Script Analysis: “Little Women” — Part 2: Plot

Read and analyze the script for the acclaimed adaptation of the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott.

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Plot.

In every scene, something happens. A plot point is a scene or group of scenes in which something major happens, an event that impacts the narrative causing it to turn in a new direction.

A relevant anecdote. Years ago, I was on the phone with a writer discussing a script project. My son Will, who was about four years old at the time, must have been listening to me talking about “plot points” during the conversation because after I hung up, he asked, “Daddy, what’s a plop point?”

That’s in effect what a plot point is. It’s an event that ‘plops’ into the narrative and changes its course. So when you think Plot Point, think Plop Point!

The value of this exercise:

• To identify the backbone of the story structure.
• To examine each major plot point and see how it is effective as an individual event.
• To analyze the major plot points in aggregate to determine why they work together as the central plot.

This week: Little Women. You can download the script here.

Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig, base on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

Plot summary: Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters — four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms.

Major kudos to Laura Bolton or doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Little Women, go here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

To access over 80 analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Little Women.