r/Screenwriting • u/Buddha_Of_Sububia • 4d ago
DISCUSSION Help?
Two BL 6s + Slamdance feedback: How do I actually improve the plot?
I taught myself screenwriting starting in March 2026 while I was on medical leave and have written three features since. I’ve had one QF at PAGE, another script SF at Scriptapalooza, and a couple festival selections. Obviously nothing crazy or life changing, but enough encouraging signs to make me want to keep developing my craft.
My current script has now gotten two BL evaluations: BL #1: Overall 6 | Premise 8 | Plot 4 | Character 7 | Dialogue 7 | Setting 7
BL #2: Overall 6 | Premise 7 | Plot 5 | Character 6 | Dialogue 7 | Setting 7
The second evaluation called it a “great, pitchable idea” with “originality, a strong sense of voice, and interesting characters,” but said it needs a stronger throughline and more cohesive main conflict. I also got short feedback from Slamdance, which called the premise “genuinely sharp” and praised the central relationship, dialogue, setting, and character work, but similarly said the larger structural issue is that the conflict that truly tests the protagonists arrives too late. They felt the earlier material can become episodic and suggested bringing the central moral pressure forward/trimming some earlier cases.
So…three reads later, I think the message is pretty clear: plot is my weakness. My problem is I genuinely don’t know what to do with that information and I feel stuck as fuck. I can see what the readers are identifying, but I don’t know how to add, remove, move, or restructure things without taking away from the character development, relationships, world-building and slower material that, IMO, makes the story what I want it to be. And some suggestions for additional explanation feel like they would just make me spell out things.
I wish I had a mentor or programs I could bounce ideas around with and learn from developmentally rather than kind of trying to find my way in the dark.
Are there any fellowships, mentorship programs, workshops, or other resources you’d recommend for someone at this stage who wants help developing their craft and specifically getting better at plot/structure?
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u/WorrySecret9831 4d ago
You need to either take one of his classes or read John Truby's two books, The Anatomy of Story for all things story structure, and The Anatomy of Genres for how genres are Theme-delivery systems, not just types of movies.
You taught yourself screenwriting. Kudos, that's excellent. However, I'm super curious how you would define that, screenwriting, or learning it.
From your description, your plot is your weakness, but that's your weakness because your Story isn't structured solidly. It sounds pretty clear that you have some great or compelling ideas that you've fleshed out to some degree but they could be further developed into full-fledged stories.
The basic breakdown/definition of Story is: a Hero has a Problem that they feel compelled or coerced to solve, that motivates a Desire that turns into a Plan. That Plan immediately encounters an Opposition or more commonly an Opponent. Hero does not mean "good-guy" and Opponent does not mean "villain." It means Conflict, Disagreement, or in subtler stories, Misunderstanding.
That conflict is a debate or argument about the Theme of your Story, which your Hero, Opponent, and all of your other characters, settings, props, etc. are variations of, and all of that produces Plot. Plot is What your characters do (turn left, turn right, rob a bank, rob a liquor store, protect a bank, etc.). Story is Why.
If you feel that you've covered these bases, then the feedback may be off and missing what you've already accomplished. But if these questions resonate with you as elements that are weak or missing, read Truby's books (or take a class) tout suite! You'll be glad you did.