WEDNESDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:

FORGING CHARACTERS


Fire is one of the most destructive elements known to man. Clothing burns, the most magnificent home built of wood can be destroyed by flames, fire can kill people and animals... it's deadly. Even the greatest works of literature like Dumas' COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO aren't strong enough to survive the flames. But it takes fire to forge steel. The same flames that destroy can make a sword stronger... and more dangerous.

Every story is a trial by fire for the protagonist. Stories are about people - about a character in conflict. A conflict that will either kill him or make him stronger. A problem that will test your hero's mettle.

A good story isn't about the second worst thing that ever happened to a character, nor is it about the minor irritants of every day life - those aren't the things that forge a character. A movie about the difficulties of merging on the 405 freeway isn't going to be very interesting, nor will it resonate with the audience... ten minutes after it's over they will probably have forgotten it. A good story is about the absolute worst thing that could happen to your character - the incident that changes their life forever. The most recent version of Dumas (pere not fils) THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is a great example of a story that shows character through conflict. Life altering conflict.

First, an aside: my expectations for this film weren't very high. Kevin Reynolds has directed flops like RAPA NUI and his version on ROBIN HOOD was saved only by Alan Rickman's performance. The screenwriter, Jay Wolper, is best known as a TV game show producer (MATCHGAME), I don't know if he's ever written a screenplay before this. But somehow they managed to make one of the most enjoyable films I saw in 2002, and the best version of the tale since the 1930s version with Robert Donat.

Character is the key to the film's success.

When the story opens, the best thing you can say about working class sailor Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) is that he has a good heart - he's not very smart, not very brave, and very gullible. Dantes and his wealthy friend Mondego (the wonderfully smarmy Guy Pearce) risk their lives to save their dying ship's captain. For this act Dantes is rewarded with a promotion and a raise - he can now afford to marry his fiance Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk). Mondego is jealous of his friend - why is it that Dantes gets everything Mondego wants? So he frames his friend for treason and murder. On the run from the law, Dantes seeks refuge with his pal Mondego... who draws his sword and captures Dantes.

Dantes is confused, "Why are you doing this?" Mondego replies, "It's complicated."

Dantes isn't smart enough to figure out why his friend would turn against him. But shouldn't our protagonist be smarter than our antagonist? Nope. That removes the conflict. We want our protagonist to be forged by the flames - which means the flames must be more powerful than he is. We don't want our protagonist to be a moron, but we do want him to be outsmarted early on. He must be the underdog.

Dantes grabs a sword... now we have our protagonist and antagonist engaged in a sword fight. What sort of swordsman do you think he is? If Dantes is the best swordsman in the land at the beginning, he has no where to go. Steel gets STRONGER when it is put to the flame - if it starts out strong, why do we need the fire? If Dantes begins as a good fighter, why do we need the story? Every story sets the protagonist on a journey... he can't start at the conclusion! Dantes is a terrible sword fighter - he even cuts himself! He loses the sword and is captured by Mondego.

Dantes is sent to the most hellish prison on Earth where he is whipped without mercy until his back is covered with scars on top of scars. The fires that forge him. His anger transforms him - he learns to read and write... and how to fight. After thirteen years he escapes to track down Mondego and get his revenge.

But vengeance is not only the fire that gives him strength, it's the fire that consumes him. He has changed into a monster named the Count Of Monte Cristo.

The scars on his back are nothing compared to the scars within... and the movie uses the scars we can see as symbols of the ones we can't - good visual writing.

Another good piece of visual writing pops up when the Count meets Mondego's wife... his ex-fiance Mercedes! Though Dantes has changed physically during his thirteen years in prison, she thinks he looks familiar. Later, she sees the Count twisting his hair the way Dantes used to... and knows the truth. Though Dantes has been transformed by the fires into the Count, underneath it all he's the same person... just a lot madder!

Mercedes may be married to Mondego, but she's still the same person... only sadder. In another great bit of visual writing, she still wears the string wedding band that symbolized their love at the beginning of the film. Parts of these characters have been changed forever by the events, other parts remain the same.

When we come to the end, and the stronger, smarter Count faces off against Mondego is a sword fight, it's Mondego who is confused, "Why are you doing this?" The Count pays back the line from the beginning of the film - "It's complicated." Payback lines show us that the tables have been turned - Dantes is now the one in control of the situation. He is now the stronger one. The smarter one. The clever one. Now that Dantes has been forged by the fire of conflict, now that he has made his journey from uneducated weakling to brilliant swordsman; he can fight Mondego and win. The character has GROWN strong enough and smart enough.

If your protagonist begins strong, he has no journey.
If your conflict isn't the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist, he won't be forced to grow.
You want your protagonist to get burned like Edmond Dantes... then rise from the ashes and kick ass!


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How Do I do That?

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FIGURE OUT YOUR STORY!

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ARE YOUR SCENES IN THE RIGHT ORDER?
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GOT STRUCTURE?!

