1.

Storyboard: Exercise 1 (6-8 April 2022)

Write one sentence on what your story is about. It can describe the emotion or person or a
particular action, or climactic action that you are going to structure your story around). Any one
of these is welcome. If you wish to elaborate or mention more than one element, do so, but do
not write more than three sentences.

2. Storyboard: Exercise 2
How to Workshop a Character (11 April 2022)
(Uma’s sentence was on her female protagonist)
a. Imagine you are her employer or a detective running a background check on her. Write
an impersonal, factual note about her.
b. Describe her life at the beginning of the story. Is she getting used to a big, recent
change?
c. Write a short scene of a quarrel between her and someone else. IT can be as trivial or
significant to her as you like.

3. Storyboard Exercise 3:
Imagine a part of the action in your story like it is a thriller or crime fiction. How will you
write it?

4. Storyboard: Exercise 4:
Imagine a character in your story to be the protagonist of an experimental post-modernist
novel. Write a very short scene from their point of view.

5. Storyboard: Exercise 4:
Write 200 words of your plot like you are writing what we discussed in class as life-
writing.

6. Storyboard: Exercise 5:
Map the plot of your story on the three-part or two-part structure.
7. The Three-Act Structure
The first act, or opening narration, is usually used for exposition, to establish the main characters, their
relationships, and the world they live in. Later in the first act, a dynamic incident occurs, known as the inciting
incident, or catalyst, that confronts the main character (the protagonist). The protagonist's attempts to deal with
this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation, known as the first plot point, which (a) signals the
end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic
question that will be answered in the climax of the film. The dramatic question should be framed in terms of
the protagonist's call to action, (Will X recover the diamond? Will Y get the girl? Will Z capture the killer?).[4]
The second act, also referred to as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist's attempt to resolve the
problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find themselves in ever worsening situations. Part of the
reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is because they do not yet have the skills to deal
with the forces of antagonism that confront them. They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a higher
sense of awareness of who they are and what they are capable of, in order to deal with their predicament,
which in turn changes who they are. This is referred to as character development or a character arc. This
cannot be achieved alone and they are usually aided and abetted by mentors and co-protagonists.[4]
The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The climax is the scene or sequence in which
the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered,
leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.[4]

8. Storyboard: Exercise 6:
Central Dramatic Question
As the story moves along, the plot usually progresses in such a way as to pose a yes or no question, the major
dramatic question. For example, Will the boy get the girl? Will the hero save the day? Will the detective solve
the mystery? Will the criminal be caught by law enforcement and brought to justice?
9. Storyboard: Exercise 7:
Create a soundtrack for your character and/or for the events of the story. If your story was
a film/musical, what would be the appropriate tracks?

10. Storyboard: Exercise 8:

Read The Seven Jewish Children. Create a shorter, similar piece that someoneclose to
your female protagonist either wishes to tell her, or your protagonist wishes to tell
someone they love or hate.

11. Storyboard: Exercise 9:

The Screenwriter’s Bible (27-29):
7 Magnificent Plot Points

12. Storyboard: Exercise 10:

The Screenwriter’s Bible:
Foreshadowing, Dialogues

13. Now, figure out ten more exercises that you need to complete to help you write your
story. The exercises will meet your particular needs, and the particular story you have in mind.
Are you struggling with a particular scene? The climax