The Screenwriter's Path

5Character/Structure

Character and structure aren’t mutually exclusive—they have this kind of weird, symbiotic relationship. If you think of them as elements of your screenplay that work together, you’ll begin to see how they impact one another.

Let’s Talk Arcs

A ‘character arc’ is one of those terms that I hate. I feel like we’re trying, as screenwriters, to add mystique or something to what we do by talking about a character arc. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I should know a secret handshake or something when I start talking about a character arc. I’m more inclined to want to talk about character.

But for those arc-lovers or arc-neophytes out there, here’s what everyone’s talking about when they talk about character arcs—they’re talking ...