Over the holiday, while working away on my book, the follow-up to Save the Cat! (that has so much new information on genre that I am really having fun writing it, and can’t wait for you to see it), I was watching my favorite movie ever: Lawrence of Arabia.
I saw something this time (enhanced in later versions of this classic)… it all starts with a map.
After his motorcycle mishap, when we first meet Peter O’Toole as Lawrence in Cairo, he is in the basement of British headquarters, looking at a map of Arabia and surroundings. Geography plays a big part in this monumental tale, particularly helpful when Lawrence decides to attack Aqaba “…from the land.”
This initial scene with Lawrence hovering over a geographic snapshot of what will become the landscape of our story, shows how an overview and knowledge of what we can expect “out there” is vital. In the film, and in history (by coincidence I am re-reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence — even more remarkable in light of current events), the secret of Lawrence’s success was knowledge of the terrain… and having a plan. And we should all follow his example.
When we look out over the map of 2007, what is our plan?
Do we have a set goal of how many scripts we are going to write? A set number of new contacts we are going to make? What can we do with our knowledge of the landscape to change events to our advantage? And what do we hope to accomplish by journey’s end? On December 31, 2007, will we say that we met all our goals? Some? None? Do we have a Variety article in mind with a headline about us?
It all starts with a map.
Take a moment to “beat out” the plot points of your year ahead. What do you expect to happen out there, and what can you do to make it happen?
My map includes Vancouver and Austin in the first quarter of 2007 and I am really excited about both these events. I want to meet more of you this year. I want you to succeed with your writing like you never have. And I plan on bringing you the best information and insight possible to do just that.
What are your plans for the year? Log in and commit!
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If you check out There’s Something About Mary (my favorite comedy), it doesn’t even come close to the structure of Save the Cat. You have Fun-N-Games stuff happen on pg. 99! Check out the montage when Ted and Mary start to fall in love. That’s where it happens, definitely not a place for typical fun-n-games. I think a new paradigm might be in order.
Happy New Year Blake!
I just finished my first script using the methods in your book, so I can’t wait to get started on 2007. My plans are as follows:
1) Get my new script into as many hands as possible.
2) Write another script using the BS2.
3) Then repeat.
That’s a pretty simple map, I know, but hopefully it will get me where I want to go.
All the best,
Gary
Hey Greg, thanks for the heads up on Mary — one of my favorites too! The whole point of having the paradigm and terms like “Fun And Games” is to give us a language to discuss these movies. And a lot of this will be clearer in the sequel to Cat! In the new one (out this fall), I dissect such seemingly “free-form” movies as Napoleon Dynamite, Open Water, Eternal Sunshine and Crash — all follow the BS 2 to a “T.” Yes, the elements may be moved around in certain cases. Theme Stated may appear later than page 5 for instance, and yet all the elements that make a story resonate are in there. But thanks! This gives me a chance to check out a Farrelly Brothers film; love those guys!!
Greg’s comment brought up a point I was thinking about a lot while writing my latest script. I watched a lot of similar movies for research, and one in particular that I found very useful, structurally, was 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN.
That perfectly conforms to the BS2. But here’s the thing: Andy and Trish only start dating in the second half of the movie, so when they have the traditional ‘Fun & Games’ scenes where they get to know each other, this is in fact happening in ‘Bad Guys Close In’ territory. But if you really think about it, the ‘Bad Guy’ in this movie is really the threat of Trish figuring out the truth about Andy. So when they go out on dates and get to know each other, this is really the ‘Bad Guy’ closing in, because the threat of Trish finding out the truth begins to grow.
Another movie I studied was SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and I noted that it was structurally very similar to 40YOV, particularly with respect to how Mary and Ted only start dating in the second half.
Anyway, I don’t want to sidetrack the thread, so let me just add something to my map for 2007:
4) Watch and analyze the structure of more good movies.
I found this to be an extremely helphful. And once you know what to look for, it’s actually a lot of fun as well. I can’t remember the last time I popped a DVD into my computer without having a pen and pad of paper handy to jot down notes.
Anyway, hurry up with the new book, Blake, can’t wait to read it!
Gary
Maps? Resolutions? Oh, gee. I can’t just coast forward?
1: Shape up some stories to pitch to a comic book editor.
2: Get back to work on various scripts.
3: Continue working on my website.
I’ll let that go for now. That should be enough. Because there’s always procrastination!
Speaking of which… I’m going to be indulging in some of that Saturday morning. There’s this guy that’s going to be speaking…. Slake Bynder? Something like that. :)