Day Three - Character Arc - Part One of The Grid

So the most important thing for me to figure out when I'm starting a project (or up for a writing job) is what character arc supports the premise. For me, this is half the ballgame.

For example, you are up for a writing assignment. A coming-of-age drama about a girl who runs away from home to become a movie star. What I ask myself is: "Who can travel the farthest in this story?" What lesson can the main character learn during this journey? When you find an arc that supports the premise - you've also found some opportunities for natural conflicts, you've found drama. You're half way home. This is where I start.

That's why in my outlining tool - The Grid - I put at the top: Main Character Arc ________ to _______ right up under the one-liner and the title. It's that crucial. Because where ever you are in your outline - if you get lost (and you will, it's natural) you can always go back to your character arc and figure out how your character should be behaving.

Let me explain. For the example above (I picked this because no one in Hollywood will admit to making movies about writer's, politicians or the Hollywood industry.) They do, occasionally, but usually only people with enough power to override the common thinking. The industry standard is stay away from these arenas.

But just for laughs, let's say our girl wants to prove to the world that she's special. She's looking for love and approval on a grand enough scale to take all the pains of her rotten childhood of neglect and scorn away. Her character arc would be: Looking for outside approval to finding self-acceptance. Or, in simpler terms, she's empty and winds up fulfilled. I love finding one word to tag my character to - my favorite arc I got to write was going from self-ish to self-less. That was for a comedy and what fun!

But back to the script that will never be made... In the first half of the script all scenes should demonstrate and be consistent with a character searching for love in all the wrong places. The second half she's taking steps to get it right. Along the way she can try to fill herself up on the wrong kind of external love. Ultimately she'll discover, after climbing the heights and losing everything, that there isn't enough success in the world to make her feel happy, until she starts to love herself. Can you see how the entire story is right there in the character arc?

Well, if that's not so clear maybe it will be once you marry it with the structural grid on tomorrow's post.