Story Developing & Script Writing

Reading a story can be compared with climbing a mountain. You start by getting familiar with your setting. Next you begin the long, steady climb, with all its zigs, zags, and pitfalls. The most exciting moment comes as you finally arrive at the apex—and then you descend rapidly down the other side. Your journey ends with satisfaction when you reach the bottom.

How can a writer take readers on such an adventure? Follow a traditional format for telling a good story.

1. Context

Begin your story with a bit of background. Here’s where you establish the setting, introduce the protagonist, and lay out some key details to provide context for the story.

2. Conflict

Conflict is crucial in a good story. The narrative begins to take shape when you introduce a conflict or obstacle. In storytelling, this is known as rising action, and there are several ways a writer can do this:

• Man against himself is an internal conflict that arises when the character struggles against his or her conscience. The character may be wrestling with a decision, dealing with a bad habit, or fighting a temptation, for example.
• Man against man is an external conflict between two characters. This conflict can be physical, such as a gunfight in the Old West, or it can be emotional, such as a false accusation by a trusted friend.
• Man against forces greater than himself is an external conflict in which the character struggles with forces beyond his control. Examples include roaring rapids, a hurricane, a cholera epidemic, or an encounter with a fire-breathing dragon.

3. Climax

If a story were a mountain, the climax would be the peak. This is the turning point of the story. The action is the most exciting or intense, and the characters face the conflict and start to solve it. At the story’s climax:

• The meteor strikes the earth;
• The knight slays the dragon and rescues the princess; or
• The big battle scene occurs.

4. Closure

Once the climax has been reached and the problem resolved, it’s time for the characters to tie up loose ends and bring closure where needed. Known as falling action, examples can include:

• Rounding up the cattle after the big stampede;
• Reuniting a man with his long-lost brother; or
• Getting the injured child into the raft and riding the rapids to safety.

5. Conclusion

The wrap-up of a story is known as the dénouement (day-noo-mon‘). By this part of the story, everything has been resolved and the reader has closure. We see how the characters have changed over time, or how life returns to normal. For example:

• The bully learns the errors of his ways;
• The family home is rebuilt after a devastating fire; or
• Wedding bells ring for a couple who have overcome many obstacles and found true love.

These are the five typical stages of storytelling. Clearly, there’s much more to writing a story, including character and plot development. Your first step, though, is understanding what lies ahead.

Drama script is different from a novel, a short story or a poem. In novels and short stories, the reader will be given a detailed description of a situation and the background for a particular event, whereas in a drama script, the reader will be given only an overview (general description) of a particular situation and the location or place. The dialogue will deliver the message and thoughts of the author. This is what distinguishes drama from other literary works.

Indeed, the nature of a drama is driven by dialogue. The author’s thoughts or ideas are conveyed through dialogue by the actors (characters) interacting in a drama. A good drama script will be able to give a clear picture of the author's thoughts through the dramatic elements in the resulting dialogue. Dramatic element means the diction or expressions that can create conflict in a drama, such as dialogue that elicits feelings of anger, delight, amusement, etc. A good drama should have an element of suspense, tension and be able to arouse the curiosity of its reader or audience.

Style & Characterization

Drama is an art form with the most social traits. Its very nature demands teamwork due to the inclusion of other artistic personnel and also because of the immediacy of reaction from the audience (which is different from the reaction of a movie or television audience). A drama script is fixed and permanent in nature as a whole, but each time the drama is performed on stage, the production of the text (script) will undergo changes. This is because the actors will react differently to different audiences, and also the mood of the actors is different in each show. The combination of fixed values and variables give the theatre an edge and distinguishes it from drama that is recorded mechanically, such as on film, radio drama and television drama.

Features of Drama

Generally, drama has the following features:

• Drama is a modern prose produced to be read and staged.
• Drama can be in the form of prose or poetry.
• Drama consists of dialogues and characters created by the author.
• The thoughts and ideas of the author are conveyed through dialogue by the characters.
• Conflict, which is an important element in a drama script, is driven by the characters in the plot.
• A script that is not based on conflict is not considered as a good drama.
• The style of language in a drama is also important because it shows the setting and the society it represents, thus drama reflects the socio-culture of the society described by the author.

Structure of Drama

In principle, drama has a three-act structure. From the Greek tragedy and Elizabethan (English) drama to modern drama and film screenplay, the structure of all these scripts is divided into three parts: exposition, complication, and resolution. This may be compared to human life from birth to adulthood and death.

Before embarking on any form of writing, a solid foundation is necessary. This is because a strong foundation will support the structure, concept and vision of a drama. It will produce a solid framework or creative work that will not easily become fragmented. Absence of a strong foundation will produce only frustration, impasse or, that which is often said to be writer’s block.

The three important elements that must be given focus by the author before writing a script are:

1. Focus,
2. Logic, and
3. Characterisation.

1. Focus

To ensure coherence in a story, the characters and the way they function require focus or concentration regardless of whether the storyline is linear, non-linear (spiral) or parallel. Consistent strong focus will make the process of writing easier and smoother. Focus requires a number of considerations. The main consideration is knowing the characters (who are they?), their backgrounds, natures and development. Focus also requires the characterisation and overall storyline to have a clear goal in the end.

2. Logic

When we produce a story with all its characters, themes and locations, we are actually involved in creation. Every character, theme, time and location has its own rules; it is like creating a new world. That is why a playwright is often said to create worlds. But what kind of world is being created? What is the life there like? Drama adopts or imitates reality (life), but what kind of reality? The reality of a drama must be viewed in the context of the story, characterisation and theme. This is where the logic of the drama is measured.

3. Character and Characterisation

In a good drama script, the characters must be able to carry the story further. The characters are the story, and it is they who give life to the story. Thus, the characters are the most important element in a drama. They drive the plot. In a drama, there are main characters and supporting characters. Often a drama has one main character, but a drama may have two main characters - the protagonist (the character espousing the ideas of the author) and the antagonist (the character opposing the ideas of the author). This contradiction of ideas creates conflict which brings about a dramatic effect to make the story interesting. Supporting characters are other characters that support the protagonist or antagonist or characters that complete the story.

Format of Stage Drama Script

The stage drama script has its own format. The standard format should be followed when writing the script so that it can be easily read and understood by the director. More importantly, it will show that the writer understands the genre. In the script writing format, you need to include the following:

• Title page containing the title of your play, author's name (your name), title of the original source (novel) if the drama script is an adaptation, name and address of the publisher (if published) and the year.
• Synopsis. You need to write a synopsis or summary of your drama (about 150 words). It should provide information about the characters, themes and storyline, and most importantly, be able to attract readers to read your drama script.
• Characters and list of characters – You need to provide a list of characters in your drama as well as a brief description of each character, such as physical form, age and certain characteristics.
• The breakdown of scenes is also required.
• An act or a scene takes place in a particular location, time and involves certain characters. Therefore, the location, time and characters must be identified before a scene starts.
• There are several different types of format or style of typing the script. Look at the style of several scripts that you have read.

Follow the format below.

As you can see the format is quite simple with character names written against the left-hand margin and their dialogue continuing on the same line. Stage directions are in italics to differentiate them from dialogue. Also note terms such as stage-left and stage-right to indicate which direction characters enter and exit from. All other directions should be kept to a minimum.