Monday was not a good day.
I was ready to scream by the end of the day.
But then, today my scene turned. I received my first reimbursement check from the insurance company; they finally fixed everything that was screwed up since February. I went to a Reemployment Meeting at the county and learned I'm eligible to go back to school for free, even though I have a Graduate Degree. I also stopped in at the Unemployment office and found out that my file was wrong in the computer and six checks were released to me by the time I left the office. It seems I will make all my bills on time after all. And I found four new listings for English teachers. Of course I had already resubmitted all my paperwork for volunteering on Monday.
So, things are looking better today.
When writing for film or television, you have to make sure that each of your scenes TURN. They have to go from either negative to positive or positive to negative. That's it. If the scene does not turn, your story is stagnant and your storyline does not move forward.
For example, in Die Hard, Hans Gruber brings Mr. Takagi into his office to demand a code to get into Nakatomi's computer system. The scene starts out with Mr. Takagi in quasi-control as he insists he does not have the code, thereby thwarting Hans from getting into the computer (POSITIVE). However, the scene flips when Hans decides he doesn't want to play nice with Mr. Takagi anymore and shoots him in the head (VERY NEGATIVE). This also lets John McClaine, who is in hiding, realize that he is not dealing with simple terrorists--he's not sure what he's dealing with anymore (NEGATIVE).
Another example: in Casablanca, it appears that Rick is set to flee Casablanca with Ilsa, allowing her husband to be taken by the Nazis (NEGATIVE: not nice giving anyone to Nazis). Instead, Rick makes the ultimate sacrifice by sending Ilsa off with her husband, as it should be, and turns himself over to the Nazis. The surprise is that Captain Renault, not wanting to turn in his gambling buddy, shoots the Nazi and he and Rick wander off into the fog planning their escape, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship" (POSITIVE: dead Nazi = plus).
Make sure your scenes have that range. People don't want to sit through a scene that goes nowhere. If that were true, we'd all hang out at Aunt Bee's knitting parties and talk about ringworm. Life is interesting because of its ups and downs. Use them.
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