Jasmine’s Screenwriting Lecture

One idea which I really liked from was the creation of characters and how to write a script form character bases. She talked of having BOLD characters. No Wallflowers, No Introverts, No nice-guys. There’s no point in having a character that tip toes around the screen. The protagonist needs to be the centre and usually the driving force. I think this is an important rule because being quite a wall-flower myself I’m prone to write what I know and relate to.

I like the Jack London quote she used about going after inspiration with a club and how she recommended creating two completely different characters and then finding a situation in which thy both are featured. When we tried this idea in class it resulted in some really interesting and exciting stories.

Another way she encouraged us to try in order to come up with story ideas is a step-by-step format starting from the character once again. You develop your character and then give them a defining want. This want powers them throughout the piece. You then create an issue and this then creates the tension of the piece. It then becomes interesting to try and work out ways he could either achieve his goal or not and what it means for his character.