School of Rock Graduation Surprise! Congrats!

A graduation speech? Arrrrghhh...

Hey, I directed Donald Duck in Fantasia 2000. Sometimes a little Pomp and Circumstance is appropriate.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGES)

Problem with school is that when we leave it we forget the things we've "learned". Why is this? Did we really learn it? What is learning?

I think of learning as not just acquiring knowledge, but learning what to do with it. It's a combination of How to and Why to. Theory and practice in the real world. Knowing the names of all the countries of the world is different than taking a trip through one of them.

But you also don't know what's going to prove important to you later in life, what kinds of problems you'll encounter. Well, now you have a road map for dealing with problems. Pay attention to the lessons offered. Face the consequences before they get overwhelming. And when your old methods of reality coping aren't working anymore, and you feel like your'e dying, trust the process. Allow yourself to grieve and let go of your old ways and you'll see rebirth in ways unimagined. I know this from experience.

In writing my new approach to story structure, I took ideas from every screenwriting book I've read, but also books about playwriting, novels, mysteries, drama. But in addition I added narrative theory, structuralism, semiotics, gestalt, Neurolinguistic programming, Eriksonian Hypnosis, Freudian, Jungian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, mathematics, rhetoric, fables, magic and tricks learned from my mentor- Scheherazade.

I hope I have demonstrated how easy it can be to write a story. The plot is where it gets complicated. But now there's a guide to help you along the way. We'll talk more about plot later. So how can I make it that you won't forget what you've learned?

It's time for you diplomas and surprise. Cue the music. Daaaaa da da da daaa da...

Do you remember this image of Iggy leaving Bunny behind at the Igloo. Look at it again. What do you see?

Image from:

Iggy's Incredibly Easy Way to Write a Story

Do  you see the dragon, perhaps? Did you see it the first time you saw the image? Or did the story of Iggy distract you from seeing? That's the good old misdirection technique in action.

Graduation surprise: The secret revealed Dewey traveled the secret path of the dragon!

Here is your diploma- a Ride the Dragon template, the golden roadmap to the heart of your story.
Feel free to print it out and use it well. Please retain the copyright information: ©Glebas2013

(I just looked and found the image was small on the blog page. If anyone knows a way to make it a downloadable file, please post a comment. Thank You.)

If you like working on index cards just lay it out the dragon way.

We'll look at my story theory criteria and see if it fits. I know that now you've gone through the journey with me starting back last November 2012, you'll never forget the image that sums it all up. Each part tells you what has to come after and before in a totally organic process. Give your audience a Ride on the Dragon they'll never forget.

In School of Rock, they sing, "The movie's almost over. But we're still on screen". Well, we're not almost over, we're just getting started...

Image from:

The Animator's Eye by Francis Glebas