Since the book I’m currently working on is all about character arc, I felt inclined to weigh in on the current discord over Luke Skywalker’s character arc in The Last Jedi. Whether you loved the movie or hated it, in this video I explain how it’s the conclusion of Luke’s arc from the Original Trilogy based on what we learned in the Prequels. Enjoy!
narrative structure
Story Structure Analysis: The Silence of the Lambs (Novel)
Released: 1988
Written By: Thomas Harris
Run Time: 61 Chapters
Character: Clarice Starling
Thomas Harris’ exceptional 1988 novel is as suspenseful as it is cerebral. This is most often attributed to Harris’ masterful characterization of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Lecter is as suave, refined and intelligent as he is deadly. He is, essentially, the James Bond of psychopathic cannibals.
Story Structure Analysis: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Novel)
Released: 1997
Written By: Joanne “Just Kidding” Rowling
Run Time: 17 Chapters
Character: Harry Potter (duh)
Story Structure Analysis: Ready Player One (Novel)
Released: 2011
Written By: Ernest Cline
Run Time: 39 Chapters
Character: Wade “Parzival” Watts
Story Structure Video Analysis: Back to the Future
New Six Act video breakdown for the timeless time travel romp, Back to the Future. Bon appetit!
To learn more about Six Act story structure, purchase your copy of “Actions and Goals: The Story Structure Secret” today!
Story Structure Analysis: Titanic (Movie)
Released: 1997
Screenplay By: James Cameron
Directed By: James Cameron
Run Time: 187 Minutes
Character: Rose Dawson nee DeWitt Bukater
Story Structure Analysis: Star Wars: A New Hope (Movie)
Released: 1977
Screenplay By: George Lucas
Directed By: George Lucas
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Character: Luke Skywalker
Story Structure Analysis: There Will Be Blood (Movie)
Released: 2007
Screenplay By: Paul Thomas Anderson
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson
Run Time: 151 Minutes
Character: Daniel “I drink your milkshake!” Plainview
Story Structure Analysis: The Shawshank Redemption (Movie)
Released: 1994
Written and Directed By: Frank Darabont
Run Time: 138 Minutes
Character: Andy Dufresne
I know I said in my last post that I’m working on a video breakdown for Back to the Future. That’s still the case, but I recently received some feedback from someone under the erroneous impression that the Six Act paradigm is only applicable to action films. So, I wanted to demonstrate how the Six Actions are more subtly implemented in dramas (which is why they may not be as easy to recognize at first glance) by breaking down everyone’s favorite, least-action-packed prison escape film, The Shawshank Redemption.
Story Structure Analysis: Back to the Future (Movie)
Released: 1985
Screenplay By: Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale
Directed By: Robert Zemeckis
Run Time: 111 Minutes
Character: Marty “Hello” McFly
I took advantage of being snowed in over the weekend and watched the entire Back to the Future trilogy in a single sitting. If there’s any movie franchise worthy of such a treatment this is it. All three movies are insanely interconnected and, as I only just realized as an adult, chronicle about 15 consecutive days in the life of Marty McFly (though only two full days pass over the whole series in 1985). I’ll be posting a video breakdown for YouTube for my next update. Stay tuned, storytellers.