theres not a lot to say here – the linked PDF shows my attempt at laying out EIGHT structural paradigms as described by eight experts, gurus, consultants etcetera
these were done a long time ago and, to be frank, i haven’t bothered to check how “accurate” my renderings are – so please, don’t take my scribbles as gospel [1]
the Screenplay Structure paradigms are based on the work of the following who are, in no particular order:
• Blake Snyder – Save the Cat
• Frank Daniel – writer, director, teacher
• Michael Hague – story consultant, lecturer
• Lynda Heys – The Second Act Story
• Linda Seger – Making a Good Script Great
• Christopher Vogler – The Writer's Journey
• John Truby – Anatomy of a Screenplay
• Scott Myers – Go into the Story [2]
as you can see in the PDF, there is (at best) a loose alignment between the various paradigms ... which was frustrating at the time, but now makes sense to me
at the time i was still hoping to find THE SKELETON – the universal structure into which i could plug my concepts and ... voila! generate a screenplay – but laying out this PDF helped put an end to that fantasy
from around this time i started reading less “how tos” and more screenplays – i doubt this was a conscious decision – sure, i was rapidly running out of new how-to books to read, but i guess the real reason is, i was just getting MORE from reading screenplays
for one, i found them more entertaining – and for two, i began discovering how other writers solved (or at least attempted to deal with) various on-page issues – stuff i could learn from and use in my work
soon it became clear to me that there were many ways to put a scene down on a page and many ways to structure a screenplay ... and not just in theory, i was seeing the evidence write in front of me
plus, and this is the important bit, as i read more-and-more screenplays, i found i was beginning to develop an internal (instinctual?) screenplay grammar in much the same way i learned English grammar [3]
and just like English grammar, i discovered that screenplay grammar is far more flexible and forgiving than many of the “experts” would have you believe
of course, being an “expert” in English grammar doesn’t make you a great novelist – and having an “instinctual” grasp of screen grammar doesn’t making you a great screenwriter, but it can make your task that little bit easier and (dare i say it?) pleasurable
now that i’ve internalised (my understanding of) screenplay structure, i know that i’d much rather feel my way through a story than trying to force it to conform to a series of arbitrary beats
after all, that’s how audiences experience movies, right? – they feel their way through them
so in the end, this post is just about reaffirming that old MANTRA:
watch movies • read screenplays • write pages [4]
so forget about learning screenplay structure as some post hoc paradigm – instead experience its many forms by reading HUNDREDS of screenplays – old and new, good and bad, within your genre interests and outside ... and develop your own internal structures
they won’t be identical to anyone else’s and nor should they be!
and sure, read a how-to book if you need a break – just don’t read one in the hope of finding THE SKELETON
[1] i haven’t reviewed my scribbles for accuracy because: (a) busy, and (b) i’m not particularly fussed if they are or not because i’m no longer interested in finding THE SKELETON
[2] whether you find Scott’s structure useful or not, his blog go into the story is a relatively “rule free” treasure trove of tips, lessons and other resources for the up-and-coming writer – check it out if you haven’t already
[3] during my early schooling, the educational paradigm at the time had swung away from teaching grammar via rules, and so (thankfully) i never had to learn the difference between an adverb and a participle
[4] by “movies” i also mean tv shows, limited series and so on