Talk the Talk
Page 14
Competing forces can also come from the natural world. Consider the sinking ship in the movie Titanic. It's not a person, but it certainly causes twists, bends, and setbacks in the heroes’ efforts to get to safety.
Less obvious, but just as important, are the competing forces that come from within the character himself. Indiana Jones must deal with the external force of the Nazis, but at the same time, Jones has competing internal needs. He wants to save the ark, but he also wants to be loyal to his friends and to protect his girlfriend. Some of the most entertaining twists and turns in the script come when Jones must juggle the competing forces within his own self.
Hamlet sets out to kill his uncle, but struggles with his own internal competing forces. He must overcome fears about the fate of his soul. He feels some obligation to his girlfriend. He longs for the closeness of his mother. Some part of him questions the validity of his goal. Indeed, the first half of Hamlet can be read as Hamlet freeing himself from these conflicting forces. One by one, scene by scene, he cuts the internal strings that are holding back the dominant force of vengeance.
Victory of One Force over the Others (The End)
A person with a dominant force is a character. A person pursuing that dominant force in the face of other competing forces is a plot. But when is the plot over?
A plot is over when it resolves — when one of the forces permanently triumphs over the others. This triumph removes the tension of conflicting forces and creates a new status quo.
In concrete terms, this means that either 1) the central character gets her goal and the character's dominant force wins; or 2) the central character permanently gives up her goal and the character's dominant force loses.
The central character gets her goal: Hamlet kills the king. Sauron's ring falls into the fires of Mount Doom. Viola marries Orsino. In Hamlet, Lord of the Rings, and Twelfth Night, the plot resolves with the main character achieving his or her goal. In the course of achieving this goal, he has had to conquer, sacrifice, or tame all of the other, conflicting forces in the script.
The central character permanently gives up her goal: Blanche DuBois gets carted off to a mental hospital. Rick tells Ilsa to get on the plane. Macbeth gets killed by Duncan. Oedipus gets sent into exile. In Streetcar Named Desire, Casablanca, Macbeth, and Oedipus Rex, the plot resolves when the main character permanently gives up his or her goal.
The character's dominant force has tried every tactic, but in the end, it is beaten by one of the other competing forces in the script. Blanche's psyche is beaten down by Stanley. Rick sacrifices his and Ilsa's love for larger, nobler purposes. Macbeth is killed by Duncan. Oedipus is sent into exile.
The important thing about all of these scenarios is that the question of whether the main character will achieve his goal is resolved in a permanent way. The audience anticipates no more changes in pursuit of this particular goal. The king is dead. Sauron's ring is destroyed. Viola is married. These things are permanent. There is no coming back from the mental hospital for Blanche. There is no return from the grave for Macbeth. Rick and Ilsa will never see each other again and Oedipus will never regain his kingdom. The tension between all of the competing forces is resolved. The pursuit of the goal is finished, therefore the story is over.
LESSON 20: SCRIPT ANALYSIS EXERCISE
As a group, watch the same film or attend the same stage play. (See the Appendix for a list of suggestions.)
For Discussion:
1. Identify the central characters.
2. For each character, what is the dominant force acting upon him?
3. What is the direction of that dominant force? What does it drive the character to do or achieve?
4. What is the magnitude of that dominant force? Why is the character driven by this force? What is at stake for the character?
5. When is the dominant force introduced?
6. Once it is introduced, does the dominant force continue through the entire story?
7. In what ways does each character's dominant force come into conflict?
8. Over the course of the script, what are the other forces acting upon each character? How strong are they relative to the dominant force?
9. In what ways do those come into conflict?
10. What twists and bends in the plot are a result of this conflict?
11. How does the story resolve? Which force emerges as victorious over the others?
12. How have things changed between the beginning of the story and the end?
LESSON 20: BEGINNER EXERCISE
Using the following questions, create a two- to four-page brainstorming outline for a short script.
1. The setting: Describe the world of this script.
2. Identify two or three central characters. Who are they? What is their situation?
3. What is the dominant force for each character?
4. What are the other forces acting on each char acter?
5. What are three different situations in which those forces might come into conflict? What will each character do to maneuver through the conflict? How will the characters be forced to change as a result of each conflict?
6. How will the conflict between the forces resolve? Which force will win?
7. How will the characters and their situation be permanently changed as a result?
For Discussion:
Review the brainstorming outlines with the group.
1. What aspects of the outline interest you the most? What are you most emotionally engaged by?
2. What feeling do you get about the experience of this script? What is the overall tone? Funny? Sad? Epic?
3. What aspects of the outline are clear? What aspects of the outline are not clear? Ask the writer to fill in the gaps.
LESSON 20: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE
Using the following questions, create an eight- to twelve-page brainstorming outline for a full-length script.
1. The setting: Describe the world of this script.
2. Identify three to five central characters. Who are they? What is their situation?
3. What is the dominant force for each character?
4. What are the other forces acting on each char acter?
5. What are five different situations in which those forces might come into conflict? What will each character do to maneuver through the conflict? How will the characters be forced to change as a result of each conflict?
