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Finding "key events" really means pinpointing dramatic moments in a script that either help or hinder the hero's journey. Our lives are filled with dramatic moments. Maybe not every day. Maybe not every week. But unless you're a recluse my guess is that every couple of weeks you or someone in your life experiences something dramatic.
You meet someone new. You get dumped by someone without any hint that it was coming. You get stuck in an elevator. Somebody bashes into your car. You bash into somebody's car. One of your closest friends announces that he's moving out of town. You didn't get the promotion you were expecting, but the idiot in the next office gets it. Or there's a death. An serious illness. You break your leg. You fracture your wrists and you can't type.
Dozens upon dozens of things happen, good or bad, to slow you up or move you along in your life.
These are the key events, obstacles and complications you need to give your protagonist throughout your script...especially the first Act. And you need a fairly big event at the end of Act One. And a bigger one at the end of Act Two.
Some people resist this because they want to go against the tide of traditional structure. OK. Go ahead. Just have one big long Act. You'll never sell that script or find anyone to represent it. You're in a competitive market. Studios like scripts with stories. So do audiences. Even audiences who hate mainstream films and prefer independents. Most independent films have stories. The difference between them and Hollywood product is that the stories are less glitzy and more personal.
My advice is this: if you want to sell a script, have a story. Have events that propel it forward. Have a few of those events be really dramatic. Have some twists and turns. Have a powerful ending, not necessarily happy or sad, just satisfying.
It worked for Shakespeare. |
