Film Courage: You have a free story structure training course on your website?
Corey Mandell, Screenwriter and Screenwriting Instructor: No, I'm going to do it right now.
I'm going to do it for exclusively Film Courage viewers because here's something I know about you,
you're really smart. Now how do I know that? You're watching Film Courage yeah I talk at a
lot of places like Film Courage and I try to give information that I hope people find helpful but
what's always frustrating for me is I can't really get into the secret sauce of what I teach writers
because they pay money for it and I don't think it would be fair. But I'm going to give you one piece
right now for free because I know money's tight for a lot of people and not everyone can afford
to take a class or do an on-demand digital product but I also will make a special offer for you at
the end of this, watch this video because I will give you a way that you could try out the full
suite of modern story tools absolutely risk-free which I've never done before. Everything I do is
always all sales are final, you can't get your money back. I'm going to make an exception for
the first two weeks after this video drops okay but first let me give you the free thing in my
workshops and also for people that since like six to nine months out to take the workshops I
have on-demand content. I have a brand new thing called the Modern Story Tools and it
teaches the five tools required to have success in the current marketplace compelling conflict
targeted escalations relentless pursuit intriguing question tool and deep heart of darkness I want
to talk about compelling conflict you might have heard me say this before but as a former studio
and manager reader we're trained if a script is submitted to read the first scene or two and stop
and if we don't have to keep reading we don't and if it's not compelling conflict really good
chance we're not going to keep reading and I've trained a lot of writers who like they do well in
the major competitions like Austin and stuff but then once they learn conflict and put it in there
then they start winning the competitions and they get managers compelling conflict is important and
there's seven pieces that you have to be doing I'm going to give you one of the pieces right now and
even if you don't check out the videos or study with me just this one piece if you incorporate
into your writing I'm confident it will make a difference your writing will improve I will
give you one piece absolutely free and that way if you're like oh this is cool I'd like to learn more
there's a risk-free way of doing it okay here's the one piece that I'll give you and I'm going to
do it I'm going to tell you a story I want you to imagine that we are in a classroom at UCLA you're
in a classroom with me and I'm teaching and I get a phone call and I get this terrible news that my
brother's been in this really bad accident and he's in the emergency room at the UCLA hospital
at the base of campus and they have to operate in 20 minutes or he'll die. He has a rare blood type,
they're out of that blood type but he has a medical emergency bracelet that says contact
my brother Corey he has my blood type Corey you got to get here in 20 minutes or your brother's
going to die okay that's pretty meaningful stakes and let's say in this scene my goal is I got to
leave the classroom like in the next 20 seconds I can get to my car and I can get to the hospital
and I can give blood just to keep this simple in this little short scene my goal is to leave the
classroom in the next 20 seconds and oh my God if I don't do it my brother dies but what is in
my way what stands in my way a chair oh my God there's a chair in my way now I think you would
say that doesn't seem like a very good conflict design because that seems kind of easy you could
go around the chair you could go over the chair you don't know me I can't go over a chair but I
could go around the chair I can move the chair I'm not limber enough to go over a chair but anyway I
can deal with the chair and leave I had a goal I had meaningful stakes it was just too easy let's
make it harder let's put two chairs let's put three chairs does that make it more interesting
not really let's put a human opposition let's say there's a complaining student and they're
like Corey you can't leave the class still has half an hour and I'm like my brother's going to
die and they're like well people die all the time I want to be a writer you can't and at some point
look I love you but hey I'm sorry and I kick the chair out of my way and off I go is that
made it more interesting I think is it made it interesting enough to make a studio reader want to
keep reading no it's not that it's a little more interesting it's not that interesting let's make
it even harder and now let's assume let's have fun and say this is a like a Quinton Tarantino script
there's always a threat of stylized violence and you're in the mood for that and and I explained
the class I got to leave my brother's going to die oh my God the chair me way complaining
student okay just kick the chair and then bam there's a gunshot what and there's that that
that that student in the back that everyone knows is wired a little and they've got a gun and they
shot it and they put the gun at me and they're like I hate your brother and you take one step
towards that door I'll will shoot you I will kill you and they mean it and I know they mean it now
assuming this is tonally appropriate and it makes sense this is like a Tarantino type project and
you care about me and you care about my brother this could get your attention this is now getting
to be rather interesting here's what I want you to take away from this when I had to leave the
classroom in 20 seconds and what stood in my way it was a chair two chairs three chairs did could
you confidently figure out how this is going to resolve yeah I was going to leave you didn't know
how I was going to deal with the chairs but you don't really care when there was a complaining
student did how it was going to resolve yeah you were going to go out the door I don't know
what you were going to do about the complaining student that was a little more interesting than
a chair but you were going to leave now Quinton Tarantino version gun pointed at my head do how
that's going to resolve no you don't let's do the math part of what I can teach you in the Modern
Story Tools is part of darkness which is required to get people to really care about the character
let's say you really care about the character and the character is trying to accomplish something
and it really matters to you how this plays out and suddenly it looks difficult you don't know
