MONDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:
INTERESTING PROTAGONISTS
Your story is going to be about a character
who has to solve a problem. Which of your characters has the
problem? That will be the protagonist.
I believe that character and plot are connected. You can't
paste a character into a plot any more than you can paste a plot
onto a character. The character has some lesson to learn, some
choice in life they have been afraid to make, a pivotal point
they must reach in order to grow into a whole person. That's what
makes them interesting. That problem is what makes them human. If
your protagonist doesn't have an emotional problem, where are the
emotions in your script coming from?
The plot is the catalyst that forces the character to the
surface.
If a Navajo Tribal Police Officer like Jim Chee has to hide
out with the Amish, you don't have a story. Sure, there's a
culture clash and some wardrobe problems, but Chee comes from a
peaceful background. You can paste the character into the plot,
but you don't end up with a story.
But take a tough Philly cop like John Book and put him in
Amish country and you have instant conflict. Book comes from a
violent world. He's used to solving problems with his fists or
his gun. He's not a peaceful person. He has to LEARN to be
peaceful, LEARN to be part of the community. The plot needs to
happen to THIS character, not just some random character.
In LIAR, LIAR if one of those Amish guys had to tell the truth
for 24 hours - no story! But the lying "bad father" lawyer having
to go 24 hours without telling a lie makes a great story. The
character has to LEARN how much his lying hurt others, has to
LEARN that telling the truth is okay.
Find the perfect character that fits your plot... The
character who will be forced to learn the most from the story.
The character who will be CHALLENGED the most by your story. The
character who is at odds with the story - who will milk the most
conflict from the story. That's your lead.
If the character who is at the center of your story's conflict
is "the girl" (the romantic interest) - she's the HERO! The guy
is really the romantic interest.
Write good characters and actors will want to play them. Write
bad characters, and actors will take the check if they need to
make a mortgage payment. But write good, interesting, characters
anyway!
Just because one character is the "hero" doesn't mean the
others can't have their own character arcs and learn their own
lessons. In SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE many of the secondary characters
learn little lessons. The competing theater company gets into
fights with them. But when the government closes the theater,
they join forces to put on the show. Guys who were beating each
other up shake hands and work together. The show must go on.
Interesting characters make for interesting scripts. Emotional
problems make characters interesting.
HOLIDAY BLOCK - older tips that haven't run for a while because site traffic is slow... look for a bunch of NEW tips at the beginning of the year!
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