Screenwriting : Today's Wish and Creative Tip by Laurie Ashbourne

Walk the line Stories well told, have 3 intertwined lines; Plot, character and theme. • Plot reveals what the problem is and where the action takes place. • Character focuses on who is trying to solve the problem • Theme give the audience some understanding of why this problem and actions of the characters are relevant. There is more to a story than just moving the action forward on the plotline. In our own lives, all forward motion is motivated by inner necessity. We gather food and cook it because we’re hungry, we argue with our partners because our needs aren’t being met the way we want them to be. You enter the plotline of your story through the character line of your story and the way your character changes is done through the theme line. Good stories, well told – walk all of these lines as one. Take the titular 2005 film based on the story of Johnny Cash. The plotline is how he became a legendary musician, but the character line is how he perservered in his passion for music and the love of his life, despite his external obstacles and internal insecurities. The theme of the film is, true success is born of passion (that if denied turns volatile). June Carter’s arc is almost as strong as Johnny’s because she knows he’s got issues and doesn’t want her life to suffer by being drug through his mess – he pushes her buttons and it's not until she stops fighting her feelings, that they stop fighting. This clip perfectly mirrors all of the above https://youtu.be/eD7Kh7V1OV8 This one defines the line that inspired the song https://youtu.be/t1FPV1NzBOw But what is most telling about this 2nd clip, is that Johnny knows it’s not about a tour and not about a song – in fact, from the moment he meets June he knows what it’s about and the entire plot becomes driven by his struggle to balance his passion for her with that of his music, and thus the song ‘I walk the line’ was born. Your logline is more than a plot line, at minimum it includes the plot and character lines, at best it hints at the theme too. May all your lines work together – happy Monday!