John August

Story and Plot

Writing better bad guys

Story and Plot

Chuck Wendig has 25 things you should know about antagonists:

Antagonists who do evil just to do evil are basically big fucking cartoons. They’re Snidely Whiplash. They’re Cobra Commander. They’re Pageant Moms, Nancy Grace, Rush Limbaugh. In other words: boring, unbelievable, and totally untenable. Give them motivations beyond “being the biggest dick I can be.” Yes, you can in certain modes and stories get away with this (see: Batman’s Joker, or nearly any killer in slasher films), but it’s hard, and it puts an even greater weight on the shoulders of the protagonist.

One of the challenges of screenwriting is finding the sweet spot between two opposing needs:

  • You want your protagonist to be pushing the story, and not just responding to problems.
  • You want your antagonist to keep making life as difficult as possible for your hero, constantly raising the stakes.

Basically, your protagonist and antagonist each want to drive the plot. They’re fighting for control of the steering wheel.

If you remember that every villain is a hero, it’s often helpful to look at the whole story from the other guy’s point of view. Don’t just ask what the villain wants. Ask what the villain needs. Look for an arc so that he can change as well.

That doesn’t mean you ultimately have to split your time evenly between hero and villain. You almost certainly shouldn’t. But knowing what that guy’s movie would be can help you find the best story overall.

Setting, perspective and terrible numbers

Episode - 45

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Challenge, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, WGA

It’s two parts craft and one part business as Craig and John discuss the alarming earnings report coming out of the WGA, plus a deeper look at setting and POV.

For feature screenwriters, it’s hard to find a silver lining in the WGA’s report on 2011 earnings. Numbers are down significantly, both in total dollars and the number of writers earning anything at all.

2011 earnings chart

Of course, you don’t have to be employed to write a script, so we spend the rest of the show talking about two crucial aspects of screenwriting: choosing effective settings and deciding on POV.

Setting is both a macro and micro decision. Early on, you need to figure out where your movie takes place. Everything about your story will be impacted by the world you choose. Then as you write individual scenes, you look for environments that provide opportunities and challenges for your characters — and for the director. Film is a visual medium, so smart screenwriters consider what settings will suit a big screen.

Perspective, or POV, is about figuring out which characters have storytelling power in your movie. Which characters can anchor a scene without the hero? Which characters can do voiceover? The choices you make greatly effect audience expectation, so it’s worth thinking about at the very start.

Finally, we talk about the Three Page Challenge. On an upcoming podcast, we’ll be critiquing three pages (and only three pages!) from listeners’ scripts. If you want to participate, visit johnaugust.com/threepage for details.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 7-12-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Endings for beginners

Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

John and Craig look at how to write satisfying third acts. That doesn’t necessarily mean a happy ending, but rather one that feels earned.

If the first 10 pages of a script establish a contract between reader and writer — give me your undivided attention and I will make it worthwhile — the last 10 pages are where that contract is paid out. This is where screenwriters generally need to spend much more time, yet it’s often hurried and rushed.

Looking at the headlines, Craig fills us in on Hayden Christiansen’s lawsuit against USA Network’s Royal Pains and what it means for screenwriters. (Expect to be signing new forms.)

We also discuss a listener’s lament that studio execs have learned all the wrong lessons from the success of Avengers (and the failure of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter).

All this and vocal fry in the new installment of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 7-6-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here.