Fiveable
Fiveable

✍️Screenwriting II

✍️screenwriting ii review

12.2 Addressing Structural Issues

2 min readLast Updated on August 9, 2024

Rewriting and revision are crucial steps in screenwriting. They involve analyzing your script's structure, identifying plot holes, and optimizing scenes. This process ensures your story flows logically and engages the audience from start to finish.

Addressing structural issues means examining your three-act structure, act transitions, and midpoint. It also involves enhancing your climax and resolution. These elements work together to create a compelling narrative that keeps viewers hooked.

Structural Analysis

Three-Act Structure and Plot Holes

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  • Three-act structure divides screenplay into setup, confrontation, and resolution
  • Act 1 (Setup) introduces characters, setting, and main conflict
  • Act 2 (Confrontation) develops conflict, raises stakes, and presents obstacles
  • Act 3 (Resolution) brings story to climax and resolves main conflict
  • Plot hole identification involves scrutinizing story for logical inconsistencies or unexplained events
  • Common plot holes include character motivation discrepancies, timeline errors, and unresolved subplots
  • Address plot holes by adding explanatory scenes, revising character actions, or removing problematic elements

Act Transitions and Midpoint Evaluation

  • Act transitions serve as pivotal moments that propel story forward
  • First act break occurs when protagonist commits to main conflict (approximately 25% into screenplay)
  • Second act break represents lowest point for protagonist, leading to final confrontation (around 75% mark)
  • Midpoint evaluation assesses story progression at halfway point of screenplay
  • Effective midpoint often includes major revelation, raised stakes, or shift in protagonist's goals
  • Analyze midpoint for its impact on character development and plot advancement
  • Strengthen midpoint by introducing unexpected twists, deepening character relationships, or revealing crucial information

Scene Optimization

Scene Order and Subplot Integration

  • Scene order optimization ensures logical flow and maximum emotional impact
  • Analyze each scene's purpose and contribution to overall narrative
  • Rearrange scenes to create better pacing, tension, and character development
  • Consider using non-linear storytelling techniques (flashbacks, parallel timelines) when appropriate
  • Subplot integration weaves secondary storylines into main plot
  • Ensure subplots enhance rather than distract from primary narrative
  • Connect subplots to main story through shared themes, character relationships, or plot consequences
  • Balance subplot screen time to maintain focus on central conflict

Climax and Resolution Enhancement

  • Climax strengthening focuses on creating a powerful, satisfying culmination of story events
  • Ensure climax addresses main conflict and character arcs
  • Heighten tension through escalating obstacles, time pressure, or moral dilemmas
  • Incorporate elements of surprise or revelation to keep audience engaged
  • Resolution effectiveness evaluates how well story wraps up loose ends and provides closure
  • Address all major plot points and character arcs in resolution
  • Consider emotional impact of ending on audience
  • Balance between providing closure and leaving room for interpretation or sequels
  • Revise resolution to reinforce theme and character growth throughout story

Key Terms to Review (16)

Resolution: Resolution is the part of a story where the conflicts are resolved and the narrative comes to a satisfying conclusion. It's essential because it ties up loose ends and shows how the characters have changed, reflecting their journeys throughout the story.
Climax: The climax is the turning point in a narrative where the main conflict reaches its peak intensity, leading to a decisive moment for the characters involved. It’s often the most exciting part of a story, where everything that has been building up comes to a head, affecting the outcome and direction of the plot.
Character Arc: A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character throughout a story, showcasing their growth, change, or development as they face various challenges and experiences. This journey often aligns with the narrative structure and helps to drive the overall plot forward by highlighting how characters evolve in response to their circumstances.
Subplot: A subplot is a secondary storyline that runs parallel to the main plot, adding depth, complexity, and further character development to the overall narrative. Subplots often explore themes or relationships that complement or contrast with the main plot, creating a richer storytelling experience. They can intertwine with the main plot at key moments or remain separate, offering additional layers of meaning and engagement for the audience.
Midpoint: The midpoint in screenwriting is a pivotal moment in the story that usually occurs halfway through the script, serving as a turning point that significantly shifts the narrative's direction. It acts as a bridge between the first and second halves of the story, often revealing critical information or changing the protagonist's goal. This moment typically escalates conflict and engages the audience, ensuring they remain invested in the unfolding drama.
Three-Act Structure: The three-act structure is a narrative framework commonly used in screenwriting that divides a story into three distinct sections: setup, confrontation, and resolution. This format helps to create a clear progression of events and character development, ensuring the audience remains engaged while guiding the story towards a satisfying conclusion.
Obstacle: An obstacle is a challenge or barrier that characters must face and overcome within a narrative, often creating tension and conflict. These hurdles can be physical, emotional, or situational, and are essential for driving the story forward and shaping character development. By confronting obstacles, characters reveal their true selves, experience growth, and often change the course of their journey.
Emotional impact: Emotional impact refers to the ability of a story to evoke strong feelings in its audience, making them resonate with characters and events on a personal level. This connection can enhance the overall effectiveness of the narrative, influencing how viewers perceive and remember the story. Emotional impact is crucial in driving engagement, empathy, and investment in the storyline, leading to a memorable viewing experience.
Act transitions: Act transitions are the pivotal moments in a screenplay that mark the change from one act to another, often signifying a shift in the story's direction or character development. These transitions are crucial for maintaining pacing and momentum, guiding the audience through the narrative while ensuring each act builds upon the previous one and leads into the next. Effective act transitions not only enhance the emotional impact of the story but also help to clearly delineate the structure of the screenplay.
Scene order: Scene order refers to the arrangement of scenes within a screenplay, impacting the overall flow and structure of the narrative. This organization affects how information is revealed to the audience, the pacing of the story, and the emotional trajectory experienced by viewers. Properly managing scene order can enhance character development, build tension, and create thematic resonance throughout the script.
Plot hole: A plot hole is a gap or inconsistency in the storyline that undermines the narrative's logic, making it difficult for the audience to suspend disbelief. These flaws can occur when characters act contrary to established rules or when events contradict previously presented information. Addressing these issues is crucial to maintaining a coherent and engaging story structure.
Flashbacks: Flashbacks are narrative devices that interrupt the chronological flow of a story to revisit past events, often revealing crucial backstory or character motivations. They serve to enhance storytelling by providing context, emotional depth, or contrast to present events, making them a vital tool in various narrative structures.
Non-linear storytelling: Non-linear storytelling is a narrative technique that presents events out of chronological order, allowing for a more complex structure that can enhance themes, character development, and emotional impact. This approach often utilizes multiple timelines, parallel narratives, or shifts in perspective to create a richer experience for the audience.
Theme: Theme refers to the underlying message or central idea that a story conveys to its audience. It's what the narrative ultimately explores and communicates, influencing how characters interact, how conflicts unfold, and how resolutions are reached. Themes can be broad concepts such as love, betrayal, or redemption, and they often manifest through subtext, motifs, and character arcs.
Pacing: Pacing refers to the speed at which a story unfolds, affecting how viewers experience tension, emotion, and overall engagement. It plays a crucial role in determining how scenes flow into one another, influencing the emotional impact of the narrative and the audience's connection to the characters.
Tension: Tension is the emotional strain or anxiety that keeps an audience engaged and invested in a story, often arising from conflicts, stakes, and unresolved situations. It plays a crucial role in maintaining interest and driving the narrative forward by creating anticipation and uncertainty about the outcome of characters' actions.