Writing Screenplays. Paul Peditto

or positively in the end. The following are some examples:

      • A woman graduates from medical school, then realizes that she really wanted to be a lawyer.

      • A man searches for Mrs. Right for ten years only to learn that he really prefers to be with Mr. Right!

      Now it’s your turn to choose your moment in time to focus your story. You do this by forming a one- to two-sentence description (i.e., logline: very short description of concept, main character, and main conflict) similar to the above examples. Before you compile your description, I want to share with you the two different approaches you can take in weaving your true-life tale into an intimate dramatization.

      2.1 Logline

      When you have finished either Worksheet 1 or 2 (choose one), you will create your logline (i.e., a 25-word or less description of your movie). It sums up the whole movie in a sentence or two. Sounds difficult, but it’s not. Every great logline has these three elements: who, goal, and obstacle. For example:

      • When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor’s corrupt son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge. Gladiator

      • A journey of self-discovery by a brilliant mathematician once he is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He eventually triumphs over tragedy and receives the Nobel Prize. A Beautiful Mind

      • The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son. The Godfather

      Now it’s time to craft your logline:

      It’s a story about a __________ who does __________ and _________ happens.

      Play around with this description for a little while until you find something you feel really good about. This is the tough part. Once you get this description written down, the rest should be easy; then again, maybe not!

      There are two sample loglines in Chapter 7.

       Worksheet 1: Your Story: Approach 1

      The first approach is to make your story a goal-oriented tale, in which the main character pursues some type of goal. An example would be a story about a person in search of a romantic partner. The middle of the story would focus on obstacles and problems throughout his or her journey, and the story would end when the main character accomplishes his or her goal (or not).

      If you decide to take this approach, try to answer the following questions for the story you have in mind:

      1. When does the event take place?

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      2. Who is/are the main character(s)?

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      3. Does/do the main character(s) have a goal to pursue?

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      4. Is the goal accomplished in the end?

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      5. Can you list the obstacles that the main character overcame on his or her journey?

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      6. Does/do your character(s) learn a lesson in the end, or does a change occur along the way? How?

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      7. Who is/are the secondary character(s)?

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      8. How are the secondary characters related to the main character(s)?

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      9. Do any of these secondary characters have goals of their own? If yes, what are they?

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       * * *

       Worksheet 2: Your Story: Approach 2

      The second approach is to make your story about “everything that happened on the way to the market.” This is my favorite type of tale because it is usually a character-driven piece. An example of this type of story would be a person who takes a road trip with a friend, and the story is about everything that happened to them along the way.

      If you’re interested in this approach, try to answer the following questions for the story you have in mind:

      1. When does this event take place?

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      2. How long does this event take (e.g., over a weekend, month, year, or summer)?

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      3. Who is/are the main character(s)?

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      4. What happens in the end?

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      5. Can you list everything that happened on the way to the end (e.g., on my way to Florida, my car was stolen, I twisted my ankle, and I caught a cold)?

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      6. Does/do the character(s) learn a lesson in the end, or does a change occur along the way?

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      7. Who are the secondary characters, and how do they relate to the main character(s)?

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