The keywords to remember here are: 'Intention' & 'Obstacle'.
A: Check if your idea has an 'Intention' & an 'Obstacle'.
Intention - someone* wants something(also referred to as 'Goal' or 'Objective').
Obstacle - something stands in their way of getting it.
*usually your Protagonist.
Q: Why should my Story have an 'Intention' & an 'Obstacle'?
A: Because, Intention + Obstacle = Conflict.
Q: Wait! What's a Conflict?(2 mark question)
A: Conflict is defined as a clash between two opposing forces.
Q: No definitions please. Tell me in plain English why Conflict is important?
A: Conflict is important for any compelling story, because Conflict = Drama.
Q: Can you elaborate?
A: Sure. Let's consider the following story.
e.g.
MAHESH(24) an unemployed graduate, has got a Job interview at 10am today.
He gets on a Bus. The Conductor, who has been handing over tickets to other passengers, approaches Mahesh. Mahesh slides his right hand into his pant pocket and takes out his wallet. He pays for the ticket. He reaches the Venue on time. He attends the interview and gets his first Job offer.
See how boring it is? That's because our Protagonist only has an Intention(reaching the venue on time) and has no formidable Obstacle that's comes between him and his Intention. No Conflict, no drama!
Now, let's rewrite the same story by adding an Obstacle.
MAHESH(24) an unemployed graduate, has got a Job interview at 10am today.
He gets on a Bus. The Conductor, who has been handing over tickets to other passengers, approaches Mahesh. As Mahesh slides his right hand into his pant pocket to take out his wallet, he realises his Wallet is missing!
See how better our story got, just by adding an Obstacle?
The Obstacle here is Mahesh loosing his Wallet.
Mahesh wants to attend the Interview, but he won't be able to reach the venue on time because he has lost the Wallet in which had the money to pay for the ticket.
Now there is clash between two opposing forces--Mahesh's Intention(to reach the venue on time and attend the interview) & the Obstacle(loosing his wallet).
This Clash is called Conflict. And since we have Conflict, we have drama.
By learning this screenwriting trick, you will save a lot of time and effort that is usually spent on trying to understand why your ideas aren't intriguing enough.
I learnt it the hard way. I hope you don't have to do the same.
©ScriptsAsylum, 2020
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