Topic 2:2-1 Outline

An effective script structure begins with an outline, usually written as a sequence of events that flow out of the story. As explained in Lesson 2:2 Script Structure, the simplest outline looks like this:

Outline:

Act I: Setup (The beginning of our story) **

Act II: Conflict, Problem or Challenge (The middle part where stuff happens) **

Act III: Resolution (The ending, when problems are solved)

(** These two stars in the outline above are called plot points that usually come at the end of both Act I and Act II.  These are explained next.)

Plot Points:  From a structural point of view, there are important moments in which the story takes a sudden and unexpected turn.  For instance, when the main character is confronted with a hard decision that needs to be made now. Or a terrible accident puts someone’s life in danger. A villain takes a child and demands to be paid for their return.  Often called inciting incidents, these become pivot points in the story.  They are moments when the narrative shifts from one direction toward a completely different direction.  The hero’s world is turned upside down as they are forced to change plans and adopt a new strategy.  Plot points or inciting incidents are placed in the outline at precise points to help move the story from one act to the next. 

Story vs. Plot:  The structure of a script can have two different ways of organizing the order in which events unfold for our audience.  For this purpose, there are two terms which help us see the way elements are presented differently.  One is the story and the other is the plot.

Story:  The term story is how we describe everything that happens. This includes the chronological series of events in the order they happen which take the main character from the first point to the last.  This is everything that happens to a character and how it changes him/her along the way.

Plot:  The plot is how we describe the non-sequential presentation of events in the story. The plot does not necessarily follow a specific chronology of time. Rather, each plot event shows one more piece of the character’s journey that happens somewhere randomly between the beginning and end of the story.  Plots are usually not chronological. 

In this way, it helps to start by knowing the story of your film first. Then you can make decisions about how the plot will reveal the various points along the way as the story develops.  A good storyteller knows where the story is going and the best way to order the plot so that the viewer stays interested while getting to the end. 

Script Elements: 

The following elements should be thought of as tools to help with the ‘telling’ of your story.  Not all are useful for each story, depending on the message you are hoping to tell.  But consider each of these elements as you begin to build the structure of your story.

Dramatic Arc:  Stories that hold our attention usually have a dramatic element that moves through the three acts outlined above.  Introduced as part of the setup, this dramatic element can be a theme, an expected event, a possible conflict, or as simple as the main character’s desire for his world to return to normal.  Whatever the case, this dramatic element is present throughout the story.  This creates what is called the dramatic arc that is bridged between the beginning and end of the story.  Its presence is often subtle yet helps drive the story and keep our audience engaged through the telling of the details. 

One good example is the struggle of good against evil.  This is often shown as a struggle of ‘right’ against ‘wrong’ which is seen in the actions of characters in conflict within the story. 

Cause and Effect:  The movement of a good story will show people acting and responding in predictable ways.  A good story is careful to present the elements of the story in a way that makes sense.  One action leads to a reaction.  And that reaction leads to another action.  Breaking that pattern causes our understanding of the story to quickly fall apart. 

As you begin to write your story, map out how you want to show the key actions and reactions over the full story.  Remember that one action builds on another, so the back and forth needs to be clear for your audience.

Protagonist vs. Antagonist:  The protagonist is generally the main character of our story, the person we’ve introduced in the setup.  Sometimes it helps to have a second character who serves as the enemy, the villain, or the bad guy (called the antagonist) who is literally the one that goesagainst the main character. 

The best stories sometimes result from close relationships that are broken or when a trusted friend suddenly is revealed to be an enemy.  Sometimes you can use a clearly evil person to introduce a conflict or challenge for the main character. 

In other cases, the story can take the form of an unexpected tragedy that our hero experiences. Or it can be a natural disaster like a terrible storm that changes their life unexpectedly.  In these kinds of stories, it is not always a person who is the antagonist but the event or situation that causes the problem. 

Summary:

The outline helps organize the elements of a story in the most effective order for our audience to experience the drama.  Whether the order follows a plot or story order, the goal is to organize the elements in a way that builds drama in a believable and interesting way.  A good story will hold our attention until the very end as we hope our hero stays alive and succeeds against enemies, allowing life to return to normal.

HANDS ON:

Using the list of story ideas you created in Topic 2:1-2 Stories are Personal, create a short outline of the elements of one story idea using the three act structure taught above.  Be as specific as you want now because you will use this outline later in this course.   (Assignment worth 10 points.  Upload your outline below)

OTHER RESOURCES:

Script Structure w/ Plot Points:  https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/three-act-structure/

Fundamentals of Story: https://writingcooperative.com/fundamentals-of-story-structure-e199f131a891