Summary of Aaron Sorkin’s Masterclass on Screenwriting

17 key takeaways from the screenwriter of The Social Network

masterclass.com

1. Intention and obstacle are the driveshaft of drama. These two things are crucial to writing drama. Without them, it’s journalism. It should be clear right away who wants what, why they want it, why it’s important, and what’s stopping them. The driveshaft makes the car go, it creates action. The actions that your characters take is the plot.
2. To determine if you have enough tension, press on it. Make sure the stakes are high, urgent, and believable. If the obstacle isn’t formidable enough, if they can easily get out of it some other way, you need to plug those possibilities up.
3. Notice when and how intention and obstacle is introduced. Do this next time you watch a show or movie and learn from the techniques.
4. If it’s the place that is attractive, consider it for TV. If it’s the place that has the story, for example, an interesting workplace, it could be a good idea for a TV series. If it’s only the character that has the story, and that character metaphorically dies at the end, then it’s probably better for a feature film.
5. Practice with an already-broken plot. Find a short story you already know, like a fairy tale or fable, and dramatize it into a screenplay. This can be good writing practice for new screenwriters without having to come up with new story ideas.
6. The tactics a person uses to overcome the obstacles defines their character. In the character bio, write only about the details that support their intention and obstacles, and leave out the rest.
7. Tell me something I don’t know about X. Ask open-ended questions like these when interviewing experts. Build rapport first, and save the difficult questions for later. Talk to as many people as possible in your research, because you never know where a great story will come from.
8. Involve the audience and surprise them. You want the audience to feel like you’re leading them by the hand through the story. They want to be given the same clues as the characters in the story, then have something totally unexpected happen that they did not foresee based on those clues. Just don’t confuse them, and don’t tell them what they already know.