In his book "Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business," playwright and movie director David Mamet offers the following three questions as "the long lost secret of the Incas."
1) Who wants what from whom?
2) What happens if they don't get it?
3) Why now?
For every successful scene, a writer must know the answer to these three questions (and convey it to the audience.)
Submitted for your approval...
1) Who wants what from whom?
2) What happens if they don't get it?
3) Why now?
For every successful scene, a writer must know the answer to these three questions (and convey it to the audience.)
Submitted for your approval...
posted by:
|
Boca Raton
|
-
Re: The long lost secret of the Incas
Fri, July 6, 2007 - 9:49 PMAhh, ...
the eternal questions of who, what, where, when, who and why.
Keys to succes.....
unless your dealing with someone who just does, without reason.
Do you thing that's possible? -
-
Re: The long lost secret of the Incas
Sat, July 7, 2007 - 8:14 AM>>>>>unless your dealing with someone who just does, without reason.
Do you thing that's possible? <<<<
I've been told many of my stories aren't stories because nothing happens, if that's what you mean!
I started out writing songs and songs *may* be about something but don't *have* to be. I think all James Brown says in "Hot Pants" is "hot pants" but it's a cool song. And some great songs are silly---car songs, some party songs, and nonsense in general---so when I started to write fiction, it was a rude awakening to realize it should be *about* something.
I thought, "Well, it's not fair if I want the reader to like X and dislike Y--that's manipulation! Let the reader decide!" The problem there is that the reader puts the story down because he doesn't care about X or Y. In drama, people exist to the extent their desires are plain and urgent. Shakespeare was brilliant at that---you know what all twenty people in his plays are after!
-
