Beyond the Hero's Journey: Crafting Powerful and Original Character Arcs for the Screen

by Anthony Mullins

Overview

Telling a story is simple, right? You take a 'hero' and send them on a 'journey'. There's a beginning, middle and an end. But what if your story doesn't fit into that basic structure?

In Beyond the Hero's Journey, BAFTA award-winning screenwriter Anthony Mullins presents an accessible, versatile and highly visual alternative to writing that dramatically expands the range of narratives open to writers, both emerging and experienced.

Fun and easy-to-use, this book looks at much-loved films from around the world, including Moonlight, Lady Bird, The Social Network, The Godfather, A Fantastic Woman, Mulholland Drive, Shoplifters, Amour, Inside Llewyn Davis and Call Me By Your Name, to teach you the ins and outs of writing for the screen through identifying and taking control of character arcs.

Beyond the Hero's Journey is for every writer who has felt frustrated by the neat confines of writing guides. It will teach you to explore and excel in telling more complex, intricate and authentic stories - and show you how to share your own distinctive, original voice with the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857305114
Publisher:	Oldcastle Books
Publication date:	05/01/2022
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Anthony Mullins is a BAFTA and AWGIE award-winning screenwriter and director. The projects Anthony has written and directed have won numerous international awards including a Primetime Emmy, an International Digital Emmy, two BAFTAs and five Australian Writers Guild awards. He has been the creative director and lead writer on several award-winning interactive projects for major film and television productions including LOST, Spooks, Primeval, The Bourne Legacy and Salt. His short films and documentaries have competed in some of the world's most prestigious film festivals.

Table of Contents

Introduction 13

Part I Arc Analysis

1 'You know who had an arc? Noah': Understanding story using character arcs 33

Part II Change Characters

2 'Use the Force, Luke': Change Characters with Optimistic Arcs 49

Star Wars: A New Hope 50

Lady Bird 57

Moonlight 66

3 'A storm is coming': Change Characters with Ambivalent Arcs 77

The Terminator 78

The Social Network 86

The Nightingale 92

4 'That's my family… It's not me': Change Characters with Pessimistic Arcs 102

The Godfather 103

Under the Skin 110

Burning 116

Part III Constant Characters

5 'Maybe you should rethink those ties': Constant Characters with Optimistic Arcs 129

Erin Brockovich 131

Moana 138

A Fantastic Woman 144

6 'Do you know why I am the way I am?': Constant Characters with Ambivalent Arcs 152

"Winter's Bone 152

Amour 159

The Hurt Locker 165

7 'We don't stop here': Constant Characters with Pessimistic Arcs 176

Mulholland Drive 177

Inside Llewyn Davis 184

Sweet Country 191

Part IV Other Characters and Arcs

8 'I just don't know what I'm supposed to be': Minimalist Arcs 203

Lost in Translation 205

Paterson 209

Call Me By Your Name 212

9 'Are you coming with me?': Dual and Ensemble Narratives 217

Thelma and Louise 218

Hidden Figures 223

Shoplifters 232

10 'I'm losing all my leaves': Reactive Characters 237

The Big Lebowski 239

Midsommar 242

The Father 246

11 'I like to watch': Passive Characters 251

Being There 254

Dead Poet's Society 257

Los Silencios 261

12 Character arcs in television 267

Part V Writing

13 Writing with character arcs 283

14 Discovering your writing practice 294

Conclusion: Shadows on the wall 312

List of films 315

Acknowledgments 317

Editorial Reviews

"A wonderfully fresh approach to screenwriting and story craft. Anthony Mullins is masterful at marrying large ideas about creativity with a practical, down-to-earth approach to writing. . .  An enjoyable and thought-provoking read for all experience levels." —Warren Clarke, co-creator/writer of The Heights

"For decades now, screenwriting manuals have almost religiously followed the principles of 'the hero's journey' and the 'three-act structure'. . . . In this 'peak TV' era of long-form, ensemble storytelling, with its non-linear structures and anti-heroes, writers are crying out for new ways of analysing story. In this hugely engaging book, Anthony Mullins breaks down an extraordinary array of films, unveiling new analytical tools that are insightful, practical and, best of all, that just might inspire you to write something genuinely original." —Michael Lucas, creator/writer of Five Bedrooms, The Newsreader and Party Tricks

"Beyond the Hero's Journey will inspire you to rethink screenwriting. Written in a readable, conversational voice and drawing on Hollywood, independent and international scripting examples, it challenges us to focus on character arcs as the screenplay's central organising principle. It finds in arcs not only external action, but the deepest levels of internal characterisation. I cannot recommend Anthony Mullins' approach enough; he has found a powerful path to the heart of story." —Jeff Rush, co-author of Alternative Scriptwriting: Beyond the Hollywood Formula

"Essential. Don't start writing scripts without it. And if you're writing scripts already, read it to explode every existing assumption. Modern, relevant, fresh, this book unpacks the shows and movies we're watching now. Anthony Mullins isn't just someone who inhales stories, but gets what they're doing and nails what we can learn from them. There's so much here I wish I knew when I started screenwriting. Hell, there's so much that's helped me refine the TV show I'm writing right now." —Benjamin Law, creator/writer of The Family Law

"A joy to read and a necessary evolution in critical analysis." —Meg O'Connell, co-creator/writer of Retrograde

From the Publisher