Last week we talked about how to discover Stakes and Motivations. But, how do you use them to create a powerful story? Let the Fight Begin! One of my favorite movies for continually raising stakes and forcing the viewer to the edge of her seat is the thriller, Cellular. Just to recap, in a nutshell, it’s a movie about a woman who is kidnapped. She uses a demolished phone to call for help and gets hold of a young man whose girlfriend has broken up with him because of his irresponsibility. A deadline of sorts hangs over their conversation (an essential element in any suspense), because, at any moment, they could get cut off, and she may never be able to dial out again. She must convince this random guy […]
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Too Stupid to Live? Building Act 1 with believeable motivations!
Yesterday we talked about incorporating the first couple beats of your story into the first Act, and especially the first scene. Today, we’re going to continue the conversation by show how we might use Why/Why Nots to help move our character forward in his journey toward Act 2. ACT 1 Review: Life Inciting Incident The Big Debate (Romantic) Quest You’ve already established your character’s home world and had them meet in a way that helps the reader to feel sympathy for your characters. You’ve also shown that they have an interest/need for something more, namely, a romance. Finally, you’ve hinted at the stakes of the story, and perhaps even woven that in with the Why Not (or obstacles) between your characters. E.g., having your character say, “The […]
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