Key Defintions:
Story: ‘Once upon a time, in such and such a place, something happened.’
The Protagonist: The person the story centers around.
The Antagonist:
The thing or person the protagonist must vanquish to achieve their goal aka the obstacle/s. (If the antagonist is internal, the same principles apply: the enemy within works in opposition to the host’s better nature – it cripples them).
The '[embodiment] of what each protagonist fears most'.
The Crisis/ Worst Case/ Worst Point:
'the point of maximum jeopardy in any script, the moment the viewer should be shouting ‘Oh no!’ at the screen, the moment where it seems impossible for the hero to ‘get out of that’.'
Character must make a CHOICE, and forced to face up to their dramatic need/flaw

Golden Rules:
The protagonist MUST have a goal and desire.
The audience must understand the character's motive
The antagonist represents the protagonist's OPPOSITE.
All forces of antagonism embody the qualities missing in their protagonist’s lives.
'The true, more universal and more powerful archetype occurs when the initial, ego-driven goal is abandoned for something more important, more nourishing, more essential.'
'In both sequels, the protagonists’ superficial wants remain unsated;14 they’re rejected in favour of the more profound unconscious hunger inside.'

Contents
ACT I HOME
1. What is a Story?
2. Three-Act Structure
3. Five-Act Structure
4. The Importance of Change
5. How We Tell Stories
ACT II WOODLAND, DAY
6. Fractals
7. Acts
8. The Inciting Incident
9. Scenes
10. Putting It All Together
ACT III THE FOREST
11. Showing and Telling
ACT IV THE ROAD BACK, NIGHT
12. Character and Characterization
13. Character and Structural Design
14. Character Individuation
15. Dialogue and Characterization
16. Exposition
17. Subtext
ACT V HOME AGAIN, CHANGED
18. Television and the Triumph of Structure
19. Series and Serial Structure
20. Change in Drama Series
21. Home Again
22. Why?
APPENDICES
I. Act Structure of Raiders of the Lost Ark
II. Hamlet – The Structural Form
III. Being John Malkovich – The Structural Form
IV. My Zinc Bed – The Structural Form
V. The Godfather – The Structural Form
VI. First and Last Act Parallels: Some Further Examples
VII. A Lightning Guide to Screenwriting Gurus
Notes