Act II, Part 2
This course is open to writers who have completed Write a Book This Year! Parts 1 & 2, or who have permission from the instructor.
You've Set Up your book or script and detailed your characters, conflicts, themes and story world in Act I (Course 1).
You launched your Hero/ine on their journey and took them Into the Special World, where they've gained Allies, fended off attacks from the Villain, and passed numerous Tests in Act II, Part 2 (Course 2).
But the real Tests are still to come, and your Hero/ine will never again be the same...
If they survive.
On to Act II: Part 2, and the Downward Spiral!
If you're just finding this page, you'll want to start with Part 1: Write a Book This Year!
Example Curriculum
- Overview: Elements of Act II, Part 2 (2:20)
- The Midpoint Changes Everything (9:12)
- Change of Plan
- The Clash of Inner and Outer Desire (4:23)
- Creating the Downward Spiral (5:23)
- Creating Contrast Between Act II:1 and Act II:2
- The Dark Forest
- Visit to the Goddess
- Catharsis: Creating scenes that make your reader cry
- The Dark Night and the Dawn (5:18)
- Act II:2 is hard on the author, too! (2:09)
Get the workbook!
Not ready for a class yet?
The Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks have all the course material and more. You'll work through your book or script Act by Act, Story Element by Story Element, with hundreds of examples from your favorite movies. Includes ten full movie breakdowns from different genres. Available in ebook and large workbook format, $4.99 and $15.99.
The Workshop
Alex has presented her internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshop for conferences and organizations such as Left Coast Crime, Thrillerfest, Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of Australia, Sisters in Crime, Bloody Scotland, the Scottish Association of Writers, Dublin International Festival, PASIC, YARWA, the Society of Children's Book Authors & Illustrators, and numerous small conferences and weekend retreats throughout the US and UK, and has taught film story structure at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.
Film structure is easily adaptable to novel writing and Alex's emphasis on taking inspiration from favorite movies to unlock the secrets of story structure resonates with writers of all levels of experience.
The workbook -
romance version!
Writing Love has all the material of the workshops and Stealing Hollywood, with story examples and elements specific to romance and love stories. Includes ten full movie breakdowns from different romance subgenres.