Jeff Kitchen's Create Riveting Dramatic Action with Dilemma, Crisis, Decision & Action, and Resolution

Jeff Kitchen has learned from developing scripts with thousands of writers over the years that a dilemma of magnitude will always improve a screenplay, even if it’s solid to start with. He's taught this process to development execs from all the major Hollywood studios and they love it because it always amplifies the power of scripts they’re developing. A good strong dilemma is the dramatic engine of a script, and the ability to work with dilemma at a professional level will make your screenplays work in any genre.

Essentially, there’s either a dilemma inherent in a plot or there isn’t. If it is there, then you can develop and dimensionalize it to amplify the script’s dramatic power, and if it isn’t then you can experiment with creating one and building it up. Kill or be killed, damned if you do/damned if you don’t, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, stuck between a rock and a hard place—these are all enduring images of being trapped between two equally unacceptable alternatives, two equally painful choices. Aristotle observed that those dramas that grip an audience tend to have a good strong dilemma, which builds to a crisis, forcing decision and action, and ending with a powerful resolution. And it’s still true today.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Learn how to trap your protagonist like a cornered wild animal with one good strong dilemma.
• Recognize a dilemma that exists in your story or create one from your story material.
• Experiment with extremes to maximize this dilemma and amplify its dramatic power.
• Utilize dilemma for comedy, drama, action, romantic comedy, horror—any genre.
• Create a dilemma of magnitude and pass the critical “So What?” test.
• Make one good strong dilemma the engine of your entire screenplay.
• Learn to see dilemma all around you in real life as a way to work with it properly.
• Make the dilemma universal so everyone can identify with it.
• Hyper-compress the dilemma to the breaking point and create the crisis.
• Now your cornered wild animal protagonist is ready to burst. Something has to give.
• Learn to complicate a crisis so that the worst things happen at the worst possible time.
• Decision and action in the face of crisis reveals the true character of the protagonist.
• Strip the mask off the hero and show the audience raw human emotional reality.
• Decision and action in the face of crisis is the most crucial turning point in the whole script.
• Getting from decision and action to the resolution constitutes the entire ending of the screenplay.
• Resolution is the protagonist conclusively resolving the dilemma which has gone critical.
• The way in which the protagonist resolves the dilemma expresses the theme of the script.
• Turn mere story into compelling dramatic action with these principles and techniques.
• Discover why so many studio development execs absolutely love this powerful tool.

HOW DOES THE WEBINAR WORK?

The webinar is broadcast over the Internet with the live audio being delivered through your computer speakers or over your telephone. The presentation is displayed directly from the Presenter's computer on to your computer screen.

The Q&A is managed through a chat-style submission system with questions being answered by the Presenter for the entire class to hear. In the event some questions are not answered during the live session, an e-mail with all questions and answers will be sent to all webinar attendees.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For PC-based users:
• Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
• Required: Internet Explorer® 7.0 or newer, Mozilla® Firefox® 3.0 or newer or Google™ Chrome™ 5.0 or newer (JavaScript™ and Java™ enabled)
• Required: Internet connection, with cable modem, DSL or better recommended
• Recommended: Minimum of Pentium® class 1GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM (2 GB of RAM for Windows® Vista)

For Mac-based users:
• Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 (Leopard®), OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard®)
• Required: Safari™ 3.0 or newer, Firefox® 3.0 or newer or Google™ Chrome™ 5.0 or newer (JavaScript™ and Java™ enabled)
• Required: Internet connection, with cable modem, DSL or better recommended
• Required: Intel processor with 512 MB of RAM or better recommended

For iPad-based users:
• Required: Free GoToMeeting app from the Apple App Store
• Required: WiFi connection to use VoIP

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about the webinar, please e-mail us at webinar@writersstore.com or call us prior to the start time at 800.272.8927.

The Writers Store does not offer any refunds for the webinar. All sales are final.