by Will Dunne
ANALYZING YOUR STORY
Explore the central conflict that will make your main character’s quest difficult to achieve.
WARM UP
• The conflict in your story is defined by what the main character wants and why he or she cannot easily achieve it. As a step toward exploring the central conflict of the story, define your main character’s quest, or superobjective.
SOURCES OF CONFLICT
• Think about your main character’s physical, psychological, and social limitations. What personal traits or conditions, if any, make it difficult for him or her to succeed? In other words, how might the character be his or her own worst enemy?
• Think about the other characters in the story: who they are and what they want. Which of them pose obstacles to the success of your main character’s quest?
• Which character poses the greatest threat, and why?
• Think about the physical, emotional, social, economic, political, and spiritual dimensions of your character’s world. What elements make it most difficult for him or her to succeed?
CENTRAL CONFLICT
• Of the problems you have identified, what is the biggest single obstacle that your character must overcome if the quest is to succeed?
• What makes this conflict so powerful?
• Does the central conflict have roots in the backstory? If so, how does the past add to the power of the conflict in the present?
• Where and how in the script is the central conflict introduced?
• Right or wrong, how does the character perceive this challenge?
• What is the character’s emotional response?
• What do the character’s reactions to the central conflict reveal about him or her?
• Do you see any opportunities to strengthen the central conflict, and, if so, how?
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Objective is what the character wants. Motivation is why the character wants it. This motivation can be measured by what will be gained if the quest succeeds or what will be lost if it fails.
Motive is a key ingredient in everything that characters do, from visiting friends to conquering kingdoms. For behavior to make sense, there must be a reason to act—even if it is faulty or illogical. Motivation may be noble or base, healthy or unhealthy, profound or petty, as long as it makes sense to the character at the moment of action.
For the quest that drives the story, the character needs a compelling reason to keep pushing forward in spite of the obstacles that stand in the way. If the stakes are not high enough, the character’s efforts to deal with big problems may seem unbelievable or melodramatic. Ideally, what’s at risk is so significant that the character cannot give up or compromise the goal as long as it is still possible to pursue it.
In Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, for example, an accident-prone daredevil tries over a period of thirty years to protect his relationship with his soul mate, whom he first met in a school nurse’s office when they were both eight years old. What’s at stake for him is not only love but his only chance for love in a dangerous world.
■ DOUBT: A PARABLE
Sister Aloysius has compelling reasons to expose and expel Father Flynn.
What’s at stake for Aloysius: Duty
Aloysius’s campaign to drive Flynn out of St. Nicholas parish is motivated, in part, by her concern for the welfare of the students, especially Donald Muller, whom the priest may already have abused. Her work philosophy suggests, however, that there is something even more important at stake. Aloysius reveals this philosophy in scene 2 when coaching Sister James about how to handle an eighth grader named William London. Aloysius views him as a troublemaker who is unlikely to graduate high school, but shrugs that off since it is beyond her jurisdiction: “We simply have to get him through, out the door, and then he’s somebody else’s problem.”
Aloysius’s lack of concern for William’s future implies that she is more preoccupied with her duties as principal than with the boy’s well-being outside the walls of her elementary school. As one who embraces the Catholic church and school system, and has taken a religious vow of obedience, fulfillment of duty is key to Aloysius’s identity. If she fails to protect her children from the perceived threat of Flynn, she will have failed to meet her responsibilities. It is perhaps this concern for duty that most motivates her campaign against him.
■ TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
The duel between Lincoln and Booth is fueled by high stakes that make it impossible for either brother to surrender.
What’s at stake for Booth: Self-esteem
Booth’s quest to be topdog is motivated by his need to improve his image. Abandoned by his parents at a young age, forced to live in the shadow of an older brother, and subjected to racial disparities in the world around him, Booth has grown up with a low sense of self-esteem. It is a disposition that he tries to cover up with braggadocio and threats of violence. Now in his thirties, he longs for the respect and power that a successful man would enjoy. Though he often declares his love for Grace—“Aint no man can love her the way I can”—he sees her beauty as a prize that will prove his worth to himself and to his brother, with whom he constantly competes.
What’s at stake for Lincoln: Security
Lincoln has been abandoned by most of the important people in his life. His quest to stay topdog is thus motivated by a deep need for security. For Lincoln, this means having the support of family and avoiding dangerous pursuits like card hustling, which led to the death of his partner Lonny. This is why Lincoln now clings to his arcade job, which every Friday generates an honest paycheck that buys his brother’s affection and keeps a roof over both of their heads.
■ THE CLEAN HOUSE
The three protagonists—Lane, Matilde, and Virginia—collectively provide the reason for the story because each has high stakes hanging in the balance as she pursues her individual goal.
