Approaches to Structuring a Screenplay

Plotting a Story Based on Situations From Real Life

Jun 29, 2009

The fun of structuring a true story can be found in manipulating time, characters, and scenes according to timeless, universal models of structure.

If a screenplay is based on the writer’s own true story, or is semi-autobiographical, it can be especially difficult to find a structure. Real life happens haphazardly, and the writer’s job is to find the rhyme and reason to the events that unfold, day by day and year by year.

When thinking about how to structure a screenplay, the writer can draw upon five masters of design and follow the form that best suits their individual story. These authors have all written about applying dramatic structure to events, real or fictional, in such a way as to create an engaging story.

Aristotle

In The Poetics, Aristotle outlays a philosophical approach to storytelling. The idea is to capture the truth of what happened, without literally re-telling events exactly as they happened. According to Aristotle, the job of the dramatist is to capture poetic truth, rather than historical truth.

He asserts, among other things, that it “is an imitation of an action that is complete, and whole, and of a certain magnitude…has a beginning, middle, and an end….the sequence of events, according to the law of probability or necessity, will admit of a change from bad fortune to good, or from good fortune to bad.”

Campbell writes in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces that the journey taken by the hero is the same in all myths, dreams, and religious stories. While the journey may appear different, it always follows the same structure:

McKee

Robert McKee, in Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, gives us several different models for structure. In the Archplot, or Classical Design, there is causality, a closed ending, and a single, active protagonist. In the Miniplot, or Minimalism, there is an open ending, internal conflict, and several, passive protagonists. Finally, in the Antiplot, or Anti-Structure, there is coincidence, nonlinear time, and inconsistent realities.

Field

Syd Field’s The Screenwriter’s Workbook takes a practical, hands-on approach to structure. He presents a paradigm, which is “a model, an example, a conceptual scheme.” In the paradigm, there is Act I, which is the beginning, which is pages 1-30 of setup, including Plot Point I at pages 25-27. In Act II, which is the middle, there is confrontation pages 30-90, including Plot Point II on pages 85-90. Finally, in Act III, which is the end, there is resolution, from pages 90-120.

Rainer

Tristine Rainer, in her book Your Life as Story, details “The Nine Essential Elements of Story Structure" for writers. Her theory suggests that story structure imitates the sexual act. While her focus is on autobiography and memoir, this model is also useful for autobiographical screenwriters. Her list draws upon some of the teachings of Aristotle and Campbell.

Any one of these masters of structure can offer useful insights into structuring a screenplay. The best approach might be to study them all, and then to pick and choose, based on what makes sense for each individual story.

The copyright of the article Approaches to Structuring a Screenplay in Writing for Stage/Screen is owned by Candace Kearns Read. Permission to republish Approaches to Structuring a Screenplay in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.