Script Plot Outline
We are working towards a short play/movie script featuring a three-character conflict, a twist/turn, and a
discovery/reversal at the end. This sheet gives you an overview of the outline I’d like your plot to follow. You
are free to develop whatever characters and conflicts of your own you’d like, as long as you follow this
outline and limit yourself to actions/situations that could easily be recreated on stage or in a low-budget
movie. Your job is to create a detailed outline of the plot now and fill in the dialogue later.
Script Plot Outline Part 1—Introduction
*Start with two characters in conversation. These two should be discussing one of the other characters,
making the conflict of the story clear.
*The 3rd character should enter the scene early.
*Have at least two of the characters begin to disagree about something that concerns the third character
in some way.
*This section of the script should eventually be at least 3-4 pages of dialogue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Script Plot Outline Part 2—A Twist and Turn
*You already have a very rough draft of the first part of your scene, establishing the three characters and
their conflict (you’ve put them in the river without a paddle). Now you are going to intensify the
conflict and see what happens when the situation your characters are in changes (you’re sending
them straight into white water).
*Something should happen that intensifies the conflict between your characters. As you write, keep
the following guidelines in mind:
--You may choose to give one of your characters a limited role in this scene, or send them offstage, but
the relationship previously established between the characters and the others should continue to
be influential.
--As the scene progresses, the behavior of one of the characters should change in some way (causing
the twist/turn in the plot, or in response to it). The dialogue and action between the characters
should support this change.
--Keep in mind that when one character’s back is turned, one or both of your other characters may act
differently.
*This section of the script should eventually be at least 2-3 pages of dialogue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Script Plot Outline Part 3—A Discovery or Reversal
*You’ve left your characters in a boat on the rapids without any paddles, now it’s time to get them all out.
Scripts generally end with a discovery and/or a reversal. Either one causes a character to change,
and the state of things to change as a result.
*Please write the concluding 3-4 pages of your script, resolving the conflicts through some sort of
discovery or reversal by one or more of your characters. Keep the following in mind as you write:
--The discovery/reversal will probably involve your main character reaching a new conclusion about
one of the other characters
--This discovery/reversal may surprise your main character as much as it surprises the audience or
the other characters
--The main character may have felt this way all along and just wasn’t able to admit it until the end of
the scene
--The discovery may lead to a reversal—a drastic change from the beginning of the play
*If your skit has a reversal, it may do a loop at the end—almost as if a new skit is about to start
*Remember that, as in life, your scene shouldn’t end too neatly. Endings that make the audience think,
question, and wonder are stronger and more enduring that endings that are too typical or
unbelievable.
*This section of the script should eventually be at least 3-4 pages of dialogue