by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) External goals are the lifeblood of great scripts. We need to SEE the protagonist solving a problem, finding an object, or arriving at a destination. While the internal goal of a character may be what drives the emotions and themes in the story, nothing can happen until the character gets out of... Continue Reading →
The Multi-Headed Beast: 3 Ways to Tame a Story With Multiple Protagonists
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) At some point in their career, many writers will decide to work outside the traditional method of telling a story about a single protagonist on a journey. This can turn into a wild monster that gets away from the writer, causing them to chase their stories down a rabbit hole, often losing... Continue Reading →
Nine Clocks For Your Hero to Race Against
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) Conflict is a necessity in good storytelling. One of the strongest ways you can increase the conflict in your story is to compress time. There’s perhaps no greater thrill for an audience than watching a character race against a merciless clock. Here are nine clocks to challenge your hero with. 1. THE... Continue Reading →
Stripping Down: 4 Things Your Protagonist Must Shed to Succeed
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) Guiding a character through a journey is a process of negotiating their inner desires and outer goals. While many films are constructed around the idea of a character that will gain one key thing over the course of the story, we sometimes forget that well-rounded characters will also lose some things along... Continue Reading →
3 Frameworks for Building a Strong Story
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) There are an unlimited number of premises that a story can be based on. Some stories are character-driven. Others are concept-driven. Still others combine elements of both approaches. Regardless of which approach you begin your story with, you’ll eventually have to deal with the other. If you begin with a... Continue Reading →
4 Ways to Open Your Screenplay With a Bang
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) More than any other scene, the opening sequence of your screenplay must be captivating. It must intrigue us in some way. But what about the very first image the audience sees? Are there ways to master visual storytelling that entrance the viewer from the very first second light hits the screen? Here... Continue Reading →