Common Mistakes Writers Make and How to Solve Them — Act Two

do you struggle to write the second act of your screenplay do you feel like your story loses focus in the middle or do you ever feel like you're simply filling out pages rather than writing a compelling story a lot of problems writers face in the second act really comes down to not understanding how to focus their story and keep the momentum moving from scene to scene some mistakes I see our issues like conflict occurs but it never increases in intensity or stakes so the story stalls into boredom or the story loses its focus character spend way too much time doing things that aren't really important to the story or don't move the story in any real direction or the characters don't actually struggle all of the obstacles in front of them are either easily overcome or overcome in a way that doesn't change them internally or change their circumstances these are mistakes I've seen in both professional and amatuer screenplays and today I'm going to clearly explain how to solve these problems so that you can put your story on the right track all of these second act problems are really just the same problem a confusing disorganized second act so how do you give your second act focus momentum and purpose from beginning to end in a narrative drama the second act is traditionally defined as the rising action where the story builds towards the eventual climax but this is too vague let's define it a little more clearly the second act will be full of progressive complications in story Robert McKee says to complicate progressively means to generate more and more conflict as the characters face greater and greater forces of antagonism creating a succession of events that pass points of no return so to create progressive complications we need events that pass points of no return as the characters face greater forces of antagonism which drives the conflict so we have the first important element the point of no return you may have heard of a point of no return before usually we think of a point of no return an event in the first act that thrusts the character into this new situation where they are going after what they want however there's another piece to this Robert McKee says progressions build by drawing upon greater and greater capacities from characters demanding greater and greater willpower from them putting them a greater and greater risk constantly passing points of no return in terms of the magnitude or quality of action when McKee talks about greater and greater capacities demanding greater and greater willpower what he means is that the characters must go through change to rise to the challenges that sit in front of them change is the second important element in building progressive complications to organize and focus your second act you must use points of no return and character change to continually increase the pressure on your characters as they move towards what they want let's take a look at an example in the Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the ring Frodo takes the One Ring to Rivendell where he believes it will be safe from the evil that is trying to find it notice that in the beginning of the story he doesn't immediately head towards Mordor the eventual place where the ring must be destroyed that's not who he is yet Frodo must slowly grow and change as the story progresses however a point of no return is reached the ring cannot stay in Rivendell Sauron is actively searching for it it must be destroyed and Mount Doom Frodo small action to bring the ring to Rivendell cannot solve the problem as Robert McKee says the character can't restore the balance of life by taking lesser actions so Frodo must now make a choice and he chooses to take the ring to Mordor notice how this marks a major change in Frodo with the Frodo that we meet in the Shire have made the decision to take the ring No however now he has begun to see the evil that is growing and he sees the chaos and anger between the different races in middle-earth only then does he make the decision to carry the ring this is a turning point that marks a point of no return and a change in the character and your second act will be built by these turning points as you begin your second act it's important to begin with the character taking minimal action and then slowly increasing it remember you have a lot of ground to cover in your second act don't jump straight into the biggest conflict in the beginning allow your characters to grow allow them to make decisions that force them deeper into the story Robert McKee says to begin his pursuit of desire he takes a minimum conservative action to provoke a positive response from his reality so in the beginning the character will take the smallest action they can to get what they want so now that we have an understanding of turning points and how to progressively complicate the story let's get deeper into the details on creating a strong second act by breaking down each section of your story into a new problem point of no return and character change you split your story into different sequences where you can build the story in a way that keeps it engaging each sequence or group of scenes is its own mini story the characters are placed into a new situation and they must adapt and overcome obstacles to get what they want let's look at how two story builds progressive complications and continues to heighten the conflict of the story in the beginning of Toy Story Buzz Lightyear enters and replaces woody as Andy's favorite toy this is the inciting incident and Woody's new obstacle Woody's want is to regain his spot as Andy's favorite toy listen light snack you stay away from he's mine woody tries to trap buzz and a gap behind Andy's desk so that Andy will grab woody rather than buzz when Andy heads to Pizza Planet but Woody's plan goes wrong and Buzz falls out of the window woody has taken his first real action towards getting what he wants and woody passes a point of no return and the other toys turn on him let's break it down Woody's point of no return is pushing buzz out of the window and the reaction of the toys this is an action that cannot be undone and forces woody into a new situation now let's look at Woody's change what he took this action which creates a major problem and shows what kind of person what he is we understand what woody values most and what he is willing