McKee
1. Thou shalt respect thine audience
2. Thou shalt research
The story problem - the decline of story in contemporary cinema, theatre, prose.
3. Thou shalt dramatize thine exposition
Mapping the story universe: Archplot, Miniplot, Antiplot.
4. Thou shalt layer a subtext under every text
Genre - limitations and inspirations.
5. Thou shalt create complex characters rather than merely complicated story
Meaning - how stories mean: premise ideal, counter idea, controlling creation.
6. Thou shalt use neither false mystery nor cheap surprise
7. Thou shalt not use deus ex machina to get thine ending
A writer's method - the creative process from inspiration to final draft.
8. Thou shalt not make life easy for thine protagonist
9. Thou shalt take thine story into the depth and breadth of human experience.
10. Thou shalt not sleep with anyone who has more problem than you
Key Questions
Key Questions
1. What event starts my story so the crisis and climax must occur?
2. What is the relationship between the inciting incident and the crisis/climax of this story?
3. Do the inciting incident and the way in which it occurs make the crisis/climax eventually necessary?
4. The inciting incident occurs and creates branching probability. Given this, do you feel the ending you've designed absolutely must occur?
5. What events starts the story so that the protagonist must go into the action? Even if the action is saying, "I'm not going into action, " the protagonist must react to that inciting incident.
6. What does my protagonist want that comes out of this inciting incident? What drives the protagonist on? What goal must the protagonist accomplish? What has he/she failed to accomplish?
7. What position does the character meet? What are the sources of antagonism?
From what level of reality? Always try to create three dimensional stories in which conflict is coming from ALL THREE LEVELS OF REALITY. (Intrapersonal, interpersonal and extrapersonal)
8. Is the opposition equal to if not greater than the protagonist? The protagonist cannot be up against forces that he can easily handle and overwhelm. Do these forces really test him/her as a human being? Do these forces become so powerful and cumulative in their power that they are severely testing the deepest human qualities in this person?
9. As we move toward the ending, do we become more deeply involved? Not staying the same, not losing interest, but more deeply involved.
10. Have we grown to identify with and/or like the protagonist?
11. As we near the ending, do we feel an exhilaration/acceleration of action and reaction?
12. Does the action in the crisis/climax fully express my root idea WITHOUT the aid of dialogue?
13. Every movie is about one idea. How does each scene in the film bring out an aspect of that one idea, positively or negatively?
14. What is the worst possible thing that could happen to my character? How could that turn out to be the best possible thing? Or vice versa.
on Youtube: Adaptation
recommended movie to watch "the kiss of the spiderwoman"
strangers - short film shows that we all are human beings.
Spike Jonze film "How they get there"
"Birthday girl" meant to be comedy thriller (twisted genres) but did not go well.
Story?
No Conflict - No Story
Story elements
Character
situation
event
genre/plot
Genre?
action
thriller
comedy
drama
love story
adventure
horror
Seven basic plots
Voyage and Return
Rebirth
Comedy
Tragedy
Overcoming the Monster
Rags to Riches (slough millionaire)
Quest
Situation?
place
world
life of a Character
Character?
Personal motivation
Decisions that drives events
Events = CHANGE
Story Events = Meaningful CHANGE in the life of the Character
Story Values
"... are the universal qualities of human experience that may shift from positive to negative, or negative to positive.
Action/Reaction increase tension.
10. Have we grown to identify with and/or like the protagonist?
11. As we near the ending, do we feel an exhilaration/acceleration of action and reaction?
12. Does the action in the crisis/climax fully express my root idea WITHOUT the aid of dialogue?
13. Every movie is about one idea. How does each scene in the film bring out an aspect of that one idea, positively or negatively?
14. What is the worst possible thing that could happen to my character? How could that turn out to be the best possible thing? Or vice versa.
on Youtube: Adaptation
recommended movie to watch "the kiss of the spiderwoman"
strangers - short film shows that we all are human beings.
Spike Jonze film "How they get there"
"Birthday girl" meant to be comedy thriller (twisted genres) but did not go well.
Story?
No Conflict - No Story
Story elements
Character
situation
event
genre/plot
Genre?
action
thriller
comedy
drama
love story
adventure
horror
Seven basic plots
Voyage and Return
Rebirth
Comedy
Tragedy
Overcoming the Monster
Rags to Riches (slough millionaire)
Quest
Situation?
place
world
life of a Character
Character?
Personal motivation
Decisions that drives events
Events = CHANGE
Story Events = Meaningful CHANGE in the life of the Character
Story Values
"... are the universal qualities of human experience that may shift from positive to negative, or negative to positive.
Action/Reaction increase tension.
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