As well as a relevant video essay I’ve found, I’ll be giving you writing exercises to perform, if you’re keen to either get some practise, or need some motivations to start a new script or novel. It’s exercises like this that form part of my One Hour Screenwriter<\/a> course, which will help you write an entire feature film script in 22 weeks. You can purchase it at the shop here<\/a>. You can also read testimonies here<\/a>\u00a0that show my methods have worked for plenty of other people.<\/p>\n This week, it’s time to push yourself to the limits…<\/p>\n Search the web for photos. There are lots of sites that showcase a variety of photographic work. Find a photo of an interesting or odd-looking person.<\/p>\n Select one situation\/set-up\/ circumstance from each of the following three lists:<\/p>\n List One<\/strong><\/p>\n (a) At a high profile reception for a VIP you\u2019ve been dying to meet<\/p>\n (b) At a funeral home<\/p>\n (c) In a public restroom or toilet<\/p>\n (d) Backstage in a large lecture hall or conference room before you are scheduled to speak at a meeting crucial to your career<\/p>\n Now you have a location. Next, write a scene in which the person in the photo approaches you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This person makes a confession to you.<\/p>\n List Two<\/strong><\/p>\n (a) Has wrecked your car<\/p>\n (b) Is having an affair with your father<\/p>\n (c) Reports that you are fired from your job<\/p>\n (d) Has accidentally killed your beloved pet<\/p>\n Quickly describe the scene, describe your reaction and write the conversation between you.<\/p>\n In the middle of the conversation, someone else arrives and insists that:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n List Three<\/strong><\/p>\n (a) You are a thief and are about to be arrested<\/p>\n (b) You are a long-lost relative<\/p>\n (c) You are infected with a highly contagious virus<\/p>\n (d) Your name was just drawn and you won a fabulous prize but you must go and collect it immediately!<\/p>\n Finish the now three-way conversation. What happens? Write as quickly as you can.<\/p>\n It is helpful to put a character off balance when creating conflict.<\/p>\n Forced conversations inappropriate for the setting help to do that. So does more than one urgent or unsettling matter competing for the character\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n Reversals in tone that take a scene from comic to tragic are also very effective.<\/p>\n Make conflict fresh and lively by finding ways to keep your main character disturbed and forced out of his or her comfort zone.<\/p>\n Make a list of ways to push your character into uncomfortable or panic inducing situations.<\/p>\n Make a list of comic, crazy, disturbing, odd or uncomfortable confrontations for your character.<\/p>\n Lord of the Rings<\/em> is all about characters being forced out of their comfort zone. There’s a lot that writers can learn from the screenplays for the trilogy:<\/p>\nDisturbing News<\/h6>\n
Video Essay of the Week<\/h4>\n