Writer's Detective ✍️🕵️‍♂️

Screenwriting notes often come in the language of emotion rather than craft. - I liked this. I didn't like this. - If I were you, I would do this... It's up to us to determine what's actually wrong. Here are 15 common notes and their most likely structural fix. 👇 1. It took too long to get started. The inciting incident is coming too late. 2. It starts slow. The writer is taking the “ordinary” in the “ordinary world” too literally. 3. I didn’t care about the characters. Act 1 needs work. Give special attention to the relationships and the protagonist's emotional desires. 4. It took too long to know what it was about. The central dramatic question comes too late. 5. It felt like two different movies. The dramatic question changes. 6. It felt too simple. The supporting characters and subplots aren't bringing anything to the party. 7. It just seems to plod along. All plot, no story and/or not enough great scenes. 8. It started well but dragged as it went on. Weak midpoint. 9. It’s slow. Not enough great scenes and/or a failure in scene-to-scene narrative momentum. 10. It’s all over the place. The story is not clearly defined, and/or the plot lacks story discipline. 11. I don't know what this is about. The story is not clearly defined, and/or the plot lacks story discipline. 12. Nothing is unique here. You lack a concept that generates great scenes. 13. You didn't take advantage of your own idea. You have a concept, but you either lack great scenes or they're too generic and unrelated to the concept. 14. It ended too quickly. Act 3 was too short and unsatisfying. 15. The ending wasn’t satisfying. All plot, no story, and/or Act 3 wasn’t an answer/response to Act 1. - These aren't definitive; they're just the first place to look. There are endless variations to all kinds of notes, and the skill comes from identifying the source problem. But this is why we learn story structure. It's not just about writing that first draft. It's about knowing how to fix what isn't working. That's a wrap for this post! If you enjoyed this post and are interested in screenwriting: 1. Follow me @storyandplot for more of these. 2. Share this post. It just takes a click!