Quotes from Linda Seger

Alcuni miti sono storie vere che raggiungono un significato mitico perché le persone di cui raccontano sembrano più grandi della vita e sembrano vivere la loro vita più intensamente delle persone comuni.

A myth is a story that is more than true. Many stories are true because one person, somewhere, at some time, lived it. It is based on fact. But a myth is more than true because it is lived by all of us, at some level. It's a story that connects and speaks to us all.

The catalyst begins a story's action. Something happens—a crime occurs, a letter arrives, Aunt Mary appears on the doorstep—and from that moment on the story is defined. Until the catalyst kicks off the story, the only information the audience has is where and when the film takes place. But once an event happens, the story suddenly has focus and direction.

Sometimes this catalyst presents a problem that must be addressed (there's pollution or someone is ill) or a need (the need for a cure, the need to find the killer, the need to find someone who will commit to a true love). Sometimes the catalyst is a disturbance, something jarring that starts an extraordinary journey.

The strongest catalysts are specific actions.

Sometimes the catalyst can be a piece of information that a character receives. Such a catalyst orients the audience to the subject of the story through dialogue

that she must leave the convent to teach seven children (The Sound of Music) or that he's given a chance to fight the champion (Rocky). Although this type of catalyst isn't as forceful as an event, in relationship-based stories it might be very appropriate.

Sometimes a catalyst is situational, made up of a series of incidents that add up over a period of time. This sort of catalyst is rare, because hinting at action is usually not a strong way to start a story. Three films that have situational catalysts are Tootsie, Back to the Future, and Some Like It Hot. Tootsie, for instance, introduces the New York theater world, showing how difficult it is to get a job.

Where is the character coming from? What's motivating the character? What's the central conflict? Who's the antagonist? This is Act One development.

The midpoint scene occurs just where you'd expect it—about halfway through the script. Syd Field, in The Screenwriter's Workbook, says that it divides the story in half, introducing an event or line of dialogue that helps structure Act Two. In my work consulting on more than 2,000 scripts and teaching many of the best films, I don't find a midpoint scene in every film. But when I do find one, it functions as an excellent tool to help structure a difficult second act.

For writers, a beat works in a script much as a beat works in a piece of music. In a song, single beats are grouped to make up a measure. By adding more beats (thus more measures) you create a phrase, and eventually an entire melody. In the same way, single dramatic beats or moments, placed together, create a scene. And the beats in a scene, together, create the beats of an act, and the beats of an act, together, create an entire film.

It turns the action in a new direction. It raises the central question again and makes us wonder about the answer. It often requires a decision or commitment on the part of the main character. It raises the stakes. It pushes the story into the next act. It takes the audience into a new arena, where a character's actions may be seen with a new focus.

Until the catalyst kicks off the story, the only information the audience has is where and when the film takes place. But once an event happens, the story suddenly has focus and direction