The Story Solution. Eric Edson
FOR DIANNE
THE GIVER OF GIFTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank all the gifted students who taught me to see.
I thank Michael Hauge — man of wisdom, accomplishment, and generosity — who also, on the side, is one hell of an editor.
I thank my brilliant colleagues in the California State University, Northridge, Department of Cinema and Television Arts, who each day reveal to me the power of mission.
I thank Dr. Linda Venis and my compatriots at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program for the chance to share this extraordinary journey that is a writer’s life.
I thank Michael Wiese, Ken Lee, Matt Barber, Gina Mansfield, and all of the stunningly talented people at Michael Wiese Productions for their full faith and support.
I thank Michele Samit, esteemed comrade in arms, who taught me how to preserve a poet’s soul beneath that required alligator’s hide.
I thank the producers, directors, writers, executives, agents, and actors with whom I have worked — people who prove daily that courage is indeed grace under pressure — many of them generous of heart and a few not so much, but master teachers all.
I thank my friends for those deep bonds of affection that revive and restore.
I thank my family — Dianne, Elise, and Owen — for their unconditional support through hours both dark and light, who discovered the hard way what “obsessive” really means.
And most especially I thank Isla and Kenneth Edson, who first showed me what love looks like, and without whom this book truly would not exist.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEW TOOLS FOR WRITING GREAT STORIES
Laying The Foundation
chapter one: THE SCREENWRITER’S GOAL
chapter two: HOW WE FEEL A FILM
chapter three. HOW CHANGE GRIPS AN AUDIENCE
chapter four. CONFLICT IS KING
Creating Your Characters
chapter five: ELEMENTS OF CHARACTER
chapter six: DIALOGUE THAT SHINES
Building Story Structure
chapter seven: BASIC SCREEN STORY STRUCTURE
chapter eight: THE CHARACTER GROWTH ARC
The Power of Hero Goal Sequences®
chapter nine: THE 23 STORY LINKS IN EVERY GREAT MOVIE
HERO GOAL SEQUENCES® 1~6
chapter eleven: FIRST HALF OF ACT TWO:
SEQUENCES 7~12
chapter twelve: SECOND HALF OF ACT TWO:
SEQUENCES 13~18
chapter thirteen: ACT THREE RESOLUTION:
SEQUENCES 19~23
chapter fourteen: COMPLETE HERO GOAL SEQUENCES® FOR UP
INTRODUCTION
NEW TOOLS FOR WRITING GREAT STORIES
Whether you’re new to storytelling or you’ve already got some screenplay or novel writing experience, this book demonstrates a fresh way to create dynamic stories that will glue readers, agents, and producers to their chairs. The Story Solution: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take offers a unique plot building template that can advance your writing skills into the “sold” category.
Claims I make for this book I consider promises, so don’t think for a second that I take this stuff lightly.
For more than twenty years I’ve been getting paid to write movies and television, including seventeen feature film scripts on assignment. Currently I’m Professor of Screenwriting and Director of the Graduate Screenwriting Program at California State University, Northridge. For over a decade I have also lectured through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, the largest writer training center in the world.
And most sincerely I say — if you choose to work in this magical medium of storytelling, for the screen or for the printed page, you can save years of trial and error in the pursuit of strong plotting craft by applying the concepts explained in this book.
I will use the language of screenwriting here, but do remember