e PLOT-DRIVEN DRAMAS To ihasttate my point, les look at Each episode usually vith a cme or the discovery of a crime. Every scene that follows the detectives who try t solve the accused through the legal system in at to say that thatthe characters on La Onder ane well-fed, ks Detective Lenny Briscoe payed (1992-2004) bythe lat Jerry Orbach, sce was rough aound the edges witha guick-tongued, sarcastic wit. The ade it erysta-clen who he was both as a person and as a cop. Bven they dict dwelon his personal ie, we ew alotabout him. le was alcoholic Whenitcame to love and mariage, he was own on his “oxcastoally complaining about hisexvives, et, et- But these character always came through within the context ofa crime tory fen a quik liner The writers di’'t devote entte scenes to Briscoe's personal life: cide follow hin to AA mestngs and we ida’ tsoe im doing batiewith fexcives over alimony checks. The same f trae wilh the test of the cast. For example, we know Liew 3 Van Buren (played by 5. Epatha Meckerson is a feminist who isnt af stand up fo the big boys when she is passed over fr a promotion believes is rightly hers, But again, we get bits and pices ofthis story in ‘that's slmost throwaway dialogue rather than in centerpiece scenes. The ‘eason is that in plotdriven drama, these kinds of character scenes would Ay serve si th dma ation of te ere ry ad sta the A show like ER. is what would consider to be a character-driven drama, While the backrop is an emengency room where there is alays a lot of Action, at its very heart the show is ely about the people who workin the JER Tt chronicles both ther lives at work and thet ives at home Its about the interaction between character, %ii a Some shows wal sive, But aly ea Bat yh Deaton eegana age geo = i how much information the and ‘dy you generally want the audience t pace nee =e eae Sifrmaton giv com. Soren Fast frequently want to withhok - Soroetcome auc sme cma Emcee atl ase ne li Sas ty; co-enecutive producer, Grace Under Fire a WHY LAW & ORDER THRIVES AND SURVIVES teu a cecaane eager et tees Spitalgnmel show hs pwned te ses nag aw Our as ES Intent, which aren't spin- ut rather fll, sete eae seo iter an of those rare birds that, overtime, hast st change Herc change andthe aun deca seem ocr Aste cto ea Stent jee bed = ne amped and ays tums The chats ro eels somn ete one ere tims — are weldrawn, con Shee ples and slmost always have an agenda Ifyou RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES Forpot Pot-diven dramas one of Be one of thees places toi stories Flr Atl bs ha str are “ppt om hela cau fe sony hat ansinyourspnele ena ike nn these of at rete eel i a Yourown cht, eding nour one pia ea ine bere ing poten or cr laely ny w put naan toe ee a Bok at almost any pis of Law & Onier — el or new — to se his scone. One that comes to mind Was ikely drawn frm de infamous Yet nae n octal git (ho Ba en her prgnancy from er pave birth af her senior prom, put the baby in aplastic bag, and ‘in the rsroom tach can where he ded, Then she went Back to men the a 6 Orkid the stony centre on a preg calle yo hier er pregnancy fron hor fay: With he baby's ther Be che gave bith ina hotel room. The sensitive teens promptly babs ana then went back to the guys fratesmty howe, where ren progres and they danced the night away lke lovers who dit eee Pe weld Inthe fitonal story detectives were able to prove a fad been boen duet anno fad found on the sheets, However there yetbody The eplacde focused on the detectives fring the baby’s body, the couple dn fc given ish and coment murder with tebe Mie ps ator, who we eventually discover hada hand in the coverup. Thisepize, there sno doubt what headin the story derived from, ify took te eal story and put itbeside the Lo & Onder story, you woud Bett they ae actualy very, very different, ‘THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING AUTHENTIC WORLDS. ‘Withouta doubt, plot driven dramas arhaeder to script than charactrdever {amas The reason for ths that with the plotdrven cama, the writer st Sly as to create a werld where he orshe dogs normally resce, Most wt rare’ copsorlneyersor doctors or Forensic specialists, et. However, when Jou write script that involves characters that Work in these professions, you Thus become an expert. cannot oveeamphaize the importance of doing the scar and geting I right Ifyou do not, can promise you tat the people who fead your script will se holes init Once that happens, you wil lose {rebty 2s awrite, and more than likely you won't be ied Thave bee asked many times, “n't shows have expert ons that wil fake coe o the pil lle details?” The arse is "yes" Shows do have con Shitants ot their disponl to chek procedures and fact, but this sony forthe Sripts that