Some people say that writers don’t have feelings. We have
feelings.
My cousin’s name is Nathan. Nathan is our antagonist. These
two people have nothing in common. Not to me they don’t. It’s an odd and
sometimes frustrating thing that writers face. People want to figure out who
you’re basing a character on. It’s not unusual for family or friends to read a
script, nod their heads knowingly, and comment sagely “So that’s who this
character is.” No. I’m sorry. You’re wrong. That character is not this person or
that person you know in real life. Sure, there are probably some personality
traits, names, and even events that are exactly that person but this is a
character in a work of fiction. That character is entirely a figment of my
imagination. I wanted to get that out of the way. These characters are not
based on anyone real in any way. If you know a writer please don’t nod and wink
like you know “who that character is based on”. It hurts our feelings.
99 Problems but the script aint one
Well, actually, the script is the entire problem. It needs
to be written before it can be sent out and fail to be purchased or produced.
Last week we took a look at the beats for act 1. In that act we set up Harlan,
the world of the story, and his big problem. Then we set him on his journey
with Nathan. This week we’ll look at the beats for the first half of act 2.
- · Harlan and Nathan leave for Nerdtacular
- · Every time Harlan attempts to contact home Harlan talks him out of it.
- · Nathan is tedious and drones on and on about his various theories and thoughts about life.
- · Intercut with a couple fantasy sequences
- · Fantasy sequence with a submarine sinking
- · Harlan has to pee. They pull over. Something awkward about the place they stop.
- · They stop for gas and snacks. Fantasy sequence at the gas station.
- · Harlan wants to call home to check in. Nathan takes their phones and throws them out the window.
- · It’s getting late, in the middle of nowhere, and the car breaks down.
- · They don’t have any phones and no other traffic. They set out on foot.
- · Nathan suggests a “shortcut” off road. Harlan reluctantly agrees.
- · At dawn they’re thoroughly lost.
- · They argue, Harlan pushes Nathan off a ledge and into a river. He leaps in after him.
- · The river drags them through rapids.
- · Fantasy sequence.
- · They pull themselves out and Harlan discovers that Nathan considers him his only real friend.
- · They find their way to a nearby town.
- · Breakfast at a diner. A rude waitress prompts a kung fu fantasy sequence.
- · They get a tow for the car at the local auto shop.
- · The repairs will take a few days. They’ll miss nerdtacular.
- · Nathan trades his car for a beat up car at the shop.
- · Back on the road. Fantasy sequence involving both of them.
- · They check-in at a motel. It’s a little roadside place. A Bates motel type fantasy sequence?
- · Their car, wallets, and everything they weren’t wearing is stolen.
- · They argue. Harlan is ready to call it quits and go home. Nathan refuses to allow Harlan to quit.
- · Harlan gets hit by a car.
Notice that the beats range from simple notes like “Fantasy
sequence” to more detailed “They argue. Harlan is ready to call it quits and go
home. Nathan refuses to allow Harlan to quit.” The beats are supposed to be
simple notes that let you see how the story progresses. They let you get a
sense of the major developments and changes in the plot and relationships. Feel
free to put little notes to yourself about dialogue or specific imagery if it
strikes you but try to keep each beat to about 1 sentence. This keeps the ideas
quick and easy to understand. There will be plenty of time for detail later.
We’ve got the beats, we’ve got the beats
In this set of beats we can start to see some of the smaller
arcs. We start with Harlan allowing Nathan to make all the choices for him.
Nathan presents an idea or plan and Harlan goes with it. He makes that mistake
over and over. It’s not until the end, right before the car hits him, that he
makes a decision and takes action on his own. We also have some development of
the relationship between Harlan and Nathan. At first Harlan is annoyed with
Nathan. Then, after the river, Harlan invests more into the relationship.
They’ll probably act more like friends on a trip together. They’ll work
together rather than Nathan instigating everything and Harlan just being along
for the ride. This should set up a nice pattern. Harlan will start by being
led. Then he’ll participate. In the second half of act 2 they’ll work together
as a team then transition into Harlan leading the way.
Let’s do the timewarp again
As I look over the beats I’m realizing that we’re losing some
of the underlying themes we discussed earlier. This is fine. We don’t have to
slavishly stick to our initial concepts. I would like to get a little closer to
them though. I think I’ll probably rearrange some of the events so that Harlan
is stripped of all his needs (remember Maslow’s Hierarchy) throughout this
first half of act 2. I’ll probably arrange things so he loses things in reverse
order. For example the trip into the wilderness should probably happen last so
that we’re stripping Harlan of shelter, food, and water at the end of the first
half. The act starts with Harlan already having lost his way with
self-actualization, esteem, and love/belonging so this whole section should
destroy those further as we get rid of his safety and physiological needs.
Thanks for joining me again this week. Next time we’ll
either look over the beats for the second half of act 2 or discuss obstacles
and the extremely important “what’s the worst that can happen” tool. I’m trying
to find that balance between short enough to be easily digestible and enough to
be worth the time length for these posts.
If you’re enjoying the blog, hating it, or indifferent let
me know in the comments. If you have any suggestions or thoughts about Harlan’s
story throw it into the comments as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment