The Story Solution

1. Feelings Drive the Audience Experience

Everything a screenwriter sets out to accomplish begins with the focused, simple, paramount goal of leading an audience into a meaningful experience of feeling deeply.

Emotional connection is paramount. Audiences go to movies to feel deeply, to experience a catharsis of emotion. This fundamental human need is the core purpose of storytelling, whether for the screen or the page. Successful films, regardless of genre, tap into this desire by creating narratives that resonate on a profound emotional level.

Stories are modern myths. Every tale, consciously or unconsciously, offers an object lesson in how to live, a myth about a hero confronting or preserving societal ideals. Audiences are hardwired to seek meaning, finding it most often within the hero's journey and their struggle to overcome personal flaws. The hero's emotional growth reveals the film's theme.

Theme resides in the hero's flaw. The message of a story emerges as the hero battles an inner shortcoming to achieve their external goal. This transformation from immaturity to maturity, from hiding behind a mask (identity) to emotional honesty (essence), is the hero's inner journey. Examples:

• Shrek: Must risk emotional openness to find love.
• Citizen Kane: Must give love to receive it.
• Legally Blonde: Must find self-worth to achieve fulfillment.

2. Character Sympathy is Non-Negotiable

Your reader needs to care deeply before she can be brought to feel deeply.

Liking the hero is crucial. To emotionally engage an audience, they must first, on some level, like or care about the hero. This is true even for morally questionable anti-heroes. Sympathy fosters identification, allowing the audience to project themselves into the hero's journey and commit to the emotional ride.

Sympathy is built, not assumed. Hollywood invests heavily in creating sympathetic heroes, often relying on star power, but writers must build it into the character and story from the outset. Sympathy doesn't mean creating a flawless person; flaws make characters relatable, but they must be balanced with admirable qualities.

Nine ingredients for sympathy: Successful heroes typically possess several of these traits, especially courage, as only brave characters drive the plot through action.

• Courage
• Unfair Injury
• Skill
• Funny
• Just Plain Nice
• In Danger
• Loved By Friends and Family
• Hard Working
• Obsessed

3. Change and High Stakes are Essential

One major reason why everybody loves the movies so much is that the language of film is a language of constant change.

Movies are about transformation. Audiences crave change in stories, a relentless flow of transformative events that take the hero from their ordinary world to a vastly different place. This cumulative transformation is built from a series of smaller, quantifiable changes occurring at regular intervals throughout the narrative.

High stakes fuel the journey. For change to be dramatically effective, the hero must be motivated by something important at stake. The higher the stakes, the more riveting the story, as the hero is willing to take greater risks. The only stakes powerful enough to sustain audience interest throughout a feature film are life or death.

Two types of life or death stakes:

• Type A (Literal): Physical survival is on the line. Failure means death. (e.g., action, thrillers).
• Type B (Metaphorical): The hero risks losing something life-defining like true love, self-worth, or personal fulfillment, resulting in a "death of the spirit." (e.g., romances, dramas).
  Only the hero's actions can drive this change forward; passive heroes who don't fight for their own fate sink scripts.

4. Conflict is the Engine of Story

All screen story structure exists to drive some worthy hero onward through ever more daunting conflict toward an important goal.

No story without battle. Conflict, the clash between a hero and an opposing force (the adversary), is the heart and soul of screenwriting. It must be present on two levels simultaneously: external (physical action) and internal (the hero's struggle to overcome a psychological roadblock).

Effective conflict elements: Conflict must be strong, visible, and escalate throughout the story.

• Strong: Adversary appears unbeatable, hero desperately wants the goal, stakes are life or death.
• Visible: External battle keeps the plot active, allowing internal struggle to be shown through behavior.
• Nasty: Writers must challenge their heroes with increasingly difficult obstacles and setbacks.
• Develops: Conflict must grow in ferocity, not just appear in isolated scenes.
• Surprises: Unexpected turns keep the audience engaged.
• Believable: Characters must behave in ways that hold human truth within the story's world.
• Resolved: The main issue must be settled in a meaningful final showdown.

5. Every Character Serves the Hero

Every speaking character in your story must be there for a reason. Every single one.

Chess pieces on the board. Like pieces in a chess game, every character in a screenplay has a specific function relative to the hero. They either help or obstruct the hero's journey. Understanding these character categories, often rooted in universal archetypes, is crucial for effective plotting.

Key character categories: While minor characters exist, the main cast (typically 5-7) should fulfill these roles to provide conflict, support, and thematic depth.

