The Audition

The Audition

By Sonia Frances Stevens

This day dragged on and on.

As, if I was repeating a song.

Finally, I go myself along to the audition.

At Wolf Bay 4 in Wales Bay.

That is where I made a new friend today.

I saw that I was there.

I really did not care for the wait

I was there to experience the “Cattle call”

I saw the expression of other’s when they fall.

Their eyes and heart were left at the door,

At that “Cattle call”

I felt so different but I was accepted

I passed my test as I did my best.

I went through that door of “The cattle call”

I now know what it really feels

To be put in front of most famous speels

To say my words and be judged.

My lesson here,

Was I was there.

Making my way through locked doors

That these doors are just doors.

There are always keys.

The Audition was not of me.

I was auditioning them,

The panel of 6 men and women.

I passed but they failed.

I held my head up and smiled.

Copyrighted © 2006-2007 by Sonia F Stevens

Script Writing

TO ENGAGE THE AUDIANCE

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
•How to give each character a unique and interesting voice
•How to avoid stiff one-dimensional characters
•How to create crisp, professional-level dialogue
•What is required to get readers to fall in love with your characters
•How to turn off your inner critic
•How to avoid procrastination and keep writing

WHO SHOULD LEARN
•Writers who want real tools to create the strongest possible characters
•Writers who are seeking an agent or manager
•Writers who have had a script rejected due to weak characters
•Writers who are about to start a new script
•Writers who are rewriting an existing script
•Anyone who is new to screenwriting and wants to start out on the right foot

Traditional Story Structure always contains a clear beginning, middle, and end and it's these three story

Structural elements that progress in 3 Acts with the following definitions:

Act I is all Setup. Act II is Confrontation. Act III is Resolution.

Screenplays used to be 120 pages but as with everything, page count has gotten shorter with 110 pages being the new 120. It's not a rule you can't break but it is a rule you need to be mindful of.

ACT I
TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS
Act I Setup


: Occurs from page 1 to approximately page 28. The setup gives us the direction of your story. In
order to keep ACT II problems to an absolute minimum, it's imperative that you set up Act I with all the information we need to get your story rolling. Act I is where you accomplish defining the following structural elements:

•
Genre

•
Introduce your Protagonist
•

Introduce your main characters

•

Show us what's missing from your Protagonist's life

•

Establish your Protagonist's world and his or her day to day routine or way of life

•

Give us a clear idea of the mood, atmosphere, scope, and tone of your story

•

Include relevant history or backstory of your Protagonist

•

Establish your inciting incident

•

Give us at least a glimpse of your Antagonist
Very often, it makes sense to begin Act I with a strong image... A strong image can give us a very good sense of world, atmosphere, mood, scope, tone, and sometimes even your theme.

The inciting incident is the hook or catalyst that draws us into your story. The central question of your story hasn't evolved yet but your inciting incident is what makes us want to know what happens next. It's usually an exciting scene or scenes early in your story that not only grabs our interest and “hooks” us, but sends your Protagonist off in a completely new direction! Could be an action, event, situation or even dialogue.

This is where you throw a serious problem at your Protagonist. A problem that only has to be important to his character and remember, this structural element is responsible for driving your story from this point on so be sure to get it right.
Ask yourself the following questions... What's at stake? Why should we care? Once you've established your Protagonist's character to us, we'll understand that the problem pertains to him or her.

Never be afraid to make things extremely terrible for your Protagonist. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that could happen to my Protagonist?” Ask yourself this question based on the character you've presented to us.

Performing a lot of research about what the character does for a living, hobby, etc. will give you ideas of the kinds of problems you can throw at him or her. Always remember to raise the action and increase the stakes.

Introduce the rest of your main characters as soon as possible and any supporting characters that will push your story forward while being mindful to keep your cast of characters to an amount needed to tell your story. The more main characters you have, the more difficult it will be for your reader to follow them and not get confused.

Consider combining two or more characters into one overall character whenever appropriate.

Be sure to give us at least a glimpse of your Antagonist. Introduce your Antagonist by actually showing him or her to us or something they've done... The aftermath of their character. You can even give us a glimpse of your Antagonist by inference or characters simply talking about him or her.

Your first Plot point – also known as a Turning Point is when your story twists and takes us into a completely new direction, making us wonder what's going to happen next. Your first Plot Point normally happens somewhere between pages 25 and 30 – toward the end of Act I and lulls your Protagonist into Act II voluntarily.

Plot point one needs to accomplish the following:

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Reverse the action into a new direction
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Force your Protagonist to make a choice but voluntarily proceed into Act II even though risk is involved
•

Once again make us wonder and ask ourselves if your Protagonist will succeed
•

Increased stakes i.e., higher risk, seemingly insurmountable obstacles, higher reward if successful
2

Act II Confrontation

: Occurs from approximately page 28 to approximately page 83. This is where problems

for your Protagonist intensifies and you throw seeming insurmountable obstacles in his or her way, causing your Protagonist to change direction and try another approach. These obstacles stop your Protagonist briefly until he or she figures out and decides what action to take next.

