outline 3, 4, 7, 8, 16, 83–4, 91, 95, 104, 108, 128, 130, 138, 146, 153–4, 164, 171, 174, 183, 186, 189, 195, 198–9, 201, 202; example of 90, 116, 165
pacing 32, 163
parallel storytelling 111, 172–3, 194
Peltier, Leonard 20
persistence 16, 47, 76, 187; example of 112, 116–7, 157, 169; see also talent, the myth of
picture file 9
Pinter, Harold 64
pitching a story 4, 7, 28, 29–30, 31, 73, 84, 180, 181, 189, 202; guidelines for 31–2
platform see medium
plays 207–9; “workshop” 207; industry standard 208–9, 208; see also drama
plot 4, 7, 61, 63, 67, 75, 108, 112, 116, 130, 135, 151, 152, 161, 164, 171, 172, 196, 199, 206; see also plot point; subplot
plot point 87; example of 87, 126, 158
plot-driven drama 63–5, 175, 201; example of 193
point of view 39, 57–9, 67, 68, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 100, 128, 129, 141, 145, 147, 162, 165, 190, 194, 196, 197, 199, 202; authorial 151; character 39, 75, 76, 77, 100, 104, 147, 162, 193; example of 99; migration of 75, 77, 149, 194; multiple 100, 162, 190; omniscient 190; single 190, 193; subjective 153
premise 63, 74, 75, 77, 128, 198; example of 169
presenter role 4, 73
Pride and Prejudice 136
project schedule 201, 202
propaganda 137
protagonist 7, 10, 39, 40, 57, 100, 113, 117, 126, 128, 129; example of 57, 68, 99, 100–1, 112, 115, 134, 156–7, 171, 173, 193
raising the stakes see complications
Rear Window 136
research 15, 108, 109, 141–2, 173, 202, 203, 207
resolution 13, 32, 50–1, 52, 67, 70, 78, 139, 142, 148, 159, 162, 187; example of 87, 89–90, 91, 115, 157, 161
resources 3, 5, 9, 56, 201; other people 5; personal experiences 5, 13, 19–20, 22–3, 25–7; see also dream journal; news file; picture file; writer’s journal
rewriting 16, 173–4, 196, 197, 202, 206, 207; tips for 174
rising action see dramaturgy
rite of passage 76, 124
ritual 152–3; example of 87
Robbe-Grillet, Alain 192
Robin Hood 111
Roeg, Nicholas 136, 192
saga 177
Sarraute, Nathalie 192
scale 15, 70, 87, 130, 131, 138–9, 192
scene 29, 30, 61; givens of, 31
scene cards 189, 192, 197
scene resolution see resolution
scene-outline form see outline
Scheherazade 28
screenplay 4, 84, 104, 141, 164, 179, 201, 203–6, 207, 210; industry standard 203–6, 204; software for 206
Screenwriters Guild of America 206
Sebald, W. G. 41
Second City 28
Seinfeld 160
self-censorship 118
self-exposure 14
setup 51, 52, 67, 69, 70, 78, 98, 100, 113, 139, 143, 148, 169, 170, 191, 194, 195
Shadows 179
Shakespeare, William 15, 196, 200, 207
shapeshifter 57, 126, 157; see also archetypes; fairy tale
“shock of recognition, the” 5; see also “moment of vision”; unfinished business
short fiction film: examples of 154–5, 159–60; genre expectations 156; objectives of 151–2; shopping list of sequences 156, 159–60; story development in 162; three-act structure in 161–2
short story 4, 7, 30, 75, 128, 135, 179, 185, 201, 209–10; example of 70, 133, 151
showing vs. telling 145, 148, 161, 165, 190, 191
simile 170, 199; example of 100
situation 10, 11–12, 28, 29, 32, 36, 38, 39, 47, 51, 52, 57, 64, 68, 69, 74, 76, 78, 80, 93, 99, 109, 110, 119, 141, 143, 144, 145, 146, 151, 162, 172, 181, 182, 195, 196, 197, 201, 203, 205; example of 114, 121, 129, 132, 134, 142, 147, 148, 154–7, 162; see also CLOSAT
Slacker 49
Smoke Signals 197, 198
Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The 66, 66
stage directions 205
stakes 52, 69, 78, 112, 113, 153, 158, 161, 165, 171, 197
Stanislavski, Constantin 7, 29
stories, meaning of 15
Story Effectiveness Questionnaire 77
story elements 8, 38, 157: character development 37–8; conflict 32, 46–7, 69, 74, 75, 76, 78, 145, 196; dramatic detail 39; momentum 39; resolution 32, 70; setting 39, 69; see also act; character; location; object; plot; scene; situation; theme
story structure 189–90; chronological 189, 194; nonchronological 190
storyteller 5, 37, 43, 45, 50, 52, 57, 58, 60, 65, 68, 85, 87, 106, 119, 144, 152, 172, 194, 197, 200, 202; in film 194
storytelling: like striptease, 196–7
Straparola, Giovanni Francesco 108
stream of consciousness 93, 129, 194
style 5, 142, 143, 146, 148, 151, 195, 199, 207, 210
subplot 67, 70, 164, 172, 173, 201
subtext 48, 74, 96, 99, 101, 108, 133, 170, 203, 205; example of 98–9, 101
Surrealist movement 119
Survival in Auschwitz 14
suspension of disbelief 109
Sutherland, David 142
Swedish National Theatre 179
symbol 38, 65, 93, 101, 119, 122, 123, 126, 170, 199, 203; example of 100, 111, 168, 170
talent, the myth of 6, 187
Tess of the d’Urbervilles 99
theatrical tradition 103
theme 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 36, 41, 47, 62, 75, 77, 92, 99, 118, 119, 129, 131, 137, 145, 164, 165, 168, 177, 180, 185–6, 187, 198; example of 47, 86, 97–8, 104, 110, 120–1, 123, 125, 132, 134, 145, 177; see also CLOSAT
Thin Blue Line, The 143
third person 83, 84, 92, 130; example of 88–90, 97, 98–9, 103, 109–10, 111–12, 113–15, 120, 121–3, 124–5, 131–2, 133–4
Thousand and One Nights 28
three-act structure 68–70, 74, 76, 148
Thunderheart, 20, 21
Thurber, James 136
Tolstoy, Leo 195
tragedy 50, 52, 98, 99, 134, 153, 162, 171; example of 91, 97, 98–9
transitions 123, 160, 191–2, 206
trickster 57, 117, 157
troubleshooting 195–8
truth 5, 13, 14, 20, 48, 77, 132, 137, 142, 171, 179; definition of 22
turning point see crisis
Tyler, Anne 91
unfinished business 19, 22, 47, 196
Updike, John 136
Variety 113
Veber, Francis 133–5
volition see dramatic problem
Welles, Orson 170
“what if” sequence 190
willpower 162
withholding 119
Wizard of Oz, The 117
Woman under the Influence, A 179
Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The 14, 63
Woolf, Virginia 129
Woolrich, Cornell 136
work/writing schedule 201
working hypothesis 75–6, 138, 139, 142, 153, 173, 197–8
Wright, Richard 136
writer’s block 118
Writers Guild of America 206, 210
writer’s journal 9, 10, 36, 93; see also dream journal
writer’s roles 4, 8–9, 73; see also audience role; author role; critic role; presenter role
Wuthering Heights 132, 136
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