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William Goldman says the most important single element of any screenplay is structure. It’s the skeleton under the flesh and blood of your story. Without it, you have a spineless, formless, mess... a slug! How do you make sure your structure is strong enough to support your story? How do you prevent your story from becoming a slug? This Blue Book explores different types of popular structures from the basic three act structure to more obscure methods like leap-frogging. We also look at structure as a verb as well as a noun, and techniques for structuring your story for maximum emotional impact. Most of the other books just look at *structure* and ignore the art of *structuring* your story. Techniques to make your story a page turner... instead of a slug!

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STORY: WELL TOLD!

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This book takes you step-by-step through the construction of a story... and how to tell a story well, why Story always starts with character... but ISN'T character, Breaking Your Story, Irony, Planting Information, Evolving Story, Leaving No Dramatic Stone Unturned, The Three Greek Unities, The Importance Of Stakes, The Thematic Method, and how to create personal stories with blockbuster potential. Ready to tell a story? Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 85,000 words - 251 pages!

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START STRONG!

*** HOOK 'EM IN TEN *** - For Kindle!


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MOVIES ARE CHARACTERS!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Kindle!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Nook!

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting protagonists! A step-by-step guide to creating "take charge" protagonists. Screenplays are about characters in conflict... characters in emotional turmoil... Strong three dimensional protagonists who can find solutions to their problems in 110 pages. But how do you create characters like this? How do you turn words into flesh and blood? Character issues, Knowing Who Is The Boss, Tapping into YOUR fears, The Naked Character, Pulp Friction, Man With A Plan, Character Arcs, Avoiding Cliche People, Deep Characterization, Problem Protagonists, 12 Ways To Create Likable Protagonists (even if they are criminals), Active vs. Reactive, The Third Dimension In Character, Relationships, Ensemble Scripts, and much, much more. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is once again around 205 pages!

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I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)


Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

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DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

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DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book.

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

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PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

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Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

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WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

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What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

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SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS *** - For Kindle! (Exclusive)


Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

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ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS *** - For Kindle!


Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

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All About Endings!

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GRAND FINALES Blue Book!

The Perfect Ending For Your Story!

The First Ten Pages Of Your Screenplay Are Critical,
But What About The Last 10 Pages?

Creating the perfect ending to your story! This 100,000 word book shows you how to end your story with a bang, rather than a whimper. Everything from Resolution Order to Act Three Tools to Happy or Sad Endings? to How The Beginning Of Your Story Has Clues To The Ending (in case you were having trouble figuring out how the story should end) to Falling Action to How To Avoid Bad Endings to Writing The Perfect Twist Ending to Setting Up Sequels & Series to Emotional Resolutions to How To Write Post Credit Sequences to Avoiding Deus Ex Machinas, to 20 Different Types Of Ends (and how to write them) and much more! Everything about endings for your screenplay or novel!

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All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

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LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! Blue Book!

Distilling Your Screenplay!

Loglines, Treatments, Pitching, Look Books, Pitch Decks, One Pagers, Rip-O-Matics?

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

272 Pages - ONLY $4.99!


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THE BUISINESS SIDE

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK *** - For Kindle!


Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 400 pages!

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FINAL DRAFT SOFTWARE

Use your creative energy to focus on the content; let Final Draft take care of the style. Final Draft is the number-one selling application specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodics and stage plays. Its ease-of-use and time-saving features have attracted writers for almost two decades positioning Final Draft as the Professional Screenwriters Choice. Final Draft power users include Academy, Emmy and BAFTA award winning writers like Oliver Stone, Tom Hanks, Alan Ball, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and more. * * * Buy It!

copyright 2022 by William C. Martell


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SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING

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Over 460 pages packed with tips and techniques. How to write a plot twist, the four kinds of suspense (and how to create it), reversals, ten ways to invent new action scenes, secrets and lies, creating the ultimate villain, five kinds of love interests, MORE! CLICK HERE!

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Naked Class The NAKED SCREENWRITING CLASS ON MP3! The 2001 London Class on 8 MP3s! Recorded *live* the morning after the Raindance Film Festival wrapped. The two day class on 8CD worth, plus a workbook, plus a bonus CD.
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BILL'S CORNER

My nineteen produced films, interviews with me in magazines, several sample scripts, my available scripts list... And MORE!
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Available Scripts

E BOOKS PAGE

bluebook E BOOKS: New Blue Books and Novelettes!
I am expanding all of the Blue Books from around 44 pages of text to around 200 pages! Some are over 250 pages! See what is availabale and what is coming soon!Also, I've been writing Novelletes and there will soon be novels.
E BOOKS: BLUE BOOKS & NOVELLETES

BOOKLETS & PRODUCTS

bluebook FIRST STRIKE BLUE BOOKS
Each Blue Book is 48 pages and focuses on a different aspect of screenwriting. Dialogue. Visual Storytelling. Your First Ten Pages. Act 2 Booster. Protagonists. Great Endings.
Seventeen Blue Books now available!

THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING OUT OF PRINT!