to do to be seen as Andy's favorite now there's a new problem buzz is lost and woody must convince the other toys that it was an accident buzz and woody arrived at the gas station would he realizes that buzzes okay problem solved now what he just needs to go back and convince the other toys that everything is okay but buzzing would he fight they fall out of the car and are left by Andy and his mom the point of no return is that buzz and woody have been lost at the gas station notice how this point of no return has increased the stakes initially woody just pushed buzz out of the window now Woody and Buzz are the farthest they've ever been from Andy's room now what his change is simple Woody and Buzz must rise to this new challenge and find a way to get back to Andy so again we have a new problem Woody and Buzz must get to Pizza Planet and reunite with Andy as woody tries to figure out what to do a pizza planet delivery truck rolls up Woody and Buzz hop inside and head towards Pizza Planet problem solved but things don't go well at Pizza Planet once inside buzz is distracted by an arcade machine that looks like a spaceship woody follows buzz inside and then the worst possible thing happens would iam Buzz are taken by Sid this is the midpoint of the story and marks a major point of no return and it is the most danger that they have ever been in let's break it down the point of no return is that Woody and Buzz are captured by said again notice how the stakes have been increased they are in a place that they know is specifically dangerous for toys now there is no major change here just a new major challenge Woody and Buzz are still not working together woody resents buzzed and buzzed still believes he is a Space Ranger and so again we have a new problem Woody and Buzz must find a way to escape SIDS house and get back to Andy's bedroom before Andy moves Woody and Buzz are placed in SIDS room they meet SIDS toys and believe that they are cannibals the next morning Sid leaves the door open and Woody and Buzz move through Sid's house but they accidentally wake up the dog and as they're running hide from SIDS dog buzz finds the truth about himself he is a toy he puts this to the test by trying to fly and loses his arm this is a moment where the major change is the point of no return this time it isn't an external problem it is an internal realization buzz realizes he is a toy buzzes realization means that he has lost his purpose and his will to live when woody rescues buzz from SIDS sister wood he realizes his new problem SIDS toys fix buzz and what he realizes that SIDS toys are not evil which marks a small turning point for him but there's a new problem Sid is going to explode buzz using a rocket the next day here is where we find one of the biggest turning points for the entire story woody convinces buzz that he is still significant as a toy look over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest and us not because you're a Space Ranger pal it's because you're a toy and Buzz convinces woody that Andy needs both of them come on sheriff there's a kid over that house who needs us now let's get you out of this thing this is a major internal change for both of them and for the first time in this story they you the point of no return is the change Woody and Buzz unite to escape SIDS house they realize that they need each other and that Andy needs them now they must solve the problem of Sid Sid wakes up and prepares to launch buzz what he teams up with Sid's toys to save buzz they show themselves the SID which scares Sid and allows woody in buzz to escape the point of no return is that they have shown themselves to Sid and they scare him making him scared of toys and allowing Woody and Buzz to escape the change is that Woody and Buzz have united now all that is left for Woody and Buzz is to get back to Andy's car united and changed notice how toys store uses increasingly more difficult problems as well as internal changes in the characters to build out each of the sequences in the film when we watch characters change and evolve we have a better understanding of what they want and what they can accomplish to continue this evolution they must continue to face larger obstacles and deeper challenges to what they believe are what they fear until they reach the final climax sometimes they may get what they want and sometimes they may not but some sort of change is necessary it doesn't always have to be an internal change that the character makes but something must change to propel the story to the next level of conflict if nothing changes the audience will know that the states haven't been raised and they will get bored of the story when fixing your second act split your story into sections where the character goes after a particular want that fits into the larger story each time build a point of no return where the character can only go forward to get what they want as they pass these points of no return they should grow and change as they face larger and larger forces of antagonism reading screenplays can be difficult and confusing and when you finally get to the end of that first draft it's easy to feel lost and ask what's next how do I fix my story how do I know what's working and what isn't that's where the practical screenwriting course comes in this course has been built to help writers tackle the practical elements of writing in the course I break down my clear for organizing and rewriting your story so that your story can be leagues above the other scripts in the pile you don't have to write your story in a certain way or a certain formula the course simply gives you the tools to rewrite your story so that you can be sure you're making the story better rather than fumbling in the dark being unsure what's working and what isn't if you'd like to learn more click the link on the screen now or in the description of this video and tune in next time for part 3 where I'll be looking at some common mistakes writers make in the third act thanks for watching

Channel: Tyler Mowery

Views: 91,189

Keywords: film analysis, movie review, tyler mowery, nerdwriter, lessons from the screenplay, every frame a painting, screenwriting, script breakdown, writing, workshop, writing course, teach screenwriting, oscar best screenplay, film school, toy story, pixar

Id: 9caTcRO6BsY

Length: 13min 24sec (804 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 14 2019