I need the "Quest" for a road trip screenplay.

[MeatyMcBeef]

I'm writing a screenplay based on a real life experience. Right after I turned 17 I was ready to give up on any form of spirituality due to a bad upbringing in it, I was enlightened on a road trip of all places and shown that while religion may not be for everyone, there was a form of Christianity for me(albeit not a traditional form).

In the "true story" the film is based upon, an unusual amount of coincidences led me to be invited on a trip to visit a Christian college several states away. That is how I ended up on a trip full of ridiculous happenings and deep talks about life, theology and the numerous ways to inflict pain on another mans genitalia for the sake of a hearty chuckle.

The problem is I cannot find a reason that makes sense in a film for them to travel. Every major road trip had a goal, a quest or a task of some kind that motivated them to travel to their destination. I have been stuck for over a year now and nothing I come up with holds any water when I try writing it out.

Any good ideas? This isn't a "Christian" film so to speak, so the options are open, but generally speaking I'd like to keep it moderately clean.

Thanks everyone.

 

[director15]

Just write it like your writing a doc. Write everything exactly the way it happened.

 

[pusser]

You might look at the synopses of any of the dozens of road-trip films over the years and see if they give you some ideas.

But I think the one you mentioned is fine, or could be modified a bit. You presumably took off with some friends to examine this Christian college. I think that's a good reason to take a road trip. Say you or one of your friends were graduating high school or community college and got a scholarship offer from this heretofore unknown Christian college several hundred miles away. You can't ignor the offer of a free college education (or a job or whatever the college was offering), but you don't want to go on the trip alone, so some friends offer to join you.

What other ideas did you have that didn't seem right for the motivation??

 

[Pippa]

The Quest doesn't have to be as distinct as in, say, Raiders of the Lost Ark. And it doesn't have to be the primary motivation.

The journey can be triggered by an unrelated event and the tangible that will represent the "Quest" can be discovered once you're in Act II (which is where the tangible is sought).

Hope that helps.

 

[RiViT]

I'm writing a screenplay based on a real life experience.

Right after I turned 17 I was ready to give up on any form of spirituality due to a bad upbringing in it, I was enlightened on a road trip of all places and shown that while religion may not be for everyone, there was a form of Christianity for me(albeit not a traditional form).

When I was doing post-grad playwriting, my prof told me to wait ten years before doing any stories based on a real-life incident. This allows you to (hopefully) digest the experience, so you can see both sides.

As a side note, I went through a similar road trip experience at age 17 and didn't learn a damn thing.

In the "true story" the film is based upon, an unusual amount of coincidences led me to be invited on a trip to visit a Christian college several states away. That is how I ended up on a trip full of ridiculous happenings and deep talks about life, theology and the numerous ways to inflict pain on another mans genitalia for the sake of a hearty chuckle.

The problem is I cannot find a reason that makes sense in a film for them to travel. Every major road trip had a goal, a quest or a task of some kind that motivated them to travel to their destination. I have been stuck for over a year now and nothing I come up with holds any water when I try writing it out.

Any good ideas? This isn't a "Christian" film so to speak, so the options are open, but generally speaking I'd like to keep it moderately clean.

Thanks everyone.

I'd suggest reading "Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies" (the second volume in the series) and pay particular attention to the Rite of Passage and Golden Fleece genres (story types). Right now, your story sounds like it could go either way, but picking one or the other will help a lot in figuring out how your movie will finally come together.

Hope this helps.

-Ron T. (RiViT)