Marilyn Horowitz is an award-winning producer, TV show creator, writing coach, NYU professor, and the author of The 4 Magic Questions of Screenwriting. In this H8URS Exclusive Series, Horowitz takes us through her system for writing scripts quickly and efficiently, and how she solves the problem of the dreaded second act.

In Episode 1, Horowitz discusses the first of her four magic questions and how to begin writing act one.

Act 1: What is my Main Character’s Dream?

If you’ve ever tried your hand at screenwriting, you know that the most challenging part is the middle, act two. It’s easy to get inspired by a concept that has a natural starting point and conclusion but actually getting from point A to point B isn’t so easy. Given that act two is the bulk of the film, this is a problem. Marilyn Horowitz’s four magic questions, based on the four magic questions of Passover, solves this problem by breaking act two into two parts, with one question corresponding to each of the four parts of the script.

Act one concerns the question, “what is my character’s dream?” All good protagonists need to have a goal, and it is often the pursuit of the goal that sets the events of the film in motion. This is never clearer than in musicals, in which the dream is typically stated outright in the “I want” song.

Some classic, “I want” songs:

Choosing the dream does a lot to set you off in the right direction. Not only does it begin the plot, it tells us a lot about the character, and what type of movie we’re in. Horowitz notes that some films do begin with the nightmare, in which case the beginning of act two is the dream. It doesn’t matter which comes first—what’s important for you, as the writer, is that you make a choice about which one is which.

Antagonists and Obstacles

The great thing about beginning the writing process with this question is that answering it will automatically generate other story elements that help you set up act two. Once we know what the character wants, we also should know what they don’t want, which leads directly to the nightmare, and tells us what’s at stake. And if a character wants something, there must be a reason they don’t have it—now we’re well on our way to discovering what antagonists and obstacles the character will encounter. It should be noted that an antagonist is not the same thing as a villain. Villains are morally corrupt characters that we, the audience, like to root against. Antagonists, on the other hand, are any characters that hinder the protagonist in reaching their goal, regardless of whether they are moral or likable people. Horowitz notes that it is not uncommon for the protagonist’s love interest to be an antagonist, because they represent what the character wants and cannot have. It’s also worth pointing put that the antagonist isn’t always a person, either. Many films feature antagonistic forces, such as societal forces or an aspect of themselves. For example, the antagonistic force in Philadelphia is homophobia, and the antagonistic forces in The Social Network are arrogance and selfishness.

Jessica Lange as Julie, the love interest in Tootsie.

Tom Hanks in Philadelphia.

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network.

Check out Tyler Mowery’s video on creating complex villains:

Whether you’re a writer yourself or just interested in film and understanding their structure, Horowitz’s questions are a useful tool for making the expanse of act two more manageable and identifying a character’s dream is essential for understanding the driving forces of a film’s plot. If you’re interested in screenwriting and want to learn more, check out these other videos.