Affordable Coverage, Edit & Critique Service: 11/19/12

Monday, November 19, 2012

Screenwriting Structure Series Part 6: The Monomyth & Hero's Journey

(Here is more about screenwriting structure from The Unknown Writer. )

About The Unknown Screenwriter

A working screenwriter and producer, The Unknown Screenwriter makes his home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California and somewhere in the state of New Mexico with just a little bit of Los Angeles thrown in when he feels he can breathe the air.

I'm glad to here readers are enjoying this articles by The Unknown Writer. I think they are great to. They are explaining exactly what I have been telling writers. It is nice to have a second party perspective.

*******

Screenwriting structure REALLY is where the rubber meets the road... Why? Because sometimes, a very well structured screenplay can SELL. Sure, they might end up changin' the hell out of it but if your structure is really, really outstanding, IT very likely WILL NOT CHANGE.

The Monomyth, The Hero's Journey, The Hero Myth, Mythic Journey - doesn't matter what you call it - is, in my opinion, where the rubber meets the road in screenwriting structure. Now before I move on, I've heard it all before...

The hero's journey is formulaic!

I don't want to write movies the way Hollywood does!

I don't believe in the hero's journey!

To me, just like knowing basic screenplay formatting, a screenwriter really should know the hero's journey as a basic foundation on which to base his or her screenwriting structure.

Why?

Because in using some form of the hero's journey in your own screenwriting structure, you will go a hell of a long way in communicating both the EXTERNAL and the INTERNAL story of your story.

The internal story?

Yup. Otherwise known as your Protagonist's transformational character arc.

One of the reasons stories told with some version of the monomyth do so well at the boxoffice is because they hit us very hard. Especially on the INSIDE - our psyche.

The monomyth is very likely the oldest form of storytelling there is. The Hero's Journey, or monomyth, speaks to just about everyone on an archetypal level or in other words, a structure that is strategically put together in response to the collective wishes of a group - for our use, the group being the eventual audience of our film.

Through strategic use of metaphor and symbolism, the very best stories live on in perpetuity. This is why we're still learning about myths today. This is why we pass these same myths down. Myths started out as sacred tales worthy of a tribe's admiration, respect, and even fear. They often touched upon a tribe's Gods and the mysteries of how life came to be so of course, tribespeople were mesmerized and passed these stories down to current day, especially when these stories revolved around a central character...

The Hero.

Stories and movies are no different. If a story or movie connects DEEP INSIDE of us, we will certainly turn right around and tell others about it. And no, not all our modern stories require a hero anymore... A protagonist fits quite well these days.

In other words, we keep evolving the monomyth... We push it - tweak it - as we and our audiences evolve - books and movies being OUR myths of today.

No longer does the hero of a story have to be an outright hero. We are obviously more sophisticated than the audiences that used to sit around the campfire and listen to the tales of how the world came to be so we can now HANDLE a hero with flaws. We can now handle a hero that isn't all good yet using the monomyth in some form for your story will still HIT your audience on a deep level because these are events that should be so powerful that we are eager to swallow them whole. We are eager to jump on the Protagonist's train and ride along with him or her to the very end.

The mythic journey structure, or some form of it, takes into account your Protagonist's transformational arc and if you strategically place your story events and obstacles in certain places for maximum impact on your audience - and DO IT WELL - you will be handsomely rewarded as a screenwriter.

That's the very reason it's called a JOURNEY. The journey of your Protagonist is two-fold:

External - where and how you PHYSICALLY take your Protagonist through your story.
Internal - where and how you INTERNALLY take your Protagonist through your story.

If done correctly, the events themselves will put your Protagonist into motion so that by the time he or she reaches the end of your story, he or she is internally transformed as well as having achieved his or her external goal (or not). The hero's journey helps us to convey universal truths about one's personal self-discovery and self-transcendence, one's role in society, and the relationship between the two.

In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a movie or read a book that did NOT contain some aspect of the hero's journey. No, the author or screenwriter may not have purposely written their story from the perspective of the hero's journey but because this kind of storytelling is intrinsic in all of us in one way or another i.e., we all tend to touch upon specific aspects of STORY.

And not to discount Joseph Campbell's contribution but this was the way WE were telling stories from the beginning of time. Just like Syd Field studied movies and came up with a road map of the three act structure, so did Joeseph Campbell research and study mythic storytelling and give us a basis of screenwriting structure.

Go, writers! Go!

I have been getting a lot of request for loglines. I give different prices . Since I have so many requests for this service, I decided to set a single fix price.

Logline: $5.00 Flat Fee

A synopsis or summery is required. It well be used to form the logline. The logline is just one line.

Screenplays

Critique: $50.00 Flat Fee,

Includes evaluating the basis elements of a script

Introduction

Development

Climax

Conclusion

Character development

Mid point development

Critiques also provide suggestions for improvements and enhancement.

