Nothing new here - the structure section follows a classic three-act structure. The first 150 pages are about the basics of storytelling: the foundations, creating characters, and building story structure and character growth. But it is an excellent book nonetheless.įirstly, the book is not just about these hero goal sequences. I am pleased I did, but after two readings I am still think some of his claims are hyperbole. But as I am a fan of the sequence approach, it piqued my interest enough to purchase his book. So when I came across an article written by Eric Edson that asserted all successful movies have between 20 to 23 distinct sections called ‘hero goal sequences‘ I was somewhat sceptical.

It seemed to me that story narrative can be broken down into distinct scene, sequence and act components, and that while some of these gurus choose to label their components and turning points differently, their ideas have more in common with each other than they might choose to admit. In my Blogs, I have covered many of their core ideas: the three act structure and its many variants, the sequence method and its variants and the mythical hero’s journey. It seemed that these screenwriting gurus had a good grasp of story that any budding fiction writer could learn from. I have read most of the key texts written by the screenwriting masters like Syd Field, John Truby, Michael Hauge, Robert McKee, Christopher Vogler, and some of Frank Daniel’s followers, as well as many more less known writers. Since I started writing fiction in 2011, I have always been fascinated with the subject of story structure.

8 sequences screenplay examples