are going into production. nother words staf writers have ths = ‘us Frelaneers donot. Yes have to come up with the ight stuf on your wn, if wrk ona show tts temendely sear hey S find ‘ural ram ace ead about pests gone wrong or Darcy Testing pen ety Ar ve a ere el of pages ‘tn apnoea ym n ene ‘Raap over yen alloc fave tk chord for one aso ‘Bethe tts my matt, i where Ive pulled sme f 9 Brot Mlne—Sny Moke sory aor Gey antonGETTING THE FACTS: HOW TO RESEARCH COPS, LAWYE DOCTORS, AND OTHERS Some writers love research. [ust ait hat Lam not one of them, Ho orc myst odo it and do it wel, because experience fa short sre ne apn that go research can mate the diference between» Story an a medion one, While reaching praetor and product seem abit overwhelming at fis nce you dave in you will come oe Story points and ideas ht you never woul have thought of simply Beene ‘nico normally vein ht kid of world Withcachne et ou fee ‘will get more anc mor jazzed about your stocy and seit “Resachisnportant because igs base on which star other ‘hana blak page legs you sens As inearh herp legal peo 1 wnt down everything that occurs tome" Tem Tower fering Producer JAC; whey TK Rler ‘There are many eatively painess ways to research various profession hat !mightbe in yourscrpt depending on what they are. sa dactorora apes YoU are looking for, chances are you probably aleeady Know ame. If nat ok Your friends if they know ofan. Cops ae alsa fil ey to got in euch wth Inlanger ces, police have divisions that are dedicated to serving the ree ‘When placing these calls ask forthe Public Afar Ofc Tell than yee ae ‘nftinga seri and you havea couple of questions tat you would ik to sak “Most likely, they wil find someone to help you. The Stme is also ve far hospitals should yoube looking fora certain kind of spect, ‘When contacting these individuals be sure to haves short tof questions read. These experts are professionals who are extremely busy. They sneak ting at their desk, drinking colt waiting for your phone cal, rd they cet tainly dow’thave time to brainstorm your story with you, So be prepa ok specific procecural questions tht will help ensue Your serps athenty Sometimes police wilt you goon what's known asa drive-long, No all Police departments will let you do th, but some wil Genealy, you sgn 2 ‘waiver stating that you know the dangers of going out on patos can and that if anything were fo happen, you (and your next of Lin) wold not hol the police responsible. This personal choice forall wiltes to make because, while you wll usualy be fine, your safety cannot be guaran. That Sad, Low many writers wi have cone this and come hack wi extremely rich stores that could nt have been conceived simpy by siting in en of computer scren, I can atest tothe value of driven, as Ihave had the ‘opportunity to spend an unforgettable night with a special police unt he ‘near of ane of Boston's most dangerous, eie-ridden neighborhoods | was vith nwo cops and we were accompanied by ta badly guard Everyone had bullet-proof vests except me.I can tel you that what happens ate sees self you rend about io get te ee = apt to be consid -eepapers you decide you want 1 0 ae ena cy if pon. n sales tows heres Ne action inal mind and pale ro- research the criminal nd and po Pare looking to specially SS deere nk ut here KEP © er cul ann suprond woe acl fe ere eveything 0 ia fal we ti ey ae ‘books as birthday and/or sufi cht ret Te one tg 0 at ple et rf he a year intration sn fat 288 coutsces ANDUNIVRSTE — a ving de i nye go Se ove spl desson an hveein able nh av pou try 2 law school. Usually, you can find rece Cronin arciwnanwet alae Ber ees department. Again, these people tend Coane ore = lind space nso ice who wing you a ou ae kg fo est pon 0 an repeal ‘person’s time. Keep the questions to & ice Ne tg gi Sept ‘pteonal consultant vc hen eter: You want be raat ay ly tne a pose det ron eppen te come 00" 2) es ening cero Set sen aa este isnt ana Se nal a Panos ei ots Ss ee 4 ‘THE WGA i lent reource for rescarch. You “The Wiriters Guild of Ameria fs anak gs for mth Ys cam ng onto their Web siOe “There wile ink called When Tv you clk on hi ink ie illcome up wid phone numbers for expertsin loa every Hell magi {rom he Army peda, The number ote fora parcalorexpet isthe good nows — that expert has already agreed in adv fo ie infomation about his or her il forthe purpose of wing suthenne so ‘You don'thave fo bea member of the Gud tous tsar a (CREATING POWERFUL PROTAGONISTS AND ANTAGONISTS: Good drama is comprised of tis ven Sep thm stag Conraly prensa WOR pew eel ky the rf won dace how we eat em nee characters. They ae ul thee or ries fe ey Protagonist wil alway ven sci pea andl cero pon goat onion aya eran pan Tres tint ts simplest forms, youcan