Writing Tips

Structure
*Don't underestimate the power of the short declarative sentence!
Perspective
*No one ever talks about how they look https://www.novel-writing-help.com/1st-person-point-of-view.html
Starts/Introductions
*In media res
*First impressions do matter
*The audience hates exposition dumps, especially at the start. At this point, NO ONE CARES.
Act One
*Hero traditionally rejects the call to adventure
*Lock-in
*Hero goes from a place of order, to a place of chaos
Act Two
*Larger than the other two acts
*Act 2A - "Fun and Games"
**Premise of the movie
***Team members meet up, or protagonist explores their powers, or the protagonist explores the setting (depending on the focus of the movie!)
*Midpoint - 
**Big scene, change in the movie
**Could be everything going wrong, true villain reveal, etc.
**Followed by "The Bad Guys Close In" segment: Things get worse
*Act 2B
**"Dark Night of the Soul" - character in conflict with themselves, reflection
*End of Act 2 -  Aha moment, protagonist realizes what they need to defeat antagonist
Act Three
*Climax, resolution
Final Fights
*Protagonists should be at a constant disadvantage
Plot Twists
*Hide your Chekhov's gun inside of a joke
Fight Scenes
*Don't just blindly "Beat the shit out of it" or "Kill it". Give the characters a goal when fighting their antagonist. For example, take the power supply out of a robot, or in Infinity War, prevent Thanos from closing his fist.
Dialogue
*Can follow a "3 act structure"
**Act One - Introduction + inciting dialogue
**Act Two - Rising action + climax
**Act Three - Resolution
*Good dialogue:
**Provides information and details important to the plot
**Follows or highlights the traits of those speaking (you can tell if they're shy, outspoken, etc.)
***Strong characters control the flow of a conversation or respond with unrelated things (anecdotes)
*Subtext: Implicit, underlying meaning, message, and theme of dialogue. Proper use of subtext is considered the hardest use of dialogue
Conflict
*When one character tries to stop another from achieving their goal, there is conflict
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