Greetings scribe!

In Week One, we were all about setups and introductions. Sets were elaborate. Characters were witty and glamorous. That part of scriptwriting is my favorite because anything is possible. The beginning holds the promise of a story. And that setup is so fun to jump into and play around with.

Then, we hit the story.

Yep. That brilliant idea you started with and promised to your now-revved-up audience needs to deliver.

This part of scriptwriting gets tricky because there is an amazing impulse to return to page one and begin again with another idea that will be better, sexier, faster. It is up to you to resist the urge! You had an idea 10 days ago that still needs your love!

Let's hop in the DeLorean, set the target date to April 1, 2009, and zoom to 88 mph.

April 1, 2009
Here at the start of the writing adventure, you had a brilliant idea. And that idea most likely had two parts: a hero, and a goal.

Can you see both of them? Jot them down on a piece of paper. We'll need them in the future. Okay! Back to the DeLorean. Target date: April 10, 2009.

April 10, 2009
Pull out the paper. Tear it in half so you have the character on one piece and their goal on the other. Put them far apart from one another. (If you are writing at a café, this is a good way to meet people at the tables around you. They'll think you're interesting and not at all crazy.)

Right now, we're interested in the gap between those pieces of paper.

To fulfill your promise that the story will deliver all the action, adventures, and thrills you set up in Week One, fill that gap with as many obstacles as you can. Write your hero over, under, and through the problems and barriers in their way. Have your hero blow them up, annihilate them, or drown those things standing in their way. Your hero can flip an obstacle on its head by making the villain a friend rather than a foe.

The story--that elusive creature you’re designing--lives in the space between the hero and their desire, no matter what type of script you're writing. So, fill that gap and stand back.

BANG! Your idea has become a story.

So toss in that man-eating goat, hurl a meteor at your hero's home, add a third wheel to your love story, and remove all the oxygen from the room. Your hero will amaze you with what they will do to reach their goal.

Good luck, writer!

Off to release an assassin into the gap,
Jen