TODAY'S NUGGET: Your Protagonist as Bait

Stop protecting your freakin' protagonist and feed him to the wolves.

Yeah, I'm talking to you.

(Do you see me talking to anyone else?)

You have a comedy? Your lead should slip on a banana peel often.

You have an action flick? Very easy to get run over by a bus, then a truck, then a semi.

Got a sci-fi? Aliens make great eating machines. They even come in different colors.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: If you like your character, then stick his head in the shark's jaw. 

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Rule of Two

I am cranky.

Recently, I covered a script that failed to remember the Rule of Two.

Thus, I am cranky.

And lost.  I got really lost b/c the script wandered from the Rule of Two.

What is the Rule of Two?  Glad you asked.

I will not be cranky at you if you remember the Rule of Two.

The Rule of Two = The story always, always, always revolves around the PROTAGONIST & ANTAGONIST fighting. 

I do not care if you have an ensemble cast.  How does the ensemble support or conflict with the Two?

I do not care about your jokes unless they involve the Two. 

I do not care if there's a monkey stealing the scene.  If the Two are using the monkey as a carrier pigeon, then that's ok.  Otherwise, I don't care about the monkey.

Why is this rule so important?  Because otherwise the script:

- goes off on tangents.  ex. The script veered off from the athlete (protagonist) & became a documentary (bystander started commenting at the camera).

- becomes individual episodes, not one continuous story.  ex.  I can't follow 3 A stories with 3 different protagonists.  Please don't make me do it.

- gets thrown in the slush 'cause it's too hard to follow. 


WHAT I'VE LEARNED: All you need is Two.