Screenwriting : Pondering the STC Screenwriting System by Miquiel Banks

I let the story dictate the form. All these focus on the manufacture of a document. A screenplay should focus on the manipulation of the audience.

My process is a bit of an amalgamation of many different processes I've read. I would say I align closest to the 5 act structure from John Yorke's Into The Woods. I also found 'Writing Screenplays that Sell' by Michael Hauge revealing - it talks a lot about a external and internal goals which really applies to the types of stories I write.

Save the Cat was the first screenwriting book I read and it was useful. I find the key, really, is to make sure interesting things happen regularly throughout your story.

If you're enthused by the idea then the best thing sometimes is to go write it. Later, when you look back at it, you may think it sags in places. This is when it may work to see how well your story slots into these structure templates and you could find where the issue is.

However, personally, I don't like just diving in because I wind up with too many plot holes and I hate having to go back and backfill them all. So, for me, getting a solid outline, and a set of beats is the way to go - not to say that I don't deviate while writing once the characters start to speak and make choices etc

Oops, this turned into a rant, feel free to just take the first paragraph as my answer haha!

I read STC way back, Miquiel Banks . It helped me learn how to structure scripts, but I agree with Craig, I let the story dictate the form. I haven't used the other methods you mentioned except the Hero's Journey. I need to go back and restudy the Hero's Journey.

Like pretty much everything else, it differs only in its method of breaking down the monomyth. It's just a different set of labels. The good thing about Save The Cat is it's like a Dummy's Guide to story telling, and I mean that in a complimentary way. Snyder created a template almost anybody can understand, while something like A Hero With a Thousand Faces is comparatively impenetrable for most. On the flip side, it goes way too far into a painting by numbers mentality.

It's a good book overall and doesn't deserve the hate it gets, in my opinion. It explained story telling structure to me when nothing else could. That said, I totally empathise with the frustration people have toward its obsessive devotees.

I agree with everyone. The books aim to decipher the mystery of how story works with film and TV. Yes, people need to read scripts, but they probably will also need some form of self education on why writers make the choices they make in their scripts. I've gone to McKee's and Truby's seminars and I have their books. I have other books as well as the "Save the Cat" series. But I also have more academic work like "How To Read a Film" by James Monaco. It's all part of the educational journey.

I've found that Michael Hauge's Hero's Journey and Truby's 22 Building blocks useful, however if you've ever read Jill Chamberlain's The Nutshell Technique its really good for helping to develop the story into the impactful payoff a good screenplays needs to really close out a great story.

I'm a rather novice writer and still figuring out what works for me, so I'm still exploring. I have a friend who is a writer/director and he uses the eight sequence structure up front to organize his thoughts and then brings in STC later as an additional evaluation. It works for him.

Thanks for all the comments Peeps....and yes, i'm one of those people CJ that have deciphered A Hero with a Thousand Faces....but not because of Screenwriting and Dramaturgy and Story Structure, but it's more about "Hip Hop Culture" than those others. I find it fascinating that Mythology is not considered "Cultural" when Joseph Campbell studied the Indigenous to come up with his entire Ideology on Reality.....SMH...... Thanks again Peeps, now it's back down into the Quantum Physics of Storytelling and Dramaturgy!!!!!

You're welcome, Miquiel Banks.

Tucker Teague, you might want to check out my Turn & Burn structure. It works well for a lot of people.

Definitely check out the Turn & Burn structure, Tucker Teague.

Ah-hah! CJ Walley you've done the structure comparison infographic I was thinking of on your Turn and Burn structure post - I knew I'd seen it somewhere :-)

Hey, I would consider doing the Nutshell Technique method as well.

Michael Hague is also very good. I've seen him present here in NY as well as in Austin, Texas. John Truby has a masterclass lecture on genres, which can usually be found on YouTube.

CJ Walley thanks for that.