There should be no surprises left for the final script! Include the structure, what happens,
the major jokes. Show your characters revealing themselves. Think in terms of scenes (one
action in one time and one place) and sequences of scenes. Are your scenes in the right
order, or would it be better to rearrange them? Can you combine some scenes? Do you
need any scenes to fill a gap? This is a puzzle. Use multiple open windows on your computer
or separate index cards for each scene to help your planning.
Breaking up Your Story into Beats
What scenes or story beats do you need to tell this story? You’ll add what you need to the
basic framework you already have in your premise. Let’s work from the Jackie Chan Adven-
turespremise we have so you can see how it’s done.
Basic structure of Jackie Chan Adventures: “Queen of the Shadowkhan” premise:
- Jade, as one of the main characters, is the star of this episode. Her character flaw is
her need for peer acceptance/respect. This flaw motivates a whole chain of problems
for everyone around her. - We go to the end to see what, if anything, she learned. She learns not to succumb to
peer pressure, and she realizes that indeed she did not succumb to Shendu’s pressure.
(Theme: Respect earned from someone you admire is better than respect from all
others!) - Jade’s initial goal is to be cool (have a tattoo) and gain respect. That snowballs as she
begins to abuse the respect she gets from the ninjas. - Shendu is the villain who uses Jade in an attempt to destroy Jackie Chan, Jade’s hero.
Shendu also wants respect. - The catalyst that started the story moving in the premise was Maynard’s tattoo. The
catalyst was changed in the outline. - You can see how all these story points are related.
- The first turning point, plot turn, or gateway is when Jade calls for help and the
Shadowkhan fight forJade instead of against her. Jade has unknowingly crossed over
onto the wrong side of the fight for justice. - Jade’s game plan includes getting a temporary tattoo and so on.
- About halfway through the script, she realizes that she has real power over the
ninjas and convinces herself that she’ll use the Shadowkhan in the fight for justice.
But she’s on a downward spiral, deceiving Jackie and her uncle, undergoing a trans-
formation. - The second turning point or twist is when Uncle tries to apply an antidote on Jade’s
tattoo to save her. Jade hisses at him and summons the Shadowkhan. She has taken
to wearing black. The tattoo has Jade under its power. She has passed through another
gate.
The Outline 131