Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-06-10
DOROTHY F4RNUN
TELLS SECRETS or
PLOT CONSTRUCTION

! TINS is the Sirth article in a series
~ DorothV Fdrnum on the gcncrdI
Mbjeci Of "Hom 10 Write n Scenario.
! WisS FdIHUn,. q former Gcrmdni iOWu
! l'ri Is n0c scenario mriter for the
! Whitman Bennett. A sSocidtcd First Va.
| tiOnai productions.
RcddCrs arc mriicd TO consult Miss
| FdrnWm about their difficulties in
, ,rri,ing. iddress hcr--by moH only
| ~ corC ot NE DaHy Moric Mdgd:iHc.
! ErCHiUg PUbiic Ledger.
| Miss FdrnWm wiH dnsicer hrOugh
! these columns. She rW not ansrcr bV
/ m"H. and under no circumstances wiH
! she rcdd manuscripts. so please do not
! SCEd them 10 her. She riH help in all
/ technical diHcalticS, but wiH not criti-
! ci:c scripts.
Her anSrers TO correspondents riH
he p"blished tomorrow.
INSrIRATION is the source from
L which most good ideas spring
Craftsmanship and knoWlcdgc Of drH
matt forms and formulas bring these
ideas to the dignity of stories and the
elimination of everything may be pack
ed in that little wOrd--plot.
{ In other words. mere narrative
"r single dramatic situation is not
enough to build up n photoplay. We
must consider what comes hnfnro and
after the eternal laws of rousc and
effect,
There /, a regime for n,ottirc which
: is 80 obvious that Won will want IN
| laugh M me for yenturinr IN say n
! to YOU.
And that is-begin al the beginning
and end at the end. DO not ramblc.
start where the essential action
starts make eyery JittIe inc;Jon, yo,,
use bigger than tie one which canc
before il and SORT them in carefuIIx
connected we'll. graduated srnue,,ra
until tbe c,imax
There is no brttor nyamnIc or , ruI,
to bc riycn ,ban ,bn nrn,,;noI ornli,.a
tior Of II wouId Iikc to ,Ln,,. ,n,
briefly. hy ouotinp from nm octmoi rLo.
topInv vi The momnnt hv i,.t uhat
urorp>. nm oycellnnt ijen onJ n cn"J
story were evolved into n nInt
~N,,L ,,r,,,, ,i,,o .,L. ,..
'''''' "'''"' ""' '"''
~ sir hhrI"S loung. wrote play
Whl'h was inc dramatic standard OF its
'IIn" u" Jim III" Ichmah'
u" l"'h was SIMPLY II hralrallZatlon
OF James KlISton's Widespread f"rgcr-
les.
me story was that the torgcr had
won his riches and even his wife by
"caS"n OF ms eNlI talent for initiating
IN hiahlhg INC screen adaPtatloh we
I, o,,J n "' nn,a;r ,n "'," ~ S.',H
yu,,n, ~ ,to,o ,Jn, A., rIa, " "", -.
tirn,r v;,hn", ,inf h,,t rL"' ,In ,',,,, m"" ,r
linz, fnrycrv and ,hn oFn' nv ,Lo''
,ynro nnroI, rinssoJ or,u Wv ~
Lr,.ioI Loo,i, Innoo,i, l !" "s'i7'
nnrd snec hc. If rhc,ori," ,,,,mn;,, "'" i","'
%n, avI, ,Lo, hr, w. g. "' iIa,lL?,. iinm,l'",I?'
yrrc roi,rlotoJ -, ,ir;m ~, ',T ,,I;n,,,1 Mn.
Yov hack in $50 vi ,h" '',,iIi,.
vmS c,iI,ntIv mora ot.y ,n 'Ion'., n.n,,i', n'o''
ho,, Iof, .r a,,,iio,no - ,''', .,.u'',
nmd ,,ra,,';,',oL 49,. VI ''''"' "ihuSe"
81 !, ,o' G oiI ,l..
am, o,Io,'n,io !, ., sui w.
,,;,L'', W., i,l ' '"r ''"''""
;'l,,o ','', NV "'''' '""h "h
IL, "''t' n,t t. ~, ,Lro
ror,.t,,,, r;,,, -, Wv, ,L,, ', Vt '"l,>'
i,t'T- "," =" In' ''rn 'h' i"n'IN'
~, i,,' H., I,,, wv H,''lrm"W IN .snLI''ht lin
u!" ~" w ~ wa :,'''> ""n\ i""SlI"h>
f,r,,t w. NY Nv I.I'"l.r 4i> 'n!"n' Tor
'.ir',,,,7.,.,H "'v"oI"' '"r'' "l
"'"n' N''ln
=" IA, "',>p'nhap'" 'rmnthtI"n led him
vnIron h" von,nL w r,.nm,' =" '"t",rn r ,i'
other man ,o v.bnn, .ho n'o, ,,,,,.I., '' -
C,h ,II.,tI r.......,,
W. '>'N '"' '''I
~ W hat did h" gain from life by n
i"nS career "l >Wlndling: How nurh
, ihP'hn"S> uld ne hnd III ms marriage to
y" gIr' whom n" mad lItcrAlIy stolen