Plot
PLOT IS HOW YOUR STORY HAPPENS. Or, as Aristotle wrote in Poetics: how you choose to arrange your “incidents”. Most important thing you need to understand to be successful in this section:
INCIDENTS ARE STORY BEATS. NOT SCENES.
If you don’t know the difference between a story beat and a scene, don’t go any further. It will be a waste of your time. Get my !6 Steps to a Screenplay Starter Kit, which explains this in detail AND includes the brainstorming workbook with practical exercises on how to spot “incidents” so you can see what “incidents” are out in the real world, while relating to screenwriting, clearly.
Plotting correctly is the hardest thing you will ever learn to do as a writer. Most writers skip this step because it is too hard. I am asking you not to skip this step.
I am begging you not to skip this step.
Learning this will set you apart from all writers who don’t know how to do this and that is the majority of them.
To understand what plotting actually is, we need to go to the only book on plotting worth your time: Aristotle’s Poetics.
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In my 16 Steps Brainstorming Notebook,
you will find
a full chapter on Poetics, including the Poetics Cheat Sheet for screenwriters, help in understanding reversals, as well as a full explanation of how to use plotting cards and plotting card templates.
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Want 1-1 Help?
Let me help you card your plot!
If you've never carded before, believe me, you need a 1-1. It takes practice getting good at naming the event in each scene that pushes the story forward. I can hop on zoom with you for an hour and look at your plotting cards to make sure your plot has no holes before you write.
All sessions are recorded. You keep the recording! No need to take notes, let's just talk. 60 mins.