At this point in your story, complications create anticipation in the reader and builds suspense. Act II takes up half of your entire story so you'll need more than one to keep us anticipating what happens next. For some screenwriters, Act II is the hardest act to write. This usually happens because the screenwriter runs out of new complications and seemingly insurmountable obstacles for his or her Protagonist.

Act II is also where your Protagonist thinks he or she has achieved their goal i.e., defeated the Antagonist however, this false success is short-lived. Follow up this false success with a reversal thus, making your Protagonist realize he or she still has a lot of work to do.

Reversals happen in a variety of ways including the following:

New information comes into play

•


A new situation takes place

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A character turns on your Protagonist

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Helpers and friends give up on your Protagonist and leave him or her alone

•


What your Protagonist thought was the truth is now seen as a lie

•


Your Antagonist might be a false antagonist and now your Protagonist realizes they've been after the

wrong antagonist

In Act II, you should strive to keep pushing your Protagonist's goal a little further out of reach... To the point

where he or she seems all is lost and maybe even considers giving up completely:

•


Make the conflict personal to your Protagonist

•


Let your Protagonist fail more than once

•


Allow your Antagonist to succeed at least once and maybe several times

•


Test your Protagonist’s current abilities and or expertise

•


Teach your Protagonist a new skill

•


Further explore subplot(s)

there's a new Plot Point right before the end of Act II or approximately page 80. This Plot Point once again consists of a twist that provokes the beginning of a new act or in this case, Act

III. The difference in this Plot Point as opposed to the first Plot Point in Act I is that in this Plot Point, it's usually best to force your Protagonist into making a decision that propels him or her into Act III.

Now, depending on the kind of story you're writing... Either a “Protagonist succeeds” story or “Protagonist fails” story, one of two things should happen to your Protagonist:

•

If your Protagonist is going to succeed, this is where he or she decides to keep going

•


If your Protagonist is going to fail, this is where you've sealed his or her fate by making the wrong

decision

Using the protagonist’s arc as the spine of the story we’ll take the mystery out of story development so that you can tap into your own creative story prep process.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
•Ways to generate story ideas
•Tools to test the strength of your story concept
•Different approaches to story prep
•How to use the protagonist’s journey to find the spine of your story
•How to use external and internal conflict to find the plot
•How to use character and plot to find the structure and shape of the narrative
•How to incorporate this process into an outline
•The role of genre, tone and world building

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
•Writers who are looking for their next idea
•Writers who want to know how to test the strength of their concepts
•Writers who want to learn how to break a story
•Writers who want to learn how to develop an idea into a workable narrative
•Writers who are looking to streamline and fine tune their story prep process
•Writers who want to learn how to get their ideas out of their head and onto the page

Act III Resolution



: Occurs from approximately page 83 to page 110. This is where you are going to force your

Protagonist to face one last major obstacle. This obstacle should test your Protagonist's faith, resolve, character,

and even his or her endurance. Push your Protagonist to his or her limit both physically and emotionally!

This is where your Protagonist sets up your Antagonist to be beaten or destroyed. At this point, your Protagonist

is going to do “whatever it takes” to succeed and achieve his or her goal.

If however, you're writing a tragedy... Where your Protagonist fails, this is where your Antagonist or Antagonistic

Forces come in and do away with your Protagonist.

This is where your climax takes place and where the central question of your story is finally answered... Does

your Protagonist succeed or does your Protagonist fail? Either way, this is where your Protagonist comes face to

face with your Antagonist or Antagonistic Forces. The climax usually happens pretty fast or is at least fast-paced.

Finally... Your Resolution. Be sure you've tied up all the loose ends. Resolve all your subplots. Show us how your

Protagonist has changed or increased his or her resolve. How did his success or failure affect him or her? By

now, your theme should be clear and reveal the moral to your story.

Once you have your outline done, input it into screenwriting software.

