of plot come from how you weave all the various opponents as they attack your hero.
They think about the single obstacle the hero must overcome in the scene, which is tactics. Instead they should think about strategy.
1. Their story is episodic , meaning events stand on their own but don't connect and build under the surface.
Key point: to avoid this problem, make sure the opponent’s attacks come in response to the hero’s actions, and vice versa.
Big plot mistake #2: hitting the same beat.
Assignment for next class IF YOU ARE WRITING SCENES FOR YOUR STORY: 1. write the next three scenes in the story where there is dialogue That means three scenes, not three chapters. Be sure to start by listing the premise in 1 line 2. write your hero’s weakness in 1 line 3. write the endpoint of your hero’s character change, In other words, his or her self-revelation
Assignment for next class IF YOUR STORY IS AT ANY OTHER STEP OF THE WRITING PROCESS 4. Important: state which assignment you are doing 5. follow the instructions for that month’s assignment D on’t hand in more than the assignment asks for. 6. send in any question you have about story in general or about your story in particular
Remember: hand in only 1 assignment at a time.
Next class: Wednesday, May 21
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