What’s at stake for Lane: The perfect life
Lane’s quest to regain control of her universe is motivated by her dream of the perfect life in which everyone and everything meets her impossibly high standards. Flaws, failures, and disappointments are not permitted in this universe. Even a relatively small problem, such as a dusty house, must be addressed and eradicated. The stakes attached to Lane’s vision of perfection are so high that when a large problem arises, such as a husband who falls in love with another woman, her first response is a suicide attempt.
What’s at stake for Matilde: Peace of mind
Though her parents died last year, Matilde still wears black to express mourning and still retreats regularly from the real world to her storybook imaginings of them. She hopes that, through humor, she will be able to understand and accept her loss. Matilde’s quest to heal from the death of her parents is thus motivated by her need to reclaim the peace of mind she had enjoyed when her family was intact.
What’s at stake for Virginia: A reason to live
After three decades of bad decisions, Virginia is haunted by a feeling of uselessness. In act one, scene 13, she explains her failure this way: “I wanted something—big. I didn’t know how to ask for it.” Virginia’s quest to find a meaningful task is motivated by her need to justify her existence. This motivation is implied in her opening monologue when she half-jokingly admits that she might slit her wrists if she had too much time to think about how her life has turned out.
ANALYZING YOUR STORY
Explore the motivation of the main character to complete the quest.
WARM UP
• Define your main character’s quest, or superobjective.
POTENTIAL GAIN OR LOSS
• What will your character gain if the quest succeeds? What will be lost if it fails?
• Will another individual also be affected by the outcome of your character’s quest? If so, who would be affected most? What would this other character gain or lose?
• Will any group—such as the character’s family, friends, co-worke
rs, or community—also be affected by the quest? If so, who? What would they gain or lose?
• Think about the greatest good that will be achieved if the quest succeeds or the greatest loss that will be suffered if it fails. What is the highest stake hanging in the balance?
• Are the stakes high enough to prevent your character from compromising or giving up the quest when it becomes challenging? If not, can you raise the stakes by:
• Making the potential gain greater?
• Making the potential loss worse?
• Broadening the potential impact of the quest—for example, by increasing the number of people who will be affected by its outcome?
MOTIVATION
• Dramatic characters tend to be noble in some way. What is your character’s noblest reason for wanting to complete the quest?
• When your character launches the quest, does he or she have any misperceptions about what is really at stake? If so, how does this affect the story?
• Does your character’s motivation to complete the quest stem from any backstory experience, positive or negative, and, if so, what?
• Does your character have any selfish, base, or cowardly reason for wanting to complete the quest, and, if so, what?
• What does your character’s motivation suggest about his or her values and beliefs?
• Sometimes characters are unaware of their true motivations for taking action. Does your character have any subconscious reason to pursue this goal, and, if so, what?
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
A strategy is a general action plan designed to achieve an overall goal. Tactics are the specific steps of the plan. If a character’s overall goal is challenging, he or she usually has to try a number of different strategies and tactics, with some succeeding and some failing. Ideally, the actions undertaken by the characters become more difficult and risky as the story unfolds so that the conflict keeps rising.
In Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, for example, a traveling salesman in the civil war–torn Democratic Republic of Congo wants to convince a brothel owner to buy two teenage girls from him and put them to work in her establishment. He employs different strategies and tactics to accomplish this goal. One strategy is to put the brothel owner in a good mood. His tactics are to give her gifts—a new tube of lipstick and a rare box of Belgian chocolates—and to recite a poem he has written for her. Another, more difficult strategy is to gain her sympathy. His tactics are to remind her of the personal danger he has risked by traveling here during the war and to convince her that, without a place to live and work, the abused homeless girls in his wagon may not survive.
By employing a variety of strategies and tactics, characters reveal different dimensions of who they are. They also move the story forward and keep it from growing stale. Their actions typically break down into two basic types of objectives:
Behavioral objectives. Most strategies and tactics are behavioral objectives, which focus on affecting another character in a specific way. There are four basic types of behavioral objectives:
• To make someone feel good—for example, to flatter, seduce, or cheer up.
• To make someone feel bad—for example, to threaten, scold, or frighten.
• To find out something important—for example, to ask questions, probe, or elicit confessions.
• To convince someone of something important—for example, to persuade or prove a point.
Physical objectives. Strategies and tactics may also be primarily physical—for example, to acquire an important object, complete a physical task, or effect a change in the environment. Physical objectives do not necessarily require a response from someone else and are thus less common in dramatic stories, which typically center on character interactions.
■ DOUBT: A PARABLE
Sister Aloysius tries a variety of strategies and tactics to protect her students from a suspected pedophile.
Aloysius’s plan to expose