For those of you who missed my live Tweetcast on Twitter and Facebook yesterday… Enjoy.
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CHARACTER

Dimensions of Characters: emotion, realisation, decision, action #fb #lindaseger

Different characters hav different emotional ranges. #fb #lindaseger

Characters’ philosophies come out in their attitudes, wot they do and (sometimes) wot they say. #fb #lindaseger

A 3D character thinks, acts, feels. Character description shld not rely on physical traits. #fb #lindaseger

CONFLICT

It’s difficult cos We’re told to diffuse conflict in REAL LIFE – Yet hav to do opposite in screenwriting #lindaseger #fb

So many writers shy away form CONFLICT – Yet it is the lifeblood of ANY movie #fb #lindaseger

Wot characters need: motivation – action – goal – conflict #fb #lindaseger

THEME/AUDIENCE

Who is this for? Wot is ur demographic and how can ur movie TALK TO ur chosen audience? #fb #lindaseger

Themes are issues we deal with every day – audiences come to see movies about THEM. #fb #lindaseger

4 places u can find theme – dialogue (1 line, v memorable, concise); story (wot type of stories do I tell?); #fb #lindaseger

Theme 2/2. character – who they are, wot they are, how they DO; images – visuals hav meaning, diff to description #fb

I find specs with no identity/sense of audience rarely communicate much in terms of story/theme #fb #lindaseger

#lindaseger recommends lookin to psychology for help on audience and theme – esp Eric Erikson #fb

Teenage audience? Theme often individuality vs conformity – ie. Dead Poets’ Society – plus adult audience rmbr facing that #fb #lindaseger

Want a child/family audience? There’s a gd chance ur story needs to about self esteem – eg. ET #lindaseger #fb

Finding Theme – ‘versus’, ie. Conformity vs. Creativity as in DEAD POETS’ SOCIETY. #fb #lindaseger

Drama is a verb, not a noun. Not, ‘an integrity theme’ – it’s about FINDING INTEGRITY #fb #lindaseger

Solely thematic scenes often get cut – why it’s important to integrate theme in ALL scenes. #fb #lindaseger

ACTION

U wanna make something of it? The answer is always YES. Develop the action of the scene, don’t take easy route #fb #lindaseger

Gd, memorable movie scenes hav 3 acts of their own – ie. The murder in WITNESS, the train in THE FUGITIVE #lindaseger #fb

True INCIDENTS work better than true LIVES as stories. Most ppl don’t live in ‘right’ dramatic order. #lindaseger #fb

SUBPLOTS

A good subplot or B story supports the A story, it is not separate #lindaseger #fb

A gd subplot or B story needs a 3 act structure of its own. V often a love story #lindaseger #fb

If u want lots of twists and turns in ur movie, one way is by creatin subplot/s. #lindaseger #fb

STRUCTURE

A story is a sequence of responses to a central question. #lindaseger #fb #in

#lindaseger doesn’t just call act 1 the set up but also the CONTEXT. #fb #in

Ur characters CREATE EVENTS in act 2. V underestimated in spec pile, characters often runnin on spot! #lindaseger #fb

American movies v plot driven, why they export well. Gd Q to ask of ur own work – can ppl of other cultures get it? #lindaseger #fb

Most specs I see, it’s hard to see wot the central question is – which impacts on those responses. The wtf? Draft! #lindaseger #fb

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

The creative process – preparation, incubation, illumination, verification. #lindaseger #fb #in

Incubation is am excellent pt – I see too many writers rushing to finish when their drafts just need TIME #lindaseger #fb #in

Evaluating work shld come LAST – don’t write a page or a single draft and say ‘it’s awful’. It can only get better. #lindaseger #fb #in

Good feedback is positive and helps u find solutions. Stay away from negative ppl. Obvious but true – protect urself #lindaseger #fb #in
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NOTE — Notice how little Linda Seger says about dialogue!!!! Very interesting.

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