S.C.R.I.P.T.

Hir is intentional!

Situation Challenges Resources Intelligence Plot Theme

I created the SCRIPT model as a framework for analysing the structure and the sequence of a story (plot) and relating it to the transformational arc of the (main) Character/s. The acronym SCRIPT is useful for mapping out the structure of a story before writing it, or for exploring - and amending - any weaknesses, always with reference to the Character/s' development as the story unfolds. Although I talk of the three act structure, it is not restricted to drama on stage or screen. Story-telling, a venerable and ancient art, novels, even short stories can have this underlying structure. Neither the notion of the three act structure nor the SCRIPT model is intended to inhibit your flow. They merely serve (I hope) as a frame of reference. I also find them useful as frameworks for giving writing mentees feedback on their work.

Situation (in which you place your characters)

The basic story outline; the environment - the time and the place - in which your Character/s act and interact. The external forces that impact on the Character/s and influence their decisions, which could be anything from the weather, the sea, the living room, the workplace, the bedroom, the mean streets of the naked city, or some fantasy futurescape. Do your Characters create or stumble into situations? Does everyone except the Protagonist know what's going on? Is the Protagonist the only one - as far s/he knows - in the know? Is s/he losing hir way, or hir mind? Is s/he hoping to find her True Self, or merely waiting for Godot? Is this the Last Action Hero or the End of Days? Much Ado about Nothing or Everything you ever Wanted to Know about Sex but were too Exhausted to Ask?

Challenges (that your characters have to deal with)

What demons or devils will your Characters meet? Do angels or anxieties, temptresses or terrors visit in the wee small hours? Does seduction or sedition compel them to change the situation they are in? What secrets or lies will be disclosed, and what demands or deficits await to be discovered? And will we be thrilled as we observe our key characters rising to meet the challenges on their journeys of self discovery and personal evolution?

The challenges should relate to the theme of the story and the structure of the plot. If your story is character-driven, your protagonist, at least, should develop intellectually, psychologically or emotionally. A detective story might require only that the main character solves a puzzle, works out a conundrum. We don't ask Poirot, Holmes, Marples, Frost or Colombo to change during or between their appearances. Indeed, we'd rather they didn't! We fans rather like that fact that the story structure is predictable, familiar, comfortable. A romance need only present us with the fact that the [would-be/wanna-be]lovers have to deal with their parents' objections (Romeo & Juliet), or the burdens of their current situation (the minor) inconvenience of a spouse; the ticklish problem of being a single parent; an obnoxious personality or reprehensible character flaws; a skeleton - or the main character - in the closet. Combining all these and other elements will make your story more readable or watchable, and enhance your reputation.

Resources (that your characters start with or need to develop)

What can the Character/s call upon in an hour of need? Who will be on their side, offering support or sympathy? Who will profer, or withhold, clues, connections or contact? What skills, experiences or expertise, does your Protagonist already have or will need to call upon? What resources must s/he demand or develop? Is hir partner, hir bank manager, hir former best friend, hir worst enemy the one who has or can get precisely what s/he needs? Are there more inner resources than s/he realises or admits? Who does s/he have to bribe, bully, coerce, seduce, talk to? What does s/he need to learn or let go of?

Intelligence (are your characters dull or bright, warm or cold, caring or callous?)

Smart Alec? Beautiful Bimbo? Cold and calculating or intuitively sympathetic? Intellectual? Emotionally authentic? Does s/he know how to deal with people, or is s/he out of touch with humanity? Intelligence may be intellectual or emotional, spontaneous or calculating. Is your character depriving a village somewhere of an Idiot? Is Mensa keeping a space warm just in case? Is s/he one ball short of a tennis match, or is s/he a match for anyone s/he meets or hopes to catch in her net?

And remember, the five key compenents of emotional intelligence [EI] offer another useful frame of reference: 1/ Self-awareness: does your character have it? if not how will s/he get it? Without it, s/he will not have... 2/ Self-management: characters who lack this might be addicitive personalities, or have short fuses, or demand instant gratification. Poor self management combined with... 3/ Self-motivation: will create weak characters, losers, whingers and whiners - all very good charactersistics to give our characters at the start of the story. Without the three listed about, it is almost impossible for characters, certainly in real life, to have ... 4/ Social-awareness: which is essential for true empathy to develop! This awareness of Others is also required for rapport building and influening people. And for the skills and qualities that enable... 5/ Relationship-management: good communication, listening and influencing skills.

Plot   (the story and the way it's structured)

The story itself as it unfolds. This may conform to the 3-act structure, and can be related to the development of the (main) characters i.e the transformational arc of the protagonist.

[Act 1]
let's call this the set-up stage. We know the situation, and we may have some idea of the challenges s/he (the protagonist) and the other characters will face - clues and hints can be given at the set up, some subtle some so blatant that the audience/reader immediately suspects it's a red herring. We may also be made aware of the way hir limited resources or intellect might impact on how s/he will or will not handle the imminent challenges. Short stories might be better to leave this out and start right in the middle of the action, so to speak. Films might fill in the back story with flash-backs or some such device.

[Act 2]when s/he'd rather retreat to the relative comfort of ignorance or indifference portrayed in the set-up, our Character begins to discover, painfully, reluctantly, intriguingly - if we create interesting enough challenges - that s/he is more (or less) than s/he'd believed. If we skilfully plot hir progress both in story terms and in personal evolution terms, and if the 3 Acts harmonise with the stages of hir personal development, our stories will have greater subtlety and substance, and our Characters will be more real and more rounded.

[Act 3]
we start to tie up loose ends. Cliffhangers from Acts 1 & 2 are resolved, although there will still be doubts, obstacles, threats, uncertainties for us as well as the protagonist. The Character/s discover that they are wiser, warmer, wittier than they imagined. One or other of them saves the world, or hir marriage, or hir dignity. Our audience will, by this time, either like or dislike our creations. Whether they celebrate because they got their due reward, or seethe because they didn't get their just desserts, we are more likely to remember them if we have given them substance as well as surface. Such is life - and anyway, whose plot is it anyway?

Theme ( redemption? Paradise regained? Heroic quest? Rites of passage?)

Almost every story, real or created, is stronger with a central theme. In real life, this theme can be recognised as a form of 'currency.' For some people the currency may be academic success; for others athletic prowess. Physical attraction, public acclaim, notoriety, these are themes than can be recognised in real life, and be useful for giving our fiction greater subtlety and depth. Some say there are only 7 basic plots, e.g.boy meets girl, loses girl, gets boy. Or, girl loses her way, finds her way, gets in the way, and so on. Clarity about the theme, will enable you to enrich and embellish the story by weaving it through various scenes and chapters. Theme can also echo in snatches of dialogue, be vividly reflected in vibrant images, hidden in subtle metaphors, emphasised by the dynamic tension between characters, and be reinforced in the connecting links between the '3 Acts'

So, there you have it; the SCRIPT model. All feedback appreciated, especially if it is:
Specific Concrete Realistic Intelligent Purposeful & Timely

The notion of the 3-act structure, incidentally, need never constrain your creative energy. Think of it as a scaffolding or skeleton that can support the elegant detail of your wonderful creations. It can also help to determine the timing of dramatic, cliff-hanging pauses!