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The Poetry of Events - Building a Plot

Module description

This module will explore the techniques used in the devising of plot as a function of popular storytelling and each week will take a series of examples mostly from film and television but also from theatre and prose fiction in order to analyse how and why plot exerts such a grip on the reader or viewer, while at the same time you will develop your own skills in plot-building.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of the module is to introduce you to techniques of popular story-telling as they may be encountered primarily in cinema and television screenplays but also in other dramatic media and in prose fiction, and to provide the theoretical background necessary for you to devise, write and present compelling storylines. You will acquire a thorough understanding of how storylines work – how narrative exerts its power, or grip. It’s a skill that is commercially valuable both for writers and for those thinking of going into publishing or film development. This module aims to provide you with the skills not only to invent and produce storylines, but also to analyse plots effectively and communicate your ideas in a professional manner.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an advanced ability to invent and orchestrate plots that are dramatically effective and will capture a large audience
• 2. Demonstrate an advanced critical understanding of different genres and how they work to enchant the hearts and minds of an audience
• 3. Demonstrate an advanced capacity to understand, interrogate and apply a variety of theoretical stratagems which will lead ultimately to effective self-criticism and the ability to engineer effective plotting

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature appreciation of formal techniques and imaginative expression in creative writing
• 5. Analyse and critically examine, at an advanced level, diverse forms of fiction writing
• 6. Present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments concerning your own creative writing and the work of other authors, both peers and published authors, and to use such ideas relating to your own work to develop your creative ideas
• 7. Demonstrate an advanced and autonomous understanding of a variety of theoretical positions in the appropriate critical and professional terminology
• 8. Demonstrate an ability to independently create original ideas and respond positively to appropriate criticism of your work
• 9. Demonstrate a consistent ability to create imaginative written work in a variety of forms appropriate to genres/styles covered by the module
• 10. Demonstrate analytical skills in dealing with personal experience, observed reality, documentation and archival records of the experience of others

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 11. In seminar work, demonstrate advanced communication skills and an ability to work both individually and in groups
• 12. Through writing essays and creative work, demonstrate advanced critical, research and bibliographic skills, an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument, advanced skills of creative expression, and a capacity to write clear and correct prose
• 13. Through research, seminar work and writing of creative pieces, demonstrate an awareness of the audience, the commercial realities of the market, and an understanding of the purpose of formal structures, layouts, and techniques

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• ‘The Map Of Desire’ – the notion of willpower as the driver of our lives and, therefore, of plot;
• ‘Logic Junkie ’ – the idea that plot-writing is a game of logic;
• ‘The Line in the Sand’ – the basis of all storytelling: morality;
• ‘Moods and Mental States’ – the evoking of emotion, feeling;

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Core reading:

• David Mamet, Three Uses Of The Knife (Methuen Drama, April 2007)
• John Yorke, Into the Woods (Penguin, 2013)
• Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (Methuen, 1999)
• Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, (Pan Books, 1999)
• Lajos Egri, The Art of Dramatic Writing (Simon & Schuster, 1946)
• Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces (Princetown University Press, second ed, 1968)
• Ben Rice, Pobby and Dingan (Vintage, 2003)
• Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (Faber, 1956)

Core viewing:

• From Germany: Wings of Desire, The White Ribbon,
• From South Korea: The Mother, Train to Busan
• From Iran: The Apple, A Separation
• From India: The Lunchbox, Sholay
• From the UK: Borat, Secrets and Lies
• From the USA: Glengarry Glenross, Fargo, To Kill a Mockingbird

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11217
  

Key words search

Creative writing, narrative, screenwriting