|
Author: Kal Bishop Article source: http://www.clickok.co.uk/. Used with author's permission.
USE STRUCTURE. Structure is all too often dismissed as a hindrance to creativity and, taken to the level of conformity it is, but up to a critical threshold it enhances creative output - both in terms of the quality and size of the idea pool.
Short term goals (incremental productivity) produce more output than a "do your best" approach. With specific regard to creative writing, writing four pages a day completes a words-on-paper first draft screenplay in one month. A "do your best" or "waiting for inspiration" approach can take months or years. Witness the untold number of people with unfinished manuscripts under their beds.
Simply being prolific improves performance and quality. The single best creative product tends to appear at that point in the career when the creator is being most prolific.
Techniques such as separating creative from critical thinking increase the quality and quantity of the idea pool: they allow the production of a large number of ideas and a large number of diverse and novel ideas.
Sustained engagement in the endeavour increases the incidence and frequency of problem identification and thus the incidence and frequency of insight. The frequency of inspiration increases when engaged in the task.
USE THE HERO'S JOURNEY. This is another form of structure. While it is useful to know about plot points, three act structure, mid point (thus four act structure) and so on, this is (virtually) useless for screenwriting. You need to know WHAT to write and the Hero's Journey is the template that the vast number of successful screenplays and stories are based upon. By using the Hero's Journey, your plot points etc will naturally fall into place. Consider this:
a) Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template.
b) Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template.
c) Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template.
d) ET (1982) grossed over $434,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template.
e) Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template.
f) Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) - All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero's Journey.
g) Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc are all based on the Hero's Journey).
DON'T BE AFRAID TO USE DESCRIPTION TO A DEGREE. It is true that cinema is a visual medium and the screenwriter must perfect the art of putting visual imagery on paper. But the screenplay is a word document and the decision maker's imagination has to be fired up by the words. What the eye sees and instantly understands sometimes has to be described. You have two choices:
FADE IN: Old Man waits at a traffic light.
FADE IN: A frail old man, with a face that has lived, wary of others, hesitantly waits at the
The Complete 188 stage Hero's Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.managing-creativity.com/
You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.
Kal Bishop, MBA
**********************************
You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained. Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://www.managing-creativity.com
Stop Trying To Motivate Me!
Motivation is seen as something to be supplied to the workforce in discrete lumps by paid third party gurus.
Modal Theory for Guitar Players - Part 1
An overview of the construction of the modes of the major scale for guitar players. Part 1 deals with the modes, Part 2 deals with the harmonization of the mode...
Heres What a Jacuzzi Will Do For You
Jacuzzi's are a great recreational and health benefit for a home. Having some idea what type and what uses you will have for it, are keys to purchasing the righ...
Improve Your Workplace to Make Your Life Better
This article will help you make your workplace more comfortable. Follow the practical guidelines presented in the article to substantially improve your personal...
Go Ahead and Think Outside the Box!
Think out of the box, and let they that shiver in their boots for fear of trying new things enjoy the view :-)
Business Marketing For Consultants, Coaches, Speakers, and Trainers: How To Be Noticed and Trusted
Business marketing for consultants, coaches, speakers and trainers. How can you be noticed and trusted? This article provides ten tips for the aspiring and expe...
Womens Fashion Ponchos Get Sexy This Summer
Ponchos have come down from the high plains and back into high fashion on to the catwalks this season. Dressed up or down, ponchos hide a multitude of sins and...
Use Textpad Program for Easy Ezine and Web Site Submissions To Bring More Sales
When you create your articles in TextPad format, something like Notepad, but much more versatile. Use Textpad to format all of your email promotion, ezines, or ...
How to Increase Web Site Visitors For Relevant Terms Using Your Less Relevant Listings
Completely by accident and through no effort of my own, besides the effort to get my site spidered by Yahoo's Slurp Search Engine Spider and Google's Googlebot ...
Affirm Your Intentions - Achieve Your Goals
Affirmations charged with vivid imagery and strong emotion can be effective tools for developing thought patterns, and thus actions, needed to achieve goals. Le...
American Gambling Basics
Casinos have always been a destination for the wealthy and the famous, however, these days they are hoping to be a regular stopover. But the gambling cannot be ...
Types of Logos
What type of logo should you use for your company identity? Here are descriptions of the three types of logos you can choose from, and reasons why you might ch...
Strong To The Core of Your Being - The Benefits Of Core Training
If you were to ask me which muscle group in your entire body you could work to get the greatest benefits in the shortest amount of time, I would tell you withou...
Irresistible Click-Me Tools for Marketing
Never mind the irritating, but effective, pop-up window. There is another type of interruption advertising that is much more subtle, much less annoying, and jus...
Media Planning: Smart Choices for Your Success
You say you're ready to advertise. Understanding the benefits and pitfalls of these different forms of media will help you get the most out of your advertising ...
Trade Show Tactics Revealed
Being part of a trade show gives small business a chance to experience economies of scale and to mix around with the big guys. This may also be the most stressf...
Career Search from Within
Finding work that is meaningful and fulfilling is not something we 'figure-out,' abdicate to external forces, nor something we push ourselves to do. Coming to k...
Happiness - Not Something To Pursue
Perhaps the most sought after thing in the world is happiness. Our constitution even provides freedom for the pursuit of happiness. People seek out many thing...
Electric Stoves and Their Benefits
Just what are the benefits of owning an electric stove? There are many things you should consider before you actually purchase one.
Reading, Writing, Rithmetic -- and Recess!
Why is recess being eliminated from the school day when the research shows it promotes -- rather than detracts -- from learning? This article reviews a number ...
Tax Tips for Home-Based Business Owners
As tax time approaches, many home-based business owners begin completing their forms or paying their accountants with trepidation. This nervousness comes from t...
Fourth of July Quotes
MADRID - For millions of Americans, this Fourth of July will be a time of celebration and remembrance of those passed or distanced by war. The annual commemora...
Magic of Goal Manifestation
What goals do you have for your life? If you have goals, is it just in your head? Or do you have a methodology to manifest them? A systematic process to think ...
Calvin Klein 2005 Spring & Summer Collection
Calvin Klein - a name we all recognize and a designer who is world renowned for his fabulous fashions. So how did Calvin Klein come to be.?
|
Print this page