THE PARADIGM WORKSHEET

Listen to "The Paradigm: A Brief Introduction"
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Dramatic structure is the foundation of screenwriting.

The word itself means "to build, or put together," and understanding how it works is essential to the craft of screenwriting. Simply put, structure holds the story together; there is a beginning, middle and end, (not necessarily in that order), and a point at which the beginning turns into the middle, and the middle turns into the end.

That point is called a Plot Point. It is any incident, episode or event that hooks into the action and spins it around into another direction; in this case, either Act II or Act III.

There are many plot points in a screenplay, but in the creation of the story line, the most important are Plot Point I and Plot Point II. The four elements of structure, beginning, Plot Point I, Plot Point II and the ending, will always hold your story in place.

This is illustrated on the Paradigm, a model of what a screenplay is if you look at it like a painting hanging on the wall. The Paradigm of The Shawshank Redemption shows you how it works.

Simply download the blank Paradigm and use the few brief exercises as an opportunity of practicing the craft of dramatic structure.

Sincerely,

THE PARADIGM IN MOTION

"I was working at the Mirage, on the graveyard shift, making $8 an hour; I invent bill boards for the heck of it, I’m writing letters and now you want me to write a screenplay? So I went to the bookstore and bought three books by Syd Field on screenwriting...I began to write this movie...The Runner. Six weeks later, I had this movie that’s actually pretty damn good...and sold it for $35,000. That was the pivotal moment, the beginning of everything...."

--Anthony Zuiker, Creator/Executive Producer
CSI and CSI: Miami
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