 Writers often debate about whether to outline or not to outline. Whether you write a story or a screenplay, it’s always advisable to work out the plot ahead of time so you can discover the best way of telling it to not only appease the reader, but also to engage your audience.
When it comes to learning how to tell a story or learning how to write a screenplay, you need structure. Structure is not screenplay format or story mapping. Story writing and the story writing tips for both stories and screenplays that follow have nothing to do with script writing format, screenwriting format, or how to format a screenplay.
Writing the beginning of your script is a little like falling in love or going on a first date: you and your screenplay are getting to know each other, showcasing your personalities, maybe even revealing a few of your charming imperfections.
Not only are your readers getting to know your writing style, your main character, and the world that your character inhabits, but you yourself are getting to know the vibe of your own work as you first start writing it. “Hi, Script! My name is Rodolfo! Let me get the door for you! I brought you a flower!
Do you have any dietary restrictions? I thought we’d go rollerblading and then hit the aquarium!”
Act One is your opportunity to lay the foundation for your entire story. It’s the point at which you have to communicate what your protagonist’s normal, everyday life is like before Act Two starts and (as the kids put it) “ish goes cray-cray.” It should feel fun and easy and compelling and natural.
At the same time, though, you need to have carefully considered a number of elements that are absolutely vital to have in place: otherwise, the foundation you’re building will prove faulty, and the rest of your script will crumble. Think of it as picking up a bouquet of roses on your way to that first date…or making a reservation at the perfect French/Norwegian fusion restaurant…or buying a pack of gum (Have fun while writing your script, but be safe.)
1. Give them what they want: The audience subconsciously expects certain things to happen at certain points in a movie. Structure reveals this information so seamlessly they forget it’s coming and are hooked to keep watching more. Without even realizing it, a well-structured movie causes your audience’s emotions to run wild and live vicariously through both your Protagonist and main characters.
2. Screenplay structure is about two things: Content of your story and the form used to tell your story. Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative screenplay structure are story and plot.
3. Proper pacing: When it comes to releasing your story’s information, pacing is critical to keep your audience on the edge of their seats. When you keep the pace fast, the Hollywood executive will be anxious to turn the page to see what happens next. Keeper a reader engaged is critical to selling a screenplay.
4. Scenes: As you write and eventually edit each scene, be clear on at least one overall goal for that scene. A scene that simply describes its location, or even something about a particular character, yet provides no real information, no decision, no action, no change or forward motion to your overall story is a scene without structure.
5. Outline: Don’t build before you plan. The details are in your preparation, and for the screenwriter, the prep work is what we call The Outline. Outline first. Write second.
 Even if you’re not writing from a fully thought-out outline — which is the screenwriting equivalent of not using a veil, here are the five considerations you need to have thought about before you jump in:
Who are your important supporting characters? Just as important as establishing your main character’s identity and personality, now is the time to set up a constellation of other people who make up their world. Most importantly, who are the main secondary characters of the movie?
Who are your main character’s friends? Who is their best friend? Who do they work with?
Who gets on their nerves the most? Really think carefully about everyone they see in a typical week.
Who is their boss?
Who are their coworkers? Pretend you’re tracking them moment by moment over the course of a typical day, stealthily hiding behind bushes and parked cars: who would they run into?
Do they always stop in at the coffee shop?
What do they do after work, or school?
 Do they even have a job? (By the way, do not get caught tracking them, because this is considered fictional stalking. Obviously, if they’ve got a restraining order against you, pick another character.)
What is the environment? Just as important as your cast of characters is the physical world you have to establish. In regard to both, even if your hero is going to be leaving the world of their normal life once Act Two gets going, your audience needs to know exactly what they’re leaving behind, and what exactly changes for them once the main gear of the story begins to turn.
As a totally separate exercise from considering what needs to happen, write out a list of scene locations.
Where does your main character live?
What does the outside of their home look like? What are the different rooms we should see?
Where does your protagonist spend his time during the day, and at night?
What does their world look like, in general?
Really consider what places the viewer needs to see to “get” the world you’re creating. Remember: you probably have a clear idea of all of this in your mind, and figure that it will all naturally reveal itself as you tell the story…but you can’t depend on that. Make an important location list, and take it into consideration as you plot out your opening scenes.
Tone, A lot of people don’t consciously consider this before they start writing — again, they assume it will just naturally come out. But chances are that if you don’t think about it before starting, certain important tonal hints won’t emerge until your reader has already assumed a slightly (or wildly) different tone than you’ve intended to the world you’re setting up.
Is it a wacky comedy?
Is the universe your character inhabits a stark, unforgiving wilderness in which good people die?
Is it a world of wonder and amazement?
 Not only do you need to strongly get this across in the “action” of your first few pages — what happens — but it should probably come across in the way you write the narration, or “business” of your script. Renee Zellweger better clumsily trip over that stack of newspapers on Page One, or your audience is going to be genuinely concerned, rather than tickled, when she falls down that flight of steps twenty pages in.
Theme, or Question Can men and women ever really be friends? That is, of course, the famous thematic question behind the classic romantic comedy Basic Instinct. (Or was it When Harry Met Sally? No, I’m pretty sure it was Basic Instinct.) Even if it isn’t explicitly stated, every movie has a theme, or a thematic question.
Can a simple farm boy from Tatooine make a difference in the fight against a dark galactic empire?
Is it better to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or…or…well, we all know the entire quote from Hamlet, I should hardly have to recite it for you right now, even though I totally know it by heart, obviously.
Your Hero’s Strengths and Weaknesses How is your main character going to change?
What is the dramatic arc of your movie? Roughly 99.9% of the time, the key to your main character’s triumph (or downfall, if you’re writing a tragedy) is an internal struggle.
What does she have to overcome to beat the bad guy, or fall in love?
What are her flaws or faults? Remember when Peter Parker decided not to stop that robbery because the guy getting robbed was a jerk to him?
What about that speech Hugh Grant gave in the first act of Four Weddings and a Funeral in which he said he could never see himself making the kind of commitment the bride and the groom were making? You think that speech is just in there by accident?
What are you, new? Conversely, the first act is the perfect time to subtly set up a hidden strength your main character possesses: one that he may not even realize he has himself, yet, and that he’ll be able to whip out, like a pack of condoms, at the end of the movie, allowing him to…um…get what he wants and…um…bring the story to completion.