Scriptwriting Genre Writing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'genre convention' in screenwriting?
- Expected story elements, character types, and tone that audiences associate with a specific genre (Correct answer)
- The required format for a genre script submission
- A writing rule enforced by studios
- A setting commonly used in action films
Correct answer: Expected story elements, character types, and tone that audiences associate with a specific genre
Genre conventions are the familiar tropes, character archetypes, and structural patterns that audiences expect from a particular genre.
Question 2: In romantic comedy screenwriting, what is the 'meet cute'?
- The charming, often unlikely scenario in which the two romantic leads first encounter each other (Correct answer)
- The scene where the couple first kisses
- The moment the romantic rival is introduced
- A comedic misunderstanding in act two
Correct answer: The charming, often unlikely scenario in which the two romantic leads first encounter each other
The meet cute is the clever, memorable way the romantic leads are brought together for the first time, often involving coincidence or conflict.
Question 3: What distinguishes a 'thriller' from a 'mystery' in screenplay terms?
- Thrillers focus on preventing a crime; mysteries focus on solving one after the fact (Correct answer)
- Thrillers always have happy endings; mysteries do not
- Thrillers are set in the present; mysteries are set in the past
- Thrillers require a detective protagonist
Correct answer: Thrillers focus on preventing a crime; mysteries focus on solving one after the fact
Thrillers build suspense around preventing a future danger, while mysteries center on investigating and solving a crime that has already occurred.
Question 4: In horror screenplay writing, what is the 'false scare'?
- A moment designed to startle the audience that turns out to be harmless, before the real threat appears (Correct answer)
- A scene where the monster is revealed too early
- A horror film that ends happily
- A jump cut used to shock the audience
Correct answer: A moment designed to startle the audience that turns out to be harmless, before the real threat appears
A false scare (or 'cat scare') momentarily frightens the audience with a harmless trigger, releasing tension before the real horror arrives.
Question 5: What is the 'hero's journey' as applied to action-adventure screenwriting?
- A mythological story structure where a hero leaves their ordinary world, faces trials, and returns transformed (Correct answer)
- A story told from multiple heroes' perspectives
- A genre requirement for action films set before 2000
- A structure used only in animated films
Correct answer: A mythological story structure where a hero leaves their ordinary world, faces trials, and returns transformed
The hero's journey, as defined by Joseph Campbell and adapted by screenwriters, follows a protagonist who departs their known world, faces escalating trials, and returns changed.
Question 6: In comedy screenwriting, what is the 'rule of three'?
- A pattern where two similar events set expectations and the third subverts them for comic effect (Correct answer)
- A script must have exactly three jokes per page
- Comedy scripts are structured in three acts only
- Characters must deliver jokes in groups of three
Correct answer: A pattern where two similar events set expectations and the third subverts them for comic effect
The rule of three establishes a pattern with the first two instances and then subverts it with the third, creating surprise and comedy.
Scriptwriting Genre Writing 1
What is a 'genre convention' in screenwriting?