Due 11/13

A. Outline your story.
B. Write your story.
C. Revise your story -- Questions you must be able to answer through the revision process:

1. What is the goal of your story? The goal of a story can be to entertain or enlighten. A good story does one of these. A great story does both. A bad story does neither.

2. Does your concept have a shape? A beginning, middle, and end? The beginning should account for approximately 25%, the middle 50%, and the end 25%.

3. Does your concept have direction? Your story must move forward. We must see the situation before the change, we must see the change and then see life after the change.

4. Does your concept have momentum? A story is at its slowest when it begins and speeds up steadily to the end. Most stories slow down again at the end. A story’s momentum can be thought of as how often things are changing.

5. Does your concept have depth?  Stories should have layers. A layer can come from plot events that can be interpreted in more than one way. Just as a story gets faster as it progresses, it also should get deeper.

6. Does your concept have unity? Stories are whole. They have no extra parts and no missing parts.The story’s shape, direction, momentum and depth should all support and strengthen each other, creating unity.

7. For each scene ask yourself:  Does this scene move the story forward or does it reveal information about the character. If the scene does not satisfy one, or both, of these two elements, then it doesn’t belong in the story.

8. Deconstruct your characters

How is the character introduced?

What does the character need or want in the beginning of the story?

What do we learn about the character in each scene, whether it’s from the character himself, other characters or by other means (setting, narration, etc.)?

How is any character backstory presented?

How do the character’s needs and wants change as the story progresses?

How are character turns and reveals handled?

How does the character development stem from/influence the plot?

How does the character grow and change by the end of the story?

How does the character influence other characters?

You need to have a deep understanding of how each character is built, what they add to the story and how they work together with the plot to create an engaging story.

D. Print out two copies of your story.
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E. How you will be critiqued -- If you want surpass the expectations of draft 1 print the critique notes below or forward w/ a copy of your story to a friend to get an early critique and make revisions based upon the feedback prior to turning in draft 1.

PLOT

• Is the plot engaging and satisfying? If not, why?
• Are there slow, confusing or dull spots? How would you fix these?
• Is the plot surprising or predictable? How so?
• Are the subplots engaging and satisfying? Do they add to the main plot?
• Does the plot fulfill the promise of the idea or does it feel incomplete or not fully realized?
• Are there any plot holes that need to be fixed?
• Does the plot stem from and work with the characters and theme or does it feel forced upon them?
• Are each of the acts complete and balanced?
• Is one part of the plot notably better or worse than the rest?
• How much tension is there in the plot? In each act? In each scene?

CHARACTER

• Do the characters feel genuine to the story?
• Is the protagonist likeable? Why or why not? What does this add to the story?
• Is the antagonist appealing? Why or why not? What does this add to the story?
• Does the size of the cast fit the size of the story?
• How long is the protagonist’s arc? How would lengthening, shortening or eliminating that arc change the story?
• Do other characters have arcs? What do those arcs add?
• How much backstory do we get about the characters?
• Do each of the characters have unique personalities and dialogue?
• Is the story character-driven or plot-driven? What if you switched it?
• What are the characters’ strengths and weaknesses?

THEME

• What are the script’s primary theme? 
• How well is the theme expressed through plot?
• How well is the theme expressed through character and dialogue?
• How strong or weak is the theme? What if it was emphasized or deemphasized?