tunkefitasgea ee Store can have more than one proagonst at antag as: Les sp bck to in & Ode. Pretapoint ae the decreas a ‘ys The antagonists ae the ems The dts an dase aon ‘want law and ode. Tecra standin he way of them athlceeg ee Aniegniste do nothave he human Leak at eevee sea seth the antagonst wa OF course was he shark Hew you pay og Seis antes ffeach thr shy ining suas ae ‘Good rama dey te bate a , ges enn stand tought oth srt hgh nts wie age by forse again hin Sy my Rosin the Ayo ne a Gace cen il hath otal bate Ba il ee {is tiling hen comer down to Saving sen? Is co ‘ee espns o make nema sraglect teppei shh eta tna” — Ton wir peg pas BUILDING CONFLICT AND JEOPARDY POTN test way to build these elements it your sip sto give yout uratos spec gk ois of iw that dash Make su that each character has apes co ‘ulin to do anything tas to acomplih hat agers, Tur angi should come betseen your protagonist an hse hepa Ones hho gost must ie another way to et hat goa, Whaever is hat Protagonist want, ‘your antagonist must purposefully and repeatedly eee us upping thant wach nen pst action a dra. See ge of eta mouse in ode ocete tes, you ave 10 ang SS a happens tthe ting ou ys Pa igets bleaker as you raise the stakes ily the protagonist achieves Tor your prosgonist andi ony sgh need one of em usual ede have had abot Law Ons tat satis the Le tivuretng ink hs sierng Se eck peopel wath od guys toe He an Ee apa vl bleve vires a some Fr et encnane espe te prose pe Seo mes Wen dean happens ole el aan of ily prorat © On od errno tows rs ote stn ung endo Rend. And tha shove isould be. ‘One o (ONE-HOUR DRAMATIC STRUCTURE Seow’ going to happen newt. Serene teria he eer lcs a hee yor ese occas: Ste Se in a STIS 2y lo pa om ay ete tea tn Sore ce ey Bee a Se ser see ese tay ee Ner teen tel en sara ne eee Sree eee at ee ne a enc exec he eos asa the audience to you by way ofa good lead-in. cen ae ute te omen te dec ce PRC eas to chur tat ylang wth yous PoweI} a up the drematic tension and jeopandy. The idea sto leave viewers hanging, ‘wondering what’ golng to hippen nex, } "SCRIPTS FOR CABLE VARY SLIGHTLY — “More thn likely you have noticed that dramas on cable networks ike HBO and Showtime run without commercial break {hatinthe ray they are writen, Like the show isl the scripts go hom bese ‘ing fo end without Act Breck: I you are wang one a Hees shoe should follow the same format that they do, Even if you use that show ‘simple fr more traditional dramas the producers wil understand the ccag yotthave not putin Act Beaks HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR PLOT-DRIVEN DRAMA. ‘Aside form being roughly the same numberof pages and having fur distin ae, “Ws The easiest way to structure you plotiven drama I think of term of building blocks. ‘The ist block the frst seme. Often, though not avy, in crime dramas the frst scene evens ether the crime or the discovery ofthe crime, Consider fat the fist buialing block. Now you have ta put another block ontop of i “which the next scene. This might be when the cops search the eng eens and find clue. That scene would be your second building block, and where {hat clue takes them would be your thd building block One scene leads ther all eventually building to your Act Break ourlong stricture Is trven «rama, itis aiay easy to get yourself angled up slong the way. To help you "Simplify your story, suggest that your weit it out seee-by-scene to the bet of your ability fom star to finish ncn Act Break. Then get out «po of ‘paper anda pen, Starting with scene one, write down the man ation tha hap Pens that scene Try to fit itinto one sentence. Then lo thesame for your net scene andthe next scene after that all the way through tothe en Now go backand read the sentences out loud in progression Do they tllastny isthe story making sense? Is it moving forward ina way that is dvematic an inter esting? Ifyou dothis. it will help you ind anyholesin your sory and itshould also make you aware of cones hat ate vedundant. lOW INDEX C/ (AND WHY STUDIOS ORDER SO MANY) alkinto the office of any drama writer and itis quite possible you wil ina lange cork board with index cards tacked up all overt Witers commonly ose eee x se ain sgn evap ti aves tenn # ‘visualize how the story is coming togettir Let's Say OTe 1 Dis tanned ai too quickly. He can then take eee Lee a eet the writer satisfied that all he scenes oe See eee eee oo CHECKLIST FOR PLOFDRIVEN DRAMA —_ [ wotaganists and antagonists with clearly defined —— «Baca centile ne befor? end of Act Two? speak song apes head of At TH? ST ANTYeSstaty ase he staes alas the {awa ur my acs eel een ng vetinadd 9 easriftheshow us “yu have ansered “yes fo te above questions, you are ely on you trap developing 2 04 sory