TWA Editor Harrison Demchick was honored to premiere his talk, “The Skeleton in the Closet: What Film Structure Can Teach Us About Crafting Our Stories” at the November 19^th meeting of the Annapolis Chapter of the Maryland Writer’s Association. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to support of writers throughout Maryland, the MWA remains a wonderful local resource for aspiring and published writers alike. At their November meeting, Harrison was able to join Annapolis writers to discuss the intersection of plot structure and the standard, precise three-act film structure.

Throughout his talk, Harrison discussed three main factors present in the three-act structure that help writers understand how stories are constructed and how to use these lessons to improve and grow as writers. These factors are:

• How inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement are reflected in the precision of three-act screenplay structure.
• What the precise location of plot points in film, specifically points of no return, can teach us about building a story through the principle of cause and effect.
• Why the protagonist typically faces his lowest moment, sometimes called the all is lost moment, shortly before the climax in the third act—and why novels and memoirs can benefit from this approach as well.

Harrison’s talk had everyone involved, incited thoughtful questions from his audience, and sparked a lively discussion at the conclusion of the presentation. Secretary of the Annapolis MWA chapter and author of Up the Hill to Home observed,

Harrison is an engaging and entertaining speaker with plenty of practical knowledge that he loves to share.–Jenny Yacovissi, Crownsville, MD

It was a very successful and stimulating evening, and Harrison and I would like to thank Program Chair David Joyner, Chapter President Kat Spitzer, and the members of the Annapolis MWA for inviting him to speak. Please visit www.marylandwriters.org for more information about this great organization!