In the very hilarious 2005 movie, “Are We There Yet”,  Nick, a hip sports collector falls for the very beautiful Suzanne, a single mom with two exceptionally strong-willed kids.  The kids are the source of conflict for the main character.  Nick agrees to drive Suzanne’s kids to Canada, where she is managing a special event for her job.  The road trip is riddled with conflict that hinders the main character’s goal of getting the kids to their mom and ultimately winning her heart.

You have to make it hard for your character to achieve their goal in order to make the story worth while in the end, when the hero of the story finally accomplishes their goal.  You want to throw as many obstacles as you can, in the path of your hero, if your audience is going to get invested in the story. Make the achievement of the goal a constant uphill battle for your main character and give your audience something to root for.  Always remember, conflict creates great storytelling.

The characters you create for your screenplay are just as important as the actual story you want to tell through them. Your characters will make your story. If your characters are boring, one dimensional and unidentifiable, then your overall story suffers. You get people to care about your story through the characters.

 It is very important to create multi-dimensional characters that your audience can relate to and want to see succeed in achieving their goal. Writers have to really get to know their characters before starting the script. One way to avoid creating characters that we have all seen before, is to create a detailed biography. You should know everything about their background such as their family history, education, accomplishments, deepest regrets. It is important to portray them as well-round, complex beings.

 Take a look at Harry Potter, the young wizard protagonist of J.K. Rowlings amazingly successful book series. Harry Potter is a very multi-dimensional character. We learn early on that he is a half-blood prince with a very sad past. He is a bit of a loner that has been taking care of himself since he was very young. Harry Potter is a gifted wizard that is in constant danger. And he evolves into an even more interesting and complex character during his attendance at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 Take the time to really consider the protagonist of your story. Give your characters traits that are not card board cut outs of other characters we have seen time and time again in other stories. Think about the people that you know or have read about, you can make a compilation of different personalities to create your characters.

The next time you go to the movies, really study the characters. The Harry Potter series is a good place to start. It encompasses a great mix of unusual yet interesting characters.

In the movie “Shrek”, we meet a disgruntled ogre that enjoys living an isolated live in his swamp up until it is overcome by fairytale creatures.  These creatures were banished from their home by the evil Lord Farquaad and sent to live in Shrek’s swamp.  Shrek just wants to be left alone but he soon realizes that life is richer when shared with other people.  This is the message or theme of the movie.

The theme is subtlely expressed through the dialog between your characters.  Look at some of your favorite movies and see when a character states the theme.  You’ll have to pay close attention.  This typically happens in the first act of the script.

The theme is the backbone of your story.  Think about the message you want to relay to your audience and find creative ways to express your views through your characters.

Plot is basically the step-by-step details of what happens in the story.   For example, in the movie “Avatar” our main character, Jake, is a marine that is bound to a wheelchair.  He travels to the planet “Pandora” as part of a mission to study the planet’s inhabitants the Na’vi.  He uses his brother’s avatar to interact with the Na’vi and gain their trust.

While an avatar, Jake falls in love with a Na’vi named Neytiri and he is accepted into their tribe.  He learns that the leaders of the mission want to destroy the Na’vi people to get to a very valuable resource.  He fights with the Na’vi against the humans and ultimately saves the day.

That’s essentially plot.

Story, on the other hand, is essentially the overall picture of what your screenplay is all about.  For the movie, “Avatar”, we can say the STORY is about a headstrong paraplegic marine dispatched to the planet Pandora on a mission that leads him to protecting the world he feels is his true home.

Now you know the difference between story and plot.

Happy writing!

“The Princess and the Frog” was one of the best animated films I have seen in a long time.  The characters, music, storyline and animation are all brilliant.

As you probably already know, this is basically a movie about a princess that finds her prince.  But it’s a HUGE twist on the ‘kiss a frog get a prince’ deal.  You’d have to see the movie to know what I mean.

Anyway, our hero (main character) is a confident, strong-willed, hard working young girl named Tiana.  Tiana teaches us through hard work and persistence your dreams can and will come true.  We learn not to idly set by and hope for our dreams to come true but to MAKE them happen.  What we have essentially learned here is the THEME.

Every story must have a theme to make it relevant.  Your theme is the message you want to relay to your audience.  It’s what you want them thinking about long after they’ve seen your film.

The theme is always stated in the movie by at least one character.  Take a look at the movie “The Princess and the Frog” and see how many times the theme is stated.  There’s even a song.

Okay, get back to writing and don’t forget to weave in your theme!

Happy writing!

To learn more about screenwriting for kids/teens, check out http://www.screenwritingkids.com