THE SCRIPT OUTLINE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW IS IT MADE?
How to structure our story and not die in the attempt
INDEX:
- What is a script outline?
- What is its purpose?
- What are the indispensable elements:
WHAT IS THE SCRIPT OUTLINE?
When writing any narrative piece, be it a novel, for the stage, or for the screen, there will always be methods that work better than others for each writer. At the end of the day, the truth is that everyone does things differently.
However, sooner or later, whatever the format or circumstances, our story needs to have a sequential coherence that carries the narrative, leading the reader or viewer to the last page along that path we chose for them.
For this reason, building such a framework can feel tortuous, especially as many times our idea is strong at a general level (for example, in synopsis format) but when it comes to breaking the plot down into sequences, we realize that not everything is as clear as it seemed in our head.
The structure falters, the characters are diluted, or we keep bumping into dead ends or creative blocks. And that’s ok — it’s normal and not a reflection on us as storytellers. The problem is that perhaps we’ve leaped into the swimming pool a little too soon…
