RUNNING FROM BEARS SOLVING YOUR PLOT PROBLEMS BY CREATING NEEDY CHARACTERS 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 STORY 5
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 6
THE SOLUTION Concentrate on what characters want … q moment to moment q scene by scene q for the length of the novel 7
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 obstacle. That conflict is the whole point of drama.” --Aaron Sorkin 8
LET’S BUILD A CHARACTER 9
IT’S NOT DRESS UP 10
ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER 11 youtube low-res youtube hi-res
ALL SCENES ARE ACTION SCENES q Even when it’s just a “dialogue” scene. q Even when it’s a flashback. 12
THE “CONTENT-LESS SCENE” What do characters want, moment by moment? 1. Start with the first line of dialog, end with the last line, and add no other dialogue. § You can insert dialog tags (“Hi!” Jack said.) § You can break up a line of dialog. 2. Use no interior monologue. 3. Do not add exposition or explanations. 4. DO add scenic description, sensory detail, physical actions, emotional responses. 13
CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH TRIANGULATION What she thinks she wants What others What she think she does wants 14
BILLIARDS! 15
MAMET’S THREE QUESTIONS 1. Who wants what? 2. What happens if they don’t get it? 3. Why now? 16
USING CHARACTERS’ WANTS TO… MOVE THE PLOT FORWARD 17
PLOT ALGEBRA C1 C2 Z Characters, driven by their wants, conflict and create a plot outcome Z. 18
SOLVING FOR Z C1 C2 ? If you don’t know what should happen, wind up the characters and watch ‘em conflict. 19
WHAT IF IT’S… BORING? q Raise the stakes (higher consequences) q Put goals of characters in direct opposition q Start the ticking clock q Introduce a third person. q And of course … 20
CHANDLER’S LAW “When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.” ––Raymond Chandler 21
SOLVING FOR C* ? ? Z You know where you need to end up—but how to get there? 22
SOLVING FOR C* 23
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 24
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 25
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 26
PLAYING BOTH SIDES Alternate which side of the equation you’re working C1 C2 Z 27
Q&A Get your money’s worth! 28
STICKING THE LANDING Many choices for how to end the story. A good ending … u Keeps the promise to the reader that was made in the beginning u Brings the reader full circle u Addresses the theme 29
EXEUNT , PURSUED BY BEAR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSyQk-sa2RA 30
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