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By definition, a chassis is the rectangular, usually steel frame, supported on springs and attached to the axles, that holds the body and motor of a car.
Bringing your screenplay to completion is like building an automobile. You can't drive the car unless the chassis is solid. Screenplays are like that. You can get to the last page and write FADE OUT, but if the steel frame of your story is weak in spots you'll sputter and come to a halt.
The biggest problem that screenwriters have is finding the structure. They may have a story, but they haven't totally nailed the spine. As a friend of mine said recently, some scripts have lots of meat, but not enough bone.
The worst way to discover that your script lacks bone is by writing it without benefit of an outline...even a short outline in which you break down each Act.
The best way to avoid not having enough bone is to work on that 3 Act Breakdown/Outline/Storyline--whatever you want to call it. It's difficult to do these things, but by forcing yourself to think things through before you get stuck in the script with scenes that don't work or events that are not properly motivated you'll save yourself lots of aggravation and you'll have a solid chassis to work with.
This is the last column I'll be writing in which I concentrate strictly on screenwriting. In a few weeks I'll be back with a new column devoted to filmmaking.
And remember:
"Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat are in the hands of the gods. So let us celebrate the struggle."
Swahilli Warrior song
Regards,
D.B. Gilles
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