“…Cut!… Take-Two… Action!…”
Lately, I’ve been looking into the concept of screenwriting (the art of writing scripts for movies and related things), and I didn’t come about this new hobby of mine arbitrarily. As to why I’m exploring this form of writing, that’ll be a story for another day.
Ever seen a movie that had you awestruck from start to finish? You know, those movies that keep you rooted to your seat and glued to your screen for hours on end binge-watching multiple episodes. Well, it all starts with a script. Yeah, that scene that made you ball your eyes out was once written on paper…
The more I study the rudiments of putting together a story for the screen, I am gradually discovering the parallels between real life and movies. In fact, movies are successful because they have an element of reality relatable to our human psyche. We can easily put ourselves in the characters’ shoes and empathize with their beliefs, needs, and the challenges between them and their desired goals.
Story Structure
There are several different genres attending to varying audiences based on their preferences in screen entertainment. However, even though the story and method of delivery are unique for every movie, they all have one thing in common — an order of sequence (this is sometimes referred to as the story structure).
Simply put, this structure often starts with introducing the main characters and their beliefs. Afterward, we realize that the characters are in pursuit of a goal. This puts them in unfamiliar situations that force them to change or adapt to get what they’re after. Most times, they go on to pay the price to achieve this goal, and are better off for it in the end.
Of course, not every movie fits this description. Some screenwriters intentionally break the rules, arguing that the story structure is stale and overused. However, regardless of how the story is structured, one thing is always constant — conflict.
Conflict Moves The Plot Forward
Imagine a movie where the main character gets everything he desires on a platter and with minimal effort — quite boring, right? Well, that’s because life doesn’t work that way, and we can’t relate. This is one of the parallels I referenced earlier, and this is where I’d like to draw emphasis.
There’s a popular saying in the movie industry: “Conflict moves the plot forward”. And to draw another parallel, permit me to incline to the opinion that conflict moves out lives forward as well.
Okay, before you cork your guns and unload your bullets on me, hold on and hear me out.
Growth is required to make any significant progress in life, and growth mostly involves getting out of our comfort zones and expanding beyond what is familiar to us. Now, this doesn’t happen without some form of obstacle to overcome, and this is where the conflict arises.
Conflict might be internal or external and can exist in different forms. It is sometimes expressed in fighting external forces that stand in the way of our goal or internal obstacles in the form of limiting beliefs.
My Life, A Movie
I am currently taking my life as a blockbuster movie written in real-time. Every day is a scene in a bigger act (or seasons, if you may), and they add up to make the entire plot that is my life. The goal is the same: move the plot forward. The difference, however, between “my movie” and conventional screenplays is that I have no idea what happens in the next scene.
I know.. that might sound scary, but it doesn’t fret me because I know that whatever conflict I get to encounter in my tale, the story ends well. My confidence lies in the fact that the director (God) has the entire script displayed before Him, and boy does He assure me it’s finna be good in the end!
I am now learning to embrace my conflicts, resolve them, and grow from them. It probably gets more intense going forward, but then again, the bigger the conflict, the bigger the growth.
Until next time, stay scripting, stay growing…
💪