The key to it all...

[BattleDolphinZero]

Successful writers all have a few secret techniques they use. I am going to share them with you for the first time. Not that I am successful but I hang out with a lot of A-List writers and have been privy to their secrets. And it's not fair to call them "secrets" as no one is trying to hide them, they are better described as "the stuff pros never talk about because it's too complicated."

The grand ladder-structure is the primary grid used by A-List writers. By using the "incremental escalation method" and refining it with "mythological thrust", you will always be able to deliver a story that feels like a movie regardless of merit...and I mean merit of any kind (talent, content, etc.)

The key to executing the IEM is understanding forced schisms and controlled dramaturlogical manipulation. Without a firm grasp on these two tools your IEM will never be pure and any high level exec will know you are not a pro.

A misplaced forced schism becomes a plot gap. We've seen plot gaps in many movies. Regardless how seasoned a pro, inevitably they will fumble a forced schism at some point in their career. The resulting plot gap is not always a "terminal filmic misfunction." If you look at Ratatoullie you'll find plenty of plot gaps that make it a bumpy ride without degrading to TFM levels. Still, as an up and coming writer, you want to avoid this all together as working pros are allowed grace flaws that unsold writers are not.

Now controlled dramaturlogical manipulation is a bit harder to explain as it really amounts to a sublime grasp of the grand-ladder metric. And it goes hand in hand with mythological thrust. If you are delivering CDM, how can you elevate the interior momentum of your script with mythological thrust?

Hopefully some of the guys will chime in here. If not, I'll break down the rest later on. Time for breakfast.

[wcmartell]

How does that apply to making an action scene exciting on the page?

And should the event that occurs at the second act curtain trigger the end of the movie?

- Bill

[richfigel]

Not sure if serious...

[TwoBrad Bradley]

I think what you're missing (maybe you'll expand on it later) is that throughout all this you need (as the writer) to remove yourself from the process.

What makes you successful is how you resonate with thousands, even millions, of people you don't know. It's impossible to even begin to understand what makes these people tick. Write for them.

[cshel]

BDZ -

I agree wholeheartedly that excellent manipulation and a strong thrust are the keys to a great and satisfying dramatic climax.

[jonpiper]

Does the grand ladder-structure allow your story to incorporate a main character who is a dog and is not the protagonist?

[wcmartell]

Well, he *has* to be serious - or else he's a disrespectful ahole who just took a dump on all of us. That's why I'm waiting until he finishes his breakfast so that he can show us how this theory works and how it can help improve our writing.

I want to hear more about the Grand Ladder - I know that Aeschylus was famous for escalating conflict, and I'm wondering if this ties into the classic theory of drama which was used by the Greeks in their playwrighting contests. The theory of Escalating Conflict was used by Eugene O'Neill - he talked about it as the key element in creating drama.

And if you are a novelist, I'm sure you've read one of the thousands of books on writing fiction (Writer's Digest has something like 4k books recommended by pro writers - and written by pro writers) that are filled with techniques like escalating conflict... but I've never heard of this Grand Ladder thing before.

So I am eager for BDZ to explain.
With examples.

- Bill

[Paradis]

Someone was hanging out in the bathrooms last night...

[asjah8]

thank god (and bdz) i'm not going crazy.

two thrusts run in tandem (the outer story and the inner story). as a writer incrementally moves up the ladder (escalates) of the outer story using cause and effect to control dramatic thrust, the mythological thrust runs in tandem and controls the emotional draw on audience sensibilities. i've slowly been becoming aware of this process but thought i might be losing my mind. i think you can elevate the interior momentum by applying small measures of conflict to the mythological thrust to increase the emotional draw and thereby skate over necessary forced plot schisms. if you're focusing on the push/pull of emotion (as an audience member) brought about by applied conflict then i think the schisms aren't as noticeable.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Examples???