John August

Story and Plot

The Conflict Episode

Episode - 179

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Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Words on the page

Craig and John discuss conflict — why it’s bad in real life but essential in screenwriting. We define six forms of conflict common in movies, then look at ways to sustain conflict within a scene and throughout a story.

We also look briefly at Whiplash, both the conflict between its two main characters and the controversy over whether it should be considered an original or an adapted screenplay.

If you can spare the ten seconds it takes, leaving us a rating on iTunes is a great way to help others find Scriptnotes. Thanks!

Links:

* [Academy & WGA At Odds Over ‘Whiplash’ Screenplay](http://deadline.com/2015/01/academy-and-wga-at-odds-over-acclaimed-whiplash-screenplay-will-it-hurt-oscar-chances-1201341846/) on Deadline
* [Snowpiercer: Left or Right](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X05TDsoSg2Y) on YouTube
* [Star Trek: The Next Generation In 40 Hours](https://medium.com/@MaxTemkin/star-trek-the-next-generation-in-40-hours-c4a6762cbd3) by Max Temkin
* [Weekend Read now has 21 award season scripts](http://johnaugust.com/2015/weekend-read-for-your-consideration) (and counting)
* [Sous-vide cooking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide) on Wikipedia
* [Sansaire](http://sansaire.com/) home sous-vide macine
* [Slow-poached eggs](http://momofukufor2.com/2010/01/slow-poached-eggs/) from Momofuku
* [Spoiled Brats: Stories](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I828AYK/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Simon Rich, and its short story [Gifted](http://nypost.com/2014/12/28/in-book-excerpt-ex-snl-writer-takes-aim-at-proud-nyc-parents/)
* [Rate us on iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496?mt=2) and help new listeners find Scriptnotes
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Jason Young ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_179.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_179.mp3).

**UPDATE 1-15-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-179-the-conflict-episode-transcript).

Cutting Pages and Fixing Holes

Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Words on the page

It’s a clip show! John and Craig discuss cutting pages from your script, fixing plot holes, and what we’d do if we ran a studio. We’ll be back with all new episodes in 2015, the year of post-outrage rationality.

Links:

* Episode 28: [How to cut pages](http://johnaugust.com/2012/how-to-cut-pages-2)
* Episode 27: [Let’s run a studio!](http://johnaugust.com/2012/lets-run-a-studio)
* Episode 59: [Plot holes, and the myth of perseveraversity](http://johnaugust.com/2012/plot-holes-and-the-myth-of-perseveraversity)
* [The Year of Outrage](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2014/12/the_year_of_outrage_2014_everything_you_were_angry_about_on_social_media.html)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes editor Matthew Chilelli ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_177.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_177.mp3).

Left or Right

Directors, Story and Plot

This link has been sitting in my queue for months, but it’s still worth sharing. Tony Zhou looks at how character choice is framed as [going left or right](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X05TDsoSg2Y).

You see this technique in movies going back to the dawn of cinema, but no recent movie has used it as fully as Snowpiercer, in which the entire film moves on a linear track.

On the page, you’ll rarely call out “right” or “left.” But that sense of forcing characters to choose between two visual possibilities is a fundamental and frequently-useful paradigm.

Hacks, Transference and Where to Begin

News, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

John and Craig talk about where to start a story — how far back should you go? The decision about whether to meet the hero as a child, in their normal rut, or mid-crisis fundamentally changes the narrative, so it’s worth exploring fully.

We also discuss the psychological phenomenon of transference, and how writers’ desire for approval can lead to strange (and strained) relationships with executives and other authority figures. Finally, the Sony hack: was it a one-off, or will this be the first of many?

There are still a few tickets left for Thursday’s live Holiday show. Tickets available through the link below.

Links:

* [Get your tickets now](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-holiday-show/) for the Scriptnotes Holiday Show
* The application period for the [2015 Sundance Episodic Story Lab starts tomorrow](http://www.sundance.org/programs/episodic-storytelling)
* [re/code on the “Unprecedented” Sony hack](http://recode.net/2014/12/07/sony-describes-hack-attack-as-unprecedented/)
* [Transference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transference) on Wikipedia
* [Google ReCAPTCHA](http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-one-click-recaptcha/) from Wired
* [Endless Alphabet](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/endless-alphabet/id591626572?mt=8) on the iTunes Store
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Kris Gotthelf ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_174.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_174.mp3).

**UPDATE 12-15-14:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-174-hacks-transference-and-where-to-begin-transcript).