2023 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge: Day 16

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 16.

Write an entire draft of a script in September — FADE IN. FADE OUT. Or any sort of creative goal you have in front of you.

Feature length movie screenplay. Original TV pilot. Rewrite a current project. Break a story in prep. Generate a month’s worth of story concepts.

Whatever you feel will ratchet your creative ambitions into overdrive…

DO THAT!

Download your very own Zero Draft Thirty calendar — designed and created by Steven Dudley — and track your daily progress!

On Twitter, use this hashtag: #ZD30SCRIPT.

Join the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook Group, 4,900+ members strong.

Today’s Writing Quote

“Don’t write about a character. Become that character, and then write your story.”

— Ethan Canin

Today’s Inspirational Video

If you’re not familiar with the musical group OK Go, they are known for doing elaborate videos. Like really elaborate. Check out this Rube Goldberg inspired take for their song “This Too Shall Pass”.

Today’s Anita Loos Award winner: Ingrid Elkner.

Way back at the beginning of this month’s Challenge, Ingrid provided a tip to the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group: The Eight Sequence theory of screenplay structure.

Think of how all stories are allegedly 3 acts.

But the middle one is huge, so people usually chop that in half.

Okay, now you have 4 pieces.

8 reel method halves those again, and gives each piece a mission to achieve.

If you’re interested in learning it (for me, it’s the only way I was able to write two feature scripts), check out this video explaining it by the guy who wrote the book:

The historical roots of this approach to screenplay structure go way back to the infancy of the film business. Actual film reels can hold anywhere from 10–15 minutes of actual film. When movies evolved from one-reel to two-reelers, three-reelers, etc., it would take the projectionist a few minutes to swap out reels.

Problem: How to keep the audience engaged in the story during those breaks?

Solution: End each reel with a cliffhanger.

Which translated into each reel having a Beginning → Middle → End, what came to be called “sequences.”

If the reel has 15 minutes of film … times 8 reels = 120 minutes, the approximate length of a movie.

Hence, the 8 sequences.

The approach — or at least the language — was lost for decades. A filmmaker, producer, and educator Frank Daniel rediscovered the sequence theory and taught it at film schools like USC and AFI.

Paul Gulino wrote a book published in 2004 which provides one interpretation of the eight sequence theory.

I have a different take on it which I delve into in Part III of my book The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling.

There are many contemporary screenwriters who work with sequences, but not restricted to eight. For example, John August broke down the script for Big Fish into 27 sequences.

As I say, there’s no right way to write. Use what works for YOU!

Personally, I like working with sequences and teach it to my students.

Because she shared that helpful screenwriting tip, the recipient of today’s Anita Loos Award is Ingrid Elkner!

Congratulations, Ingrid! Feel to print this award and post it at your writing desk for inspiration.

To learn more about Anita Loos and her illustrious career as a screenwriter, playwright, director, and journalist, go here.

For your chance to win the Anita Loos Award, one given away each day during the Challenge, post something inspiring, here on the blog, via Twitter, or the Facebook group.

For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came to be and what it is, go here, here, and here.

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 1
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 2
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 3
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 4
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 5
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 6
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 7
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 8
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 9
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 10
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 11
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 12
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 13
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 14
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 15

Now Zeronauts, Scamperers, Word Warriors, and Outlaws…

SCAMPER ON!