The document provides an overview of narrative story structure techniques including: - Freytag's Pyramid which outlines the typical 5 act story structure. - The Hero's Journey monomyth which describes the common steps in a hero's adventure. - Guidelines for writing a synopsis, step outline, and character briefs to develop a story. - Tips for researching existing works, conventions, and developing a proposal to pitch a story.

2. For the next 10 minutes, simply write. If you’re stuck for a start, use one of these: A car alarm pierces the silence. John wakes with a start…. The crowd has been growing at a steady pace for a while. It’s the first time anything like this has ever happened… Icy rain and a sharp wind were making this difficult. Mo had only been working for a few minutes but…

3. Narrative Structure Freytag’s Pyramid The Hero’s Journey The Message/Moral Synopsis The Step Outline The Proposal Character Briefs

5. Freytag’s Pyramid cont. Act 1 – Introduction of the complication Act 2 – Rising Action Act 3 - Climax Act 4 – Falling Action Act 5 – Denouement (resolution)

6. ‘ The Hero’s Journey’ (see. Christopher Vogler (and J.Campbell’s ‘Man With A Thousand Faces’)) THE ORDINARY WORLD (i.e. Normalcy) THE CALL TO ADVENTURE (i.e. Conflict) REFUSAL OF THE CALL MEETING WITH THE MENTOR CROSSING THE THRESHOLD TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES APPROACH THE ORDEAL THE REWARD THE ROAD BACK THE RESURRECTION (i.e. Resolution) RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR The above is not a rule. They can be added, removed and altered although this order is the most logical and certainly a great starting point should your story be relevant

7. What is the theme? What purpose does the story serve? Example: Shrek – First impressions aren’t everything. There is something wonderful about who we are and if we be ourselves people will come to love us for our individual strengths. Theme is about writing from the heart. How do you see the world and what would you like your audience to think about?

8. The synopsis is your story One page Present tense Prose (i.e. like a story) Twists, turns, climax Significant characters and their interactions An indication of the style of your script

9. The jigsaw pieces of your script Index Cards (Celtx has a good function for these) if you can’t fit the scene onto a card, your scene is too big/long Each card is a scene Sluglines for each card (i.e. ‘EXT. Ice-cream Parlour – Day’) Briefly describe the action and content Include snippets of key dialogue if necessary Experiment with the order

10. Start with: (Title) is a (genre) in the style of (Movie X) and (Movie Y). Logline Synopsis Step Outline USP (what makes it special/different) The message Character Briefs

11. Gender/ Age/ Nationality/ Sexuality Appearance/ Mannerisms/ Habits Attitudes/ beliefs What do they sound like/ do they have any sayings What family/social relationships do they have Where do they live/ are they tidy, organised etc. Are they successful/ what job do they have What is their education/ childhood upbringing etc. What are their hobbies/ how do they spend their time What are their interests/ favourites/ dislikes Starsign/ are they emotional Do people like them/ are they popular/ what do they think of themselves Are they strong-willed/ obedient etc. What are their goals (long term, short term etc.) What is their dramatic goal (i.e. in your story, what do they want) What is their strengths/ weaknesses/ phobias The backstory – what happened to them before we join them in the story? This is a biography – the more thorough you are, the more you will understand your character and actually, by the time you get it all down you will be surprised that you know your character as well as you actually do.

12. Election Night (Dutch) – European Short Films My Favourite Things - http://vimeo.com/5177243 Post-It Love - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsKghhQ41FM How They Get There - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ3DyxhoJR0 Mr Morgan’s Date With Destiny - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOIdhaJLo8

13. RESEARCH! (primary/secondary) – collate, evaluate and store Existing scripts, layout, style etc. Locations History Character Story & Genre conventions/ scriptwriting techniques (Christopher Vogler/Syd Field etc.) Put together your proposal Title Genre Suggested target audience Logline Synopsis Step outline Character briefs

14. What is your story (1-2-1’s) Continue researching and building the proposal