Payments are made by Paypal or cashier check by mail.

Other services are at regular price.

Query Letters: $25.00 Flat Fee

Editing: $45.00 Flat Fee

Evaluating formatting to industry standards

Spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.

Turnaround time:

Editing: 2 weeks

Critique: 2 weeks

Query Letters: 2 weeks

Feel free to contact me at ahicks4298@q.com or ahicks4298@msn.com.

Feel to call me at (360) 696-4298. Ask for Frances.

I also critique and edit books. I am currently organizing the service prices for working on books. If you are interested in me critiquing or editing a novel you have written, feel free contact me.

*

*
Film script format, writing film scripts, screenwriting services, coverage service, screenplay formatting margins, screenplay writing, screenplay format example, Search terms: screenplays, screenwriting service, edit and critique service, writing screenplays, screenplay format, loglines, query letter, film scripts, movie scripts, screenplay format, screenplay synopsis, script synopsis, treatment, proofreading service for writers, novels, writing services, fiction writing, film script format, writing film scripts, screenwriting service, coverage service, screenplay critique service, screenplay format margins, screenplay writing, screenplay format example, free writing tutorials, script consultant, screenwriting jobs, film production companies

STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF IN PUBLISHING by Wade Rouse

Wade Rouse photo © waderouse.com

(This is an interesting article that was sent to me. I wanted to share it with the rest of you.)

Since many TANR readers seem to have enjoyed Erik Larson’s list of the Top 10 Essentials to a Writer’s Lifeand Sherman Alexie’s Top 10 Pieces of Writing Advice I’ve Been Given (Or That I’ll Pretend Were Given to Me), today we offer you another list from another brilliant mind: memoirist Wade Rouse’s Top 10 Ways to Stay True to Yourself in Publishing.

Happy Friday. (And if you’re Nano-ing, happy Nano-ing!)

10. Do Not Try to Write Mary Potter & The Half-Price Rinse & Set, or Twilight: But With Zombies!Listen closely to this, if nothing else: Write what youknow, what you feel, what you believe, what needs to come out, not what you think you should write, or what you feel might sell. Write anything other than what you have a passion for, anything other than that story that burns to be told, and you’ll be a sellout.

9. Install A Lithium Drip in Your Home.
OK, just kidding. Pills are easier. Seriously, a balanced life is vital for success in publishing and staying on track. So, exercise. Cook. Run. Garden. Spend time with the ones you love.

8. Realize That Publishing Isn’t Art, It’s BART.
That’s business and art. Being true to oneself also requires being true to what publishing requires today. A writer needs to realize he can’t just sit home and write. He must market, promote, blog, Twitter, travel, call, cajole, shake hands, interpretive dance, whatever it takes to build a platform. It lets you continue to do what you love: write.

7. Be Like Dolly the Sheep: Clone Yourself.
Choose an agent, editor, publisher, publicist and Web developer who believe in your work as much as you do.

6. Fuggetabout Fear!
Most of us, especially writers, are defined by our fears. They strangle us, prevent us from finding our voices, pursuing our passion, writing what calls to us. So, turn “FEAR” into Free Every Artistic Response. When you do, your true voice will be unleashed.

5. Write Is Always Might.
Dance with the one who brought you to the ball: Write. As much as possible.

4. Be Funny, Honey!
I used to worry (and read) that humor writing was too subjective to be successful. But I realized that—besides great hair, a wicked arch and a penchant for spending my Roth IRA on lip shimmer—humor was really the only thing I had going for me. Don’t ever doubt your voice.

3. If You Look in the Mirror and See Mariah, RUN!
There’s no (more) room in publishing for divas. If Mariah were an author, she should sing, “It’s a Small World, After All,” because publishing is. Word spreads.

2. Look like your author shot.
Seriously. If you have to crop out LBJ, or Photoshop in a full collar on that Nehru jacket, it’s time for a new photo. When you show up looking nothing like you did when you were 25, your fans will consider you a sellout.

1. Heed The Advice of My Mentors, My Mom and Erma Bombeck.
I once sang “Delta Dawn” in a rural middle school talent contest to a gym filled with Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn look-alikes who all laughed into their cowboy hats. My mom told me after it was over, “You were true to yourself. And that can only lead to happiness.” She bought me a journal and introduced me to Erma’s column. I will forever have two Midwestern moms who taught me, as Erma once said, “Laughter rises out of tragedy, when you need it most, and rewards you for your courage.” So laugh. Write. Be true to yourself. Happiness will follow and reward you for your courage.

Wade Rouse (waderouse.com) is the acclaimed memoirist of At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream, and It’s All Relative. A humor columnist and essayist, his dog anthology I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship! is out now.