Questions I think about first:

• What’s the pitch? (Test it, refine it.)

  • This can be a logline, but it can be less fully formed, too. Something as simple as:

  

• What’s Act 2? (That’s the movie.) https://writeandco.com/main-conflict/

• Who’s the audience? (Tone, genre, but also your goal and marketability.)

• Who are the central characters?

• Big beats, scene ideas, genre moments, and character details — collect ‘em all! ☺️

• What does the protagonist learn from this experience?

Start to organize:

• What’s the setup, escalation, resolution? (Just general, broad strokes ideas about what each part involves.) It can even be like:

• Think about the pieces that make up the parts:

  • In Act 1 the goal is created.

    • So we need to know how the goal is created.
    • And since we know good stories require conflict, we need to know who or what is opposing the protagonist’s goal.

  • In Act 2 the goal is pursued.

    • What kind of action does the character take to pursue the goal?
    • What makes the goal increasingly more difficult to achieve?

  • In Act 3 the pursuit of the goal is resolved – the goal is achieved or not.

    • What changes – new information or attitude – to enable the character to make a final push toward the goal?
    • Does the character ultimately succeed or fail?

  • Here’s an example using Little Miss Sunshine:

  

  • Simple story chart to think through your story.

    • https://writeandco.com/top-gun-maverick-story-chart/
    • https://writeandco.com/character-arc-every-scene/

  • Story diagram gets even more specific. (Don’t forget the Major Plot Points.)

    • Blank worksheet linked inside this article: https://writeandco.com/story-structure-worksheet/
    • Bridesmaids example:

    

• Sequence progression (roughly). (This is to start to think about the movie, and Act 2 specifically, in a slightly more granular way.)

  • Focus on Sequences 3-6.
  • Example from Arrival. **This is more detailed than you’d be at this point! Only meant to show the progression of one sequence to the next.

  

  • Example from The Equalizer.