1. Create a large umbrella and then crosscut and condense. In this approach, you describe the largest scope of the story somewhere near the beginning. In effect, you start with the big world and the wall that divides it from everything else. Then you focus on the smaller worlds within the arena as the story progresses. This large umbrella could be as big as the flat plain of the West, a city, outer space, or the ocean, or it could be as small as a small town, a house, or a bar. This technique can be found in Casablanca, Alien, Spider-Man, L.A. Confidential, The Matrix, Death of a Salesman, A
...more
