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

"What I learned in Syd Field’s class was here’s how Annie Hall works, and here’s how Witness works and then I begin to think, ‘OK now how would I do it differently than that?’ That concept of ‘Always being in learning mode’ has stuck with me to this day. Even now, I think, "Well I’m not fantastic visually, so how could I do it better? I hire somebody to do it for me...."

--Judd Apatow, Writer/Director
The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People
Creative Screenwriting, July/August 2009

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