How to Write a Screenplay Plot with "Tennis Paradigm"© Ugur Akinci I recommend William C. Martell's “tennis match” approach to screenplay plotting introduced in a very perceptive essay, “Plotting Murder” published in the Scr(i)pt Magazine, Vol 11, No. 5. That's a pretty interesting screenplay paradigm, I think. “The ball doesn't just hop over the net on its own... somebody has to hit it – same thing with a story,” explains Martell. “Things don't just happen on their own. They happen because someone causes them to happen. After that, another character reacts to that event, and the reaction knocks the ball back over the net so that the other player must react to it.” Martell illustrates his paradigm by giving scene-by-scene examples from the Graham Yost thriller SPEED. The SPEED example works great but it need not be a thriller or a murder story for this paradigm to work. For example, the same tennis analogy can be applied to the romantic love story THE NOTEBOOK (story by Nicholas Sparks) since the desired outcome -- Noah and Allie living together happily after – is frequently subverted and frustrated with all kinds of obstacles – the “net” -- that they have to overcome to be together. These “nets” are either external (like Allie's class-conscious family oppose their dating) or internal (Noah suspects Allie wants money more than his love). But this is a paradigm that helps in visualizing the overall dynamic of the story. If the ball stays for too long in one side of the “court,” it means it is time to hit back over the “net” for a return.” How to Write Your Screenplay Backwards How to Write Your Plot and Characters with the Question-Answer Metaphor How to Create Fresh and Original Characters for Your Screenplay How to Generate New Screenplay Ideas from Existing Movies 12 Ways to Get Your Screenplay Rejected Right Away How to Write a Screenplay Plot with "Tennis Paradigm" Have a Great Tip, Photo or Comment About This Topic?Do you have a great tip or photo about this? Something that you believe we should read or see? Contribute and share it today! |