Reddit mentions of Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives

I don't understand the "plot vs. character" issue that I see mentioned here on r/screenwriting from time to time.

One of the best books I ever read was The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri. In it, Lajos explains how to create rich characters, and how those characters determine the action of the plot.

As a quick example, you may write a character. You decide that he's short. Like, Tom Cruise short. Maybe somebody bumps into him. How does he respond? Perhaps he has a "short guy complex" and goes all Joe Pesci on the guy. Or perhaps he feels emasculated and goes home and plays Russian roulette. Or builds a bomb to get back at the world. Or cries in front of his wife, who berates him for being such a wimp and further emasculates him.

Those are all very different plots. And each of those plots comes from the decision you make about who your character is.

Sure, you can go into your script without any outline. You can go into your script with only a vague idea of who your characters are.

But if you spend time to develop your characters and plot before you ever write "FADE IN," then you should have a much easier time writing quality scenes with good pacing because you'll know ...

a) who your characters are (CHARACTER)
b) how your characters are likely to respond to any situation you put them in (CHARACTER/PLOT)
c) what situations your characters are going to be put in (PLOT)
d) how your characters will interact with each other (DIALOGUE)

Pick one of your favorite movies. Go back and watch it. Pay attention to who the characters are. Pause the movie every now and then ... at a really awesome line of dialogue or a particularly cool action sequence. Ask yourself, "How would this be different if the character were different?"

The better you understand that plot and character work together to create your story, the better you'll be able to manage your story's pacing.

In a fast-paced movie like Guardians of the Galaxy, you'll see that the action keeps moving at a frenetic pace, and that the dialogue is extremely streamlined and efficient, with characters explicitly telling each other their goals so that the audience understands why they are about to do what they're about to do next.

In a slow-paced movie like My Dinner with Andre, the dialogue meanders, giving the characters time to explore their differences and present to the audience very conflicting life philosophies.

Both movies use character to drive the plot, and use pacing as an integral part of the emotional journey. But you would be hard pressed to find two movies much more different from each other, too.

I personally loved The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Of-Dramatic-Writing-Interpretation/dp/9562915867

(there are negative reviews of that edition that complain about the formatting, but included the link so you could read the positive reviews. Here is a different edition of the same book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Dramatic-Writing-Lajos-Egri/dp/1434495434 )

I also quite liked Writing For Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Emotional-Impact-Techniques-Fascinate/dp/1595940286/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422728301&sr=1-1&keywords=writing+for+emotional+impact

>the art of dramatic writing

Just to be clear, you are talking about this book?

The next story is in you! Come up with a premise that argues your most fundamental belief and the story will be within it.

I can't recommend The Art of Dramatic Writing enough. I've read a lot of books on writing; this is by far the best.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Of-Dramatic-Writing-Interpretation/dp/9562915867#

For a broad and comprehensive overview with less technical information, go for Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk, along with any of his wonderful articles.

For the technical specifics of modern screenwriting, The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley is solid, though it's really not that complicated and I wouldn't worry too much. Just use a program like Celtx to do your formatting and you're sweet.

If you want to blow your mind with dogmatic but largely correct info on the structuring of effective stories in general go for The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri, written about playwriting but incredibly relevant.

I also recommend you learn the basics of filmmaking. I personally believe it's vital to properly writing screenplays (rather than generic writing dressed in screenplay clothes). The stuff's got to be shootable, designed for a reasonable budget, and more importantly, suited to the film medium itself.

A great book for that is On Film-Making by Alexander Mackendrick.

I also highly recommend In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch, written about editing and invaluable. Editing is the essence of film as we know it, so it's in your interests to know it intimately.