LEVEL-ONE CREATIVE WRITING
SCREEENWRITING & MOVIE-MAKING
#1: Screenplay Scene Exercise (on your own): Physical Life Reflects Emotional Life (30 points)
OPTION #1
#1: Screenplay Scene: Physical Life Reflects Emotional Life
--Consider physical surroundings of characters: include FOOD in the setting
--One character “drives” the scene (he/she wants something; opposing forces stand in
the way; conscious v. unconscious desire; external v. internal, i.e., physical v. emotional)
--Portray the driving character’s conflict by capturing the following three realms of conflict:
1. his/her interpersonal life (conflict with another character)
2. his/her personal life (his interior life; his emotional, psychological life)
3. his/her immediate environment (for example, a slippery floor, or chopsticks)
--Character arc: he wants something, tries, and either succeeds or fails…or both. Note the
character’s corresponding emotional arc, which might go from frustrated to satisfied, or
from calm to restless. Note how he might “get” (or fail to get) his conscious goal but
realize/achieve (or fail to realize/achieve) a deeper, unconscious goal/need. For example,
he might “get” the candy he wants but then realize he should share it with his brother.
OPTION #2
Adaptation of Scene From Your Short Story (or one we’ve read together in class)
--See sample adaptation scene from Anne Tyler’s “Holding Things Together”
--Note the exclusive focus on physical description/action and dialogue
--Follow screenplay format
#2: Outline for short film project (with group of no more than six)
--Write an outline like the one you wrote for your short story; only this time be sure to craft each
scene with emphasis on the physical action—what we see on the screen—and articulate the arc
of the scene precisely; okay to sum up dialogue—what characters are talking about—but do not
(only) describe what characters are thinking and/or feeling, because we can’t see thoughts and
feelings (only expressions of thoughts and feelings); how will you SHOW...?
--create a story with focus on a protagonist with both an internal and an external conflict; consider
the classic three-act structure, showing the protagonist struggling, facing a crisis, acting in the
climax…time/life marching on in the resolution…
#3: Movie Script
--Include above outline as cover page—typed.
--For clarity on this assignment, indicate “Scene 1,” “Scene 2,” etc., on script.
--Follow correct screenplay format exactly: indicate EXT and INT for each new shot, with the
setting in all capital letters; use wide margins for physical descriptions; use single-spaced chunks
for physical descriptions and dialogue, skipping a space between chunks; center and capitalize
speaker names, but don’t “center” the dialogue—instead, highlight each chunk of dialogue and
widen the margins…all of the above, illustrated in the sample screenplay pages provided. (You
may use a screenwriting program.)
--each group member must write at least one scene, from the outline, for the draft; the final
screenplay, of course, should be revised and polished, working together…
--Points for screenplay: 10 outline; 10 misc./mechanics; 20 structure/story; 20 dialogue; 20
physical description; 20 format… = 100
#4: Make the movie: every group member must be involved, not necessarily as an actor. Be creative;
consider how your “limitations” as filmmakers may be opportunities for inventiveness, playfulness,
ingeniousness… Plan your production carefully, considering settings and schedules; leave time for editing,
when some of your most creative storytelling ideas may arise. 200 total points (including screenplay).