Okay, I received an IM from a friend from Scotland today, now living with his wife in Taiwan, concerning the character development steps of the process I posted recently. He has a zombie movie he is writing that is not like anything anyone has seen before. It is looking really good.

So, I'm going to share an email I sent one of my actors (Shian Denovan - London, England - but she is from Edinburgh, Scotland, she stars in my latest movie). She asked me about a writing a movie so I shared with her my process:

Shian,

This is going to sound like a lot, but it really isn't. Here is my formula.

1. 3-Line. Write your story in three sentences; 1st Act, 2nd Act and 3rd Act. Example: A psychiatrist seeks to heal people in their dreams. Her plans goes wrong and she enlists the help of a mentally ill patient to bring her patients back. The psychiatrist battles the mentally ill patient and brings her patients back.

2. Next you fill in this Outline; this is the formula 99% of all marketable movies use. You can argue with the formula, but just know it sells movies. Here is an example for the movie above in outline form:

ACT I: Therapy

 PPI: (Something happens that takes the story in a new direction) The psychiatrist can't bring one of her patients out of 'hypnosis'.

ACT II: Enlisting the 'Criminally Insane'

        1st Half:  1) The Psychiatrist persuades a former patient to help her bring her patients back.

                       2) 1 month

PINCH 1: One of the Psychiatrist's patients is murdered.

Confrontation: The psychiatrist confronts her former, criminally insane patient and the insane guy escapes custody.

        2nd Half: 1) Fighting/Finding the criminally ill patient.

                       2) 5 days (here it is important that you create urgency; if the psychiatrist doesn't find/stop the 
                                                     former, criminally ill patient, something disastrous is going to happen - maybe she'll
                           lose all her patients to the murderous criminally insane former patient - create a be push to the                                Resolution.)

PINCH 2: Psychiatrist learns of location of former, criminally insane patient.

PP II: Psychiatrist sets a tap for her former patient.

ACT III: Bringing the patients back.

The psychiatrist waits while her former patient moves in for the kill, using the 'hypnosis' he had learned while trying to help the psychiatrist. At the last moment, the psychiatrist figures out how her former patient has been using her experimental 'hypnosis' against her and turns it on him, safely leading him to be arrested. With her new knowledge she slowly brings each one of her patients back out of hypnosis.

This is nothing more than 'Silence of the Lambs' plot mixed with 'Inception'. But you get the idea, everything initially is about structure.

3. Character Descriptions. Next you'll need to write out the character descriptions for ALL of your protagonists and antagonists. It is okay to leave supporting characters what is called 'flat' but you must 'round out' (a way of saying in literature Fully Develop) ALL of your major characters; this means the main good guys and bad guys. I'm attaching the Character Description template I use (I'll share this template with those of you interested).

4. You write a Treatment. Here is the professional break-down of a Treatment: 4 to 5 pages total; 1/2 page Opening Sequence (where does the movie begin, what happens just prior to our first frame of action?), 3/4 page Act I, 1/2 page Plot Point I, 3/4 page for Act II, 1/2 or 3/4 page for Plot Point II, 3/4 to 1 page for Act III and Resolution. Between 4 and 5 (5 pages beginning the max).

Once you have your Treatment you write the script with the Character Descriptions, following the Treatment. Don't leave the Treatment, it is what is going to make your story flow correctly.

And that is the formula. The more you use it the better you get at it. Like I said, I write scripts from concept to completion in just 1 week using this formula.

Hope this helps you.

This is the formula I've used to write plays, a novel (5 more developed, waiting to be written) and 28 screenplays. The formula works and works well. Like I wrote Shian, everything is about structure. You can argue all you want with the formula method, but it is ultimately what makes your works flow in a logical manner, create urgency/tension and resolve your story in a satisfactory way to audiences.

I cannot share Richie's (my friend from Scotland) story currently, but I will tell you this is his first attempt at the process and it is going very well. When he allows me, I'll share what he comes up with. Like I previously wrote, I only work with people who actually want to put in the work to learn the process, therefore this is 100% free. You will only be asked that when you master it (it has taken me 20+ years to formulate it) you find people willing to learn it and share, just as I'm sharing with you.

Writing process? As in formula, or are you referring to something else? Also, where might we find some of your works?

Due to pressure of work, all my writing projects have been forced onto the shelf for now, but I'll certainly get back to them at some point and I'll keep you in mind when I'm looking for feedback. I'm not sure I have enough of the right writing tools in my head yet, so I may need help with identifying and building the missing ones.