Stephen Moramarco has what he calls, “my own instant* Screenplay formula— a way to create a structure for a feature film that you could make yourself.” The good news is it’s totally free—and it even comes with an asterisk; “*Results may vary.”
Here’s Step Six:
“The main character must CHANGE. A screenplay is a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. If nothing happens to the hero, then what’s the point? We are watching this movie because it is a defining moment in this character’s life that will forever affects them. A simple way to do this is have the character start out one way (say ‘greedy’) and end up the opposite (‘a philanthropist’). That is the story of A Christmas Carol, in a nutshell.”
Stephen Moramarco
You can read all seven steps in his article Create a Great Movie in 7 Simple Steps.
Related post: Making a $5,000 Feature (Moramarco’s take on low-budget filmmaking)
Screenwriting from Iowa 