• Hero: Drives the story through pursuit of a goal.
• Adversary: The main opposing force, determined to stop the hero. Must be a single individual, appear unbeatable, and believe in their cause.
• Love Interest: Provides major story change, sexual tension, and forces hero growth.
• Mentor: Conveys important skills, knowledge, or wisdom to the hero. Often dies.
• Sidekick: Loyal companion who challenges the hero's motivations and provides support/comic relief. Does not experience growth.
• Gate Guardian: Initially opposes the hero, forcing them to prove worthiness, then often becomes an ally.
• Allies: Various types (Comparison, Comic, Helper-Follower, Hopeful Savior, Cheerleader, Endangered Innocent) who support the hero.
• Opposition: Characters who work against the hero (Adversary Agent, Independent Troublemaker, Minions).

6. Dialogue Reveals, Action Defines

What characters choose to do and how they do it demonstrates who they are far more tellingly than anything they say.

Behavior is character. In visual storytelling, a character's actions and choices reveal their true nature more powerfully than their words. Dialogue is a crucial tool, but it serves to advance conflict and reveal character through action, not replace it. Excessive dialogue often signals a weak underlying story.

Dialogue's purpose: Every line should be an attempt by a character to get what they want from another, advancing the conflict in the present moment.

• Advances conflict: Drives the dramatic tug-of-war.
• Humming tension: Underlying desire and anxiety within spoken words.
• One thought: Generally, each speech should contain one idea requiring a response.
• Conveys subtext: Allows the audience to infer meaning.
• Accompanied by action: Physical description is essential to ground dialogue and reveal emotion.
• Unique voices: Each character should speak distinctly based on their background and state of mind.
• Brief and purposeful: Avoid small talk, pleasantries, and long monologues unless dramatically justified.
• Avoids exposition: Show, don't tell, backstory.

7. Structure is the Skeleton of Story

Movies that work emotionally for audiences are composed of three acts.

Order creates meaning. While novels can wander, movies require a focused, ordered structure to deliver maximum emotional impact within a limited time. The visual ordering of events is paramount, providing the skeleton upon which character and plot are built.

Ten structural tent poles: These universal components provide the framework for every successful screen story.

• Act One (Setup): Introduces the hero, ordinary world, and general goal (approx. 25-35 pages).
• Act Two (Conflict/Development): Hero pursues a specific goal against opposition, undergoes growth (approx. 60-80 pages).
• Act Three (Resolution): Final confrontation and wrap-up (approx. 7-20 pages).
• Inciting Incident: Event that launches the hero's involvement in this specific story (Act One).
• Stunning Surprise #1 (SS1): Unexpected event ending Act One, throwing hero into a new world.
• Midpoint: Sequence halfway through Act Two, often a point of no return, deepening commitment/conflict.
• Act Two Climax: Peak conflict/action near end of Act Two, but not final resolution.
• Stunning Surprise #2 (SS2): Surprise reversal ending Act Two, destroying hero's plan, launching Act Three.
• Obligatory Scene: Final showdown between hero and adversary in Act Three, resolving main conflict.
• Denouement: Wraps up remaining plot/character threads after the Obligatory Scene.

8. Character Growth is a Three-Step Arc

Once a writer genuinely understands story structure, adding character growth becomes a relatively simple task.

Trauma creates the shield. Character growth begins by establishing a hero who experienced a past emotional trauma, leading them to develop a self-protective shield that isolates them. This shield prevents them from achieving their full potential or connecting deeply with others.

Three steps to overcoming the shield: Within Act Two, at specific points, the hero must confront and ultimately overcome this inner conflict.

• Step 1 (Express): Early in Act Two, the hero consciously or unconsciously verbalizes the nature of their emotional baggage.
• Step 2 (Battle): During the Midpoint, the hero actively attempts to lay down their shield and fight their inner pain, but initially fails.
• Step 3 (Overcome): Late in Act Two, the hero finally conquers their inner defensiveness through action, demonstrating permanent change.
  This growth is often triggered or tested by the Love Interest or other key relationships.

9. Hero Goal Sequences Link the Plot

Every commercially successful movie contains the same detailed pattern in screen storytelling, consisting of 23 specific, linking story actions I call Hero Goal Sequences®.

Quantifiable story units. Beyond basic structure, successful films are composed of 20 to 23 distinct, progressive sections called Hero Goal Sequences (HGS). These sequences, typically 3-7 pages (2-4 scenes), ensure relentless forward momentum and prevent plot holes.

The HGS mechanism: In each sequence, the hero pursues one short-term physical goal. The sequence ends when the hero discovers "Fresh News" – new information that resolves the current goal and presents the next one, driving the narrative chain.

• Fresh News: The key linking element, always raising dramatic intensity.
• Unique Goals: Each short-term goal must be distinct, even if similar to previous ones.
• Active Hero: Ensures the hero is always pursuing an urgent objective.