how it's going to play out what does that make you have to keep doing it makes you have to keep
reading or keep watching and that's why conflict is important the chairs were an in Inc convenience
I'm sorry let me let me repeat that or let me let me rephrase that the chairs were obstacles
the complaining student was an inconvenience the person with a gun was opposition opposition must
rise to the level that we have no idea how things are going to play out many writers use a mixture
of chairs complaining student and person with a gun and that's why they're amateurs doesn't mean
you have to have a gun I mean in the class or you can see examples your own there's lots of strong
opposition that doesn't require gun is anytime you're watching something and you're like oh my
God I have no idea how Fleabag is going get that priest to sleep with her or I have no idea how
this guy is going to in the Bear car is going to get this guy to give him the meat at half price
like you just don't know but it matters to you it makes you have to keep watching that's why you
can't have a career if you can't write in conflict that is one of the seven pieces and if you don't
check out the modern story tools if you don't take a class from me if you just start applying this to
your scripts you're going to be a stronger writer I'll tell you a true story I was in film school
and a friend said hey there's a screening you want to go and I'm like yeah jumped in the shower ran
out got in her car and off we went I didn't even know what the screening was for that's the great
thing about film school it's like movie summer camp someone's like there's a screening you're
like I'll go now I'm like what's the screening where is it what is parking like can I get some
food but back then I'm like screening let's go it was a Coen brother movie I didn't know that
who was sitting two rows behind me Joel and Ethan Coen now when you live in LA you learn not to be
starstruck and I had done a project at that time for Ridley Scott I'd done a project for Harrison
Ford I remember getting lost in a parking garage once and in Jack Lemmon when he was still alive
I was there and lost and we walked together and talked I got lost in another I get lost in parking
garages I always park I go and I come back this is for the phone (iPhone) I take a picture I'd always
like I know where my car is and it I was wrong I've called the police before I'm embarrassed to
say someone stolen my car no I just have terrible sense of direction anyway I've seen I met Steve
Martin when I was lost in a parking garage and I'm cool about it I was geeking out that I'm a such a
little writer nerd little fanboy that was like okay after the movie Joel and Ethan went up and
they took questions and they were talking about their process and they said something that just
blew me away they said when we were starting out we wanted to be writing like the strongest
conflict we knew when you when nobody knows you you got to write the best script to stand out and
get noticed when we would put our character into a real Jam if we had a rule if we could figure a way
out for the character and in less than a week we wouldn't use it like when you're watching Breaking
Bad Walter White gets into a jam and he's got 5 seconds to figure it out and you're playing along
at home like I would no I would die I would die no that wouldn't work I yeah I would die and then
at the last second I’ll do something and you're like oh my God that's brilliant Walter White's
brilliant! Walter White's not brilliant, there were 19 writers that took three weeks to figure
that out Walter White had 5 seconds to figure it out they said if we could figure out a way out
in six days we didn't use it and I just remember going what who whoa I didn't realize writing could
be that hard but that is brilliant but then I was suspicious like is that true or they exaggerating
I'm going to find out one day and about two years later I was at a party and Ethan Coen was there
and I went up to him and I was talking like you probably don't remember me but two years ago I was
at this screening blah blah and you guys said the thing about the opposition and I said he's like
yeah I don't know if he remembered or not but he's like yeah and like I got to ask you like is that
really true like did you really not use anything I just got to know was that really true or did you
kind of exaggerate and he just kind of looked at me and he said what do you think he smiled and he
walked away like I still don't know but I shared the story with my students and I've had students
saying I'm going to do that and they have had a lot of success now I'm not saying that you have
to hold yourself to this standard you can but what I am saying is don't use chairs and don't
use complaining students go back through anything you've written and be honest with yourself or have
someone else read it and have them be honest with you there's a really good chance that at
least one or two places in your script or more the opposition doesn't rise to the level if we don't
know how this is going to play out and if that's true that's where people stop reading this could
really make a difference now here's the offer I have a workshop series and as I said before you're
probably sick of me saying this I've had over 3,000 writers who've taken it have success and
yes I'm saying that for promotional purposes but I'm also saying it because I know what it's like
to be a young writer and think this is impossible and here's the thing if I could do it anyone can
do it and if these 3,000 people can do it anyone can do it but you have to be using these tools of
compelling conflict relentless pursuit targeted escalations intriguing question and deep heart of
darkness in the past everything I do is no refunds all sales are final for two weeks after this video
drops go to my website and go to the free stuff tab and you'll see a link and what you can do
is you can try out the modern story tools and if you're not absolutely 100% excited about what it's
going to do for you we'll give you all your money back and I know that there are people that said
I'll give you all your money back but you need a team of lawyers because they're going to make
you jump through many many hoops but my principle when I started out is just treat writers the way
I would like to be treated it's going to be really simple if you want your money back you're going to
email us we're going to go ah darn okay here's your money back that'll be for two weeks after
this video drops you have nothing to lose check it out these modern story tools are a big reason why
many of the writers we train have success and I'd very much love to add you to our list of success.