6. How will the conflict between the forces resolve? Which force will win?
7. How will the characters and their situation be permanently changed as a result?
For Discussion:
Review the brainstorming outlines with the group.
1. What aspects of the outline interest you the most? What are you most emotionally engaged by?
2. What feeling do you get about the experience of this script? What is the overall tone? Funny? Sad? Epic?
3. What aspects of the outline are clear? What aspects of the outline are not clear? Ask the writer to fill in the gaps.
LESSON 20: SOLO EXERCISE
1. Do the Beginner Exercise (above).
2. Use the notes to write a short play or short screenplay (ten to twenty pages). Make sure that the script has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Use the Rewrite Exercises in Lesson 19 to polish the script.
3. When your script is completed, find a competition or a festival of short scripts and submit it.
4. Do this exercise two to three times per year as a regular writer's workout.
PUT THIS BOOK DOWN
OBI-WAN KENOBI: The Force will be with you. Always.
—Star Wars (1977)
Conclusion
N
ow that you've read all the lessons and done all the exercises, it's time to put the book away. The whole purpose of this book is to get you to the point where you no longer need it. The goal is to internalize the lessons so that they become instinctive. A professional piano player does not need to remind himself consciously of p
roper fingering techniques every time he plays a piece of music. In the same way, professional scriptwriters do not need to remind themselves consciously of the mechanics of dialogue.
The truth? Scriptwriters don't actually think about all this stuff every time they write. Writing theory is like music theory. It's there to guide you while you're learning, support you as you become proficient, and provide you something to fall back on when you have a problem. If you allow theory and technique to take over your entire writing process, it will only get in your way. So put the book down. Forget about the lessons and just write. If you hit a wall or have a problem, then dig out the book, dust it off, and review some of its fundamental principles:
• The most interesting character voices blend together a mix of tones (Lessons 1-3).
• All human interactions are status interactions (Lessons 4-10).
• The world of your script has as much effect on dialogue as the characters in your script (Lesson 11).
• You must know who your characters are before you will know how they speak (Lesson 12).
• A line of dialogue reflects the sum of all forces acting upon a character. To steer the dialogue you must steer the underlying forces of the script (Lessons 13-20).
So, good-bye for now. Tuck this book away on a high shelf. Let it sit unopened and untouched… until you need it again.
APPENDIX
Script Analysis Suggestions
This is a list of suggestions for scripts to analyze using the Script Analysis Exercise in each lesson. Keep in mind that the Script Analysis Exercises and Discussion Questions can be applied to any script you choose to bring in.
Lessons 1–3
Film / Television
Theater
Annie Hall (1977)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Pride and Prejudice (TV: BBC, 1995): episodes 1 and 2
American Beauty (1999)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Reality Bites (1994)
Toy Story (1995)
Goodfellas (1990)
Swingers (1996)
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Duck Variations by David Mamet
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson
Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) by Will Eno
Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally
God's Ear by Jenny Schwartz
Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw
Balm in Gilead by Lanford Wilson
Lessons 4
Film / Television
Theater
Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)
Biloxi Blues (1988)
The Out of Towners (1970)
The Odd Couple by Neil Simon
The Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon
Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon
Lessons 5–9
Film / Television
Theater
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
All About Eve (1950)
Amadeus (1984)
Midnight Run (1988)
The Graduate (1967)
Fraiser (TV: 1993–2004)
The Sopranos (TV: 1999–2007)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The Producers (1968)
The West Wing (TV: 1999–2006)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Ratatouille (2007)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
The Story by Tracy Scott Wilson
True West by Sam Shepard
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage
Noises Off by Michael Fryan
Art by Yasmina Reza
Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling
Medea by Euripides
The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard
A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau
Lessons 10
Film / Television
Theater
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Witness (1985)
The Wire (TV: 2002–2008)
Doubt by John Patrick Shanley
Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
Animal Farm by George Orwell and Peter Hall
Lessons 11
Film / Television
Theater
The Princess Bride (1987)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Fargo (1996)
Star Wars (1977)
Steel Magnolias (1989)
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Blasted by Sarah Kane
Marisol by José Rivera
Lessons 16
Film / Television
Theater
His Girl Friday (1940)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Hay Fever by Noel Coward
Lessons 18
Film / Television: Beginner and Intermediate
Theater: Beginner and Intermediate
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Sting (1973)
The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry
Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote
Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott
The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen
Film / Television: Advanced
Theater: Advanced
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Memento (2000)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Betrayal by Harold Pinter
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Mnemonic by Theatre de Complicite
now then again by Penny Penniston
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Lessons 12–15; 17; 20
Film / Television
Theater
The Godfather (1972)
Die Hard (1988)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
The Untouchables (1987)
Chinatown (1974)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Back to the Future (1985)
Casablanca (1942)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Tootsie (1982)
Schindler's List (1993)
Broadcast News (1987)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Psycho (1960)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Wall–E (2008)