Consistent structure across genres: The number of HGS in Act One (6) and the first half of Act Two (6) is constant. The Midpoint is always HGS #12, and SS2 is always HGS #18. Act Three contains 2-5 HGS, including the Obligatory Scene and Denouement.

10. Act One Sets the Stage (HGS 1-6)

Act One presents a Hero living his everyday life in his ordinary world, and then introduces a general, physical story goal to that Hero.

Introducing the hero and world. The first six Hero Goal Sequences establish the hero, their ordinary world, and the initial conflict. They build sympathy, hint at the hero's inner pain, and set the trap that will launch the main adventure.

• HGS 1: Glimpse of ordinary life, build sympathy, show shield, hint at unhappiness.
• HGS 2: Introduce general conflict, often contains the Inciting Incident, hint at emotional pain.
• HGS 3: Call to Adventure arrives, new characters introduced, pace quickens, trap is set.
• HGS 4: Relationships develop, Mentor/Sidekick/Love Interest may appear, pace increases, hero takes a risk, hero steps into the trap (or in HGS 5).
• HGS 5: Hero's desire revealed, introduction to adversary's power, hero may refuse the call, hero steps into the trap (if not in HGS 4).
• HGS 6: The trap springs shut, Stunning Surprise #1 occurs, the specific Act Two goal is made clear.

11. Act Two Builds the Battle (HGS 7-18)

Act Two is the true heart of any movie and certainly the most challenging to write.

The hero's transformative journey. The twelve sequences of Act Two (HGS 7-18) are where the hero pursues their specific goal against the adversary, undergoes character growth, and faces escalating conflict and setbacks.

• HGS 7: Hero flounders for a plan, commits to the specific goal, inner conflict surfaces, new characters enter.
• HGS 8: Adversary's strength shown, stakes increase, hero trains, allies/enemies sorted, often contains the 'Express' growth step.
• HGS 9: Action Burst 1, hero shows physical capability, hero takes a risk that backfires, hero considers giving up.
• HGS 10: Hero faces a setback, new mentor consulted, unexpected obstacle, subplot cutaway may occur.
• HGS 11: Hero approaches adversary's seat of power, conflict intensifies, battle with adversary proxy, urgency/stakes rise, last chance for training/mentor.
• HGS 12 (Midpoint): Point of No Return, hero 'Battles' inner conflict, relationships deepen (kiss/partnership), mood shift, conflict becomes personal, ticking clock starts, unmasking, symbolic death/rebirth.
• HGS 13: Hero presses on, new complication, hero's shield returns, conflict becomes more personal.
• HGS 14: Pace slows, inner conflict issues raised, Big New Idea arrives (setting up Action Burst 2).
• HGS 15: Action Burst 2, hero experiences a False Victory (soon dashed), fleeting security.
• HGS 16: Energy rises, hero gains confidence/rededicates, discovers new outlook, often contains the 'Overcome' growth step (or in HGS 17).
• HGS 17: Final preparations for Act Two climax, adversary's strength shown personally, ticking clock nears zero, hero's courage displayed, often contains the 'Overcome' growth step (if not in HGS 16).
• HGS 18: Act Two Climax (peak conflict, not resolved), hero shows evolved self, hero believes inner conflict conquered, Stunning Surprise #2 (biggest reversal, usually negative).

12. Act Three Resolves the Conflict (HGS 19-23)

Now you must create those final two to five Hero Goal Sequences® that will mesmerize the audience right up to the final fadeout.

Bringing the story to completion. Act Three, consisting of 2 to 5 Hero Goal Sequences, resolves the central conflict and wraps up all remaining threads. The hero, often improvising after SS2 destroys their plan, must personally bring about the finale.

• HGS 19-23 (Variable): These sequences contain the final push towards resolution.
• Obligatory Scene: The required final showdown between the hero and adversary, settling the main plot question. Can occur in HGS 19, 20, 21, or 22.
• Denouement: The final sequence (HGS 20, 21, 22, or 23) that wraps up subplots, resolves relationships, and allows the audience to process the outcome.
• Number of sequences:
  • Two: Often for action films or when SS2 is a positive reversal, requiring a quick wrap-up (Obligatory Scene, Denouement).
  • Three: Common number, often when SS2 is negative, requiring an extra sequence (HGS 19) for the hero to recover/prepare before the Obligatory Scene (HGS 20) and Denouement (HGS 21).
  • Four or Five: Used when multiple strong subplots need resolution or new plot arenas must be established late in the story, requiring more sequences before the final Obligatory Scene and Denouement.

Last updated: May 19, 2025