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RUNNING FROM BEARS
SOLVING YOUR PROBLEMS BY LETTING CHARACTERS SOLVE THEIRS
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WHO AM I?
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RUNNING FROM BEARS SOLVING YOUR PROBLEMS BY LETTING CHARACTERS - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
RUNNING FROM BEARS SOLVING YOUR PROBLEMS BY LETTING CHARACTERS - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
RUNNING FROM BEARS SOLVING YOUR PROBLEMS BY LETTING CHARACTERS SOLVE THEIRS 1 WHO AM I? 2 WHERE TO REACH ME daryl.gregory@gmail.com darylgregory.com @darylwriterguy Files at: darylgregory.com/classes 3 THIS IS NOT A STORY 4 THIS IS A
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WHERE TO REACH ME
daryl.gregory@gmail.com darylgregory.com @darylwriterguy Files at: darylgregory.com/classes
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THIS IS NOT A STORY
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THIS IS A STORY
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COMMON PROBLEMS
q Characters who are running from problems, but not toward anything q Scenes that don’t move the plot forward q Dialog that falls flat q Plots that seem forced
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THE SOLUTION
Concentrate on what characters want… q moment to moment q scene by scene q for the length of the novel
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WHAT AARON SORKIN WANTS
“I never try to tell an audience who a character is. I try to show the audience what a character wants. I worship at the altar of intention and
- bstacle. That conflict is the whole
point of drama.”
- -Aaron Sorkin
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LET’S BUILD A CHARACTER
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IT’S NOT DRESS UP
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ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER
youtube low-res youtube hi-res
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ALL SCENES ARE ACTION SCENES
q Even when it’s just a “dialogue” scene. q Even when it’s a flashback.
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THE “CONTENT-LESS SCENE”
What do characters want, moment by moment?
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CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH TRIANGULATION
What she thinks she wants What she does What
- thers
think she wants
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BILLIARDS!
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MAMET’S THREE QUESTIONS
1. Who wants what? 2. What happens if they don’t get it? 3. Why now?
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MOVE THE PLOT FORWARD
USING CHARACTERS’ WANTS TO…
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PLOT ALGEBRA
C1 C2 Z
Characters, driven by their wants, conflict and create a plot outcome Z.
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SOLVING FOR Z
C1 C2 ?
If you don’t know what should happen, wind up the characters and watch ‘em conflict.
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WHAT IF IT’S… BORING?
q Raise the stakes (higher consequences) q Put goals of characters in direct
- pposition
q Start the ticking clock q Introduce a third person. q And of course…
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CHANDLER’S LAW
“When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.” ––Raymond Chandler
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SOLVING FOR C*
? ? Z
You know where you need to end up—but how to get there?
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SOLVING FOR C*
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DO NOT RIG THE GAME (TOO OBVIOUSLY)
q The Idiot Plot q The Genre Convention Instruction Booklet q The Amazing Coincidence q The Innocent Bystander
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THE CHESS MATCH
The opposite of the Idiot Plot “There ain’t no coincidences in chess, kid.” Protagonist and antagonist are… q Smart q Active q Pursuing goals that are diametrically opposed
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STUCK? RIG THE GAME (BUT HONESTLY)
q Off Stage is not Off the Clock q Fill the obstacle course q Money q Kids q Rearrange the obstacle course q Change what characters know, when q The Downton Abbey gambit q Change Z
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PLAYING BOTH SIDES
Alternate which side of the equation you’re working
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C1 C2 Z
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Q&A
Get your money’s worth!
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EXEUNT , PURSUED BY BEAR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSyQk-sa2RA
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