PlotRocket

Week 3

Story Breaking & Series Navigation

Topics Covered

• Season Roadmap: Planning seasons with the Season Form.
• Episode Creation: Establishing an episode with the Episode Form.
• Defining Episode Plotlines: Exploring plotline types (A-story, B-story) and using the Plotline Form.
• Act Structure: Understanding how acts shape the episode’s pacing and rhythm, and creating them with the Act form.
• Navigating the Series: Visualize and navigate the series structure in the Map View.

Practical Exercises

• Participants create a season and a pilot episode, define an act structure, create plotlines, and learn to navigate the story structure.

Agenda

Review and Roundtable Discussion (15 minutes)

• Brief review of Week 2 learnings, especially about arc types and their impact on the overall narrative
• Roundtable discussion: Participants share progress on their arcs and discuss any challenges or breakthroughs in planning their series’ big picture

Story Breaking Fundamentals (20 minutes)

• Shifting focus from series-level planning to episode-level breaking
• Understanding the concept of story breaking and its significance in episodic storytelling
• Introduction to the concept of plotlines (A-story, B-story) and their role within episodes
• Discussion: Participants brainstorm plotlines for their pilot episode, considering how they relate to their overarching series arcs

PlotRocket Story Breaking Tools (15 minutes)

• Introduction to the Story Breaker section and its role in navigating and managing structural elements
• Using the Season and Episode Forms to structure the narrative
• Live demonstration of creating a season roadmap and a pilot episode

Practical Exercise: Creating a Pilot Episode Structure (20 minutes)

• Participants create a season and a pilot episode using PlotRocket
• Participants define an act structure for their pilot episode using PlotRocket's tools
• Guidance and support as participants navigate the Story Breaker section and work on their pilot episode structure

Series Navigation with PlotRocket (10 minutes)

• Introducing the Map View as a tool for visualizing and navigating the series structure
• Live demonstration of using the Map View to explore and manage story elements

Q&A and Wrap-up (10 minutes)

• Open forum for questions and feedback on story breaking and series navigation within PlotRocket
• Summarizing key learnings and setting expectations for Week 4, focusing on plot blending and finalizing the episode outline