I have decided to go back to basics and re-think my structure. The way I was applying my 3 act structure had got so bad that even I never saw it.

I have decided to go back to the screenwriters Calling card "shorts" and have revised an old short I 'd written last year. I didn't want to go back to the Shorts, but have found a new love for them now. Through a good friend on the site.

WHAT'S UP KEVAN..... LOL!!!

My problem with the structure was, after a while I just began to trail of the central question and onto something completely different. And I never really executed my impact character (which is an important character) in the right manner. Also I have recently started to find holes in my antagonist, BAD!! I know you don't have to say.

But it's back to basics and back to shorts for a while.

So wish me luck... LOL...

A short script is a quick fix that can make people want to read your work, some people do it for selfish reasons and I can't blame them for it.

I'm just wondering why you told us this on the screenwriting class.

Because I thought, It might be a useful place, so that Maybe I could get a few tips along the way in the thread.

I was going to post it in the "MY WORK IN PROGRESS" Thread But I was hoping to get a few tips. So I decided to post here.

I use the 3 Act structure and I think it has fitted all my previous screenplays well. But it did become a little rigid somethimes during the planning process, so I know what you mean. When it became too difficult to fit all of my plot and character elements within the 3 Act structure I just changed the Acts to make them fit! I'd make one Act wider or a little smaller, and add some more character moments, etc, to accomodate what has to happen within the story. Sometimes it is hard to do this without disturbing the pace of the overall screenplay, but it does help. Just MAKE it work lol!

Hope this helps in some capaciy. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone in this case! Good luck!  

Consider the three act structure a tool to help get past writer's block. Obviously, your script will have a beginning, middle, and end, but it is those plot points that define the book-ish "structure" we all talk about. It's helped me on a few occasion bypass that pesky devil and really, using a tiny version of it in a short couldn't hurt either. Use the skeleton and then make it your own.

Sound advice George. I was thinking of writing the feature in mind, as a short and see how that goes, with the limited page run... I think if I can pull of the story in mind within 10 maybe 15 pages then I can certainly do it in a 120 pages.

With a limited page run to 10/15 pages it will be hard, therefor I may have to drop a considerable amount from the short. However, keeping in the main parts as focal-point in the short.  

Good advice,

Cheers.

Personally, I don't write many shorts. That's not a boast, but more of a weakness. I tend to be very long winded when I come up with a story and can't squeeze it into that small a page count. I want the story to be complete and I just know it will come out too long when I reach the end. I know shorts are a good thing to have when someone wants something...uh...short, but I'm just not one to turn it out that way.

I was the same until recently, I used to write shorts before and then just lost my passion for them. But now I have found a new respect for them.

I have got a few Features that I want to work on, which will be next on my personal to do list. I know what you mean about the story being complete, that is why I spend more time developing my features, rather than my shorts.