Consider Jasmine’s lecture on Screenwriting and briefly describe one point that you have taken from it. A point that excites you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

Jasmine made a good point about how in screenwriting, you are able to invent a world, its characters, the plot and the story in its own entirety. She also made a point (now obvious, in hindsight) that good stories are about extraordinary circumstances. It was always a habit of mine when writing, to base ideas or characters or situations on real things that have happened to me or around me, in my personal life. I have never been able to seek inspiration outside of my own world until being told what now seems like something so bleedingly obvious; I am essentially God. I can create whatever I want to create. If I want there to be a space-bear emerging from a flying saucer coming to Earth to time-travel and fix Stalin’s wrongs, so be it!

Another interesting point Jasmine made was the relationship of “cause and effect” with plot. In order to create audience engagement, there must be a chain of reactions that follow a conflict-causing problem which dramatically affect’s the protagonist- it must be problematic enough that it ruins their day or peace-of-mind; enough so that there can be a chain of events that follow to create a story.