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3 thoughts on “Session 2: Exercises”
Jane Sunderland
Quick question: I now have 5 Acts (actually Scenes). But Scene 1 is a ‘flash forward’ (it is taken up again later). So ‘The beginning’, and all the things on the handout, are actually relevant to my Scene 2?
This is an interesting one, Jane! I would say yes, this is all still relevant though.
I think there are 2 options here: sometimes a short flash forward at the opening is used before we jump into act 1. As it forms the opening, this flash forward must still provoke intrigue: who are these characters? What is happening? How did they get here? This is essentially starting with a bang and creating intrigue from the start. We then might have another scene in the present day, where we build up to the inciting incident at the end of Act 1.
Alternatively, this flash forward IS the whole of Act 1. In which case, I think all the usual components apply. We’ll need the intrigue and we’ll also need to learn what the catalyst for the story is (ie, the inciting incident), we’ll just learn about it at a different stage. For example, if Romeo and Juliet started with a flash forward to them both dying, we’d need to learn that the rest of the story was going to explore their quest to be together.
So I think it’s still worth comparing your scene to the handout and working through the exercise to see if the components are there, even if in a slightly different way.
Thanks Kimberley, appreciated. I think I’m going with Option 1. I originally called the ‘flash forward’ scene ‘Prelude’ – until someone read it and asked, mystified, ‘Why? So now it’s Scene 1 (a short play, so scenes rather than Acts). Am enjoying the course, thank you.
Quick question: I now have 5 Acts (actually Scenes). But Scene 1 is a ‘flash forward’ (it is taken up again later). So ‘The beginning’, and all the things on the handout, are actually relevant to my Scene 2?
This is an interesting one, Jane! I would say yes, this is all still relevant though.
I think there are 2 options here: sometimes a short flash forward at the opening is used before we jump into act 1. As it forms the opening, this flash forward must still provoke intrigue: who are these characters? What is happening? How did they get here? This is essentially starting with a bang and creating intrigue from the start. We then might have another scene in the present day, where we build up to the inciting incident at the end of Act 1.
Alternatively, this flash forward IS the whole of Act 1. In which case, I think all the usual components apply. We’ll need the intrigue and we’ll also need to learn what the catalyst for the story is (ie, the inciting incident), we’ll just learn about it at a different stage. For example, if Romeo and Juliet started with a flash forward to them both dying, we’d need to learn that the rest of the story was going to explore their quest to be together.
So I think it’s still worth comparing your scene to the handout and working through the exercise to see if the components are there, even if in a slightly different way.
Hope that helps!
Kimberley
Thanks Kimberley, appreciated. I think I’m going with Option 1. I originally called the ‘flash forward’ scene ‘Prelude’ – until someone read it and asked, mystified, ‘Why? So now it’s Scene 1 (a short play, so scenes rather than Acts). Am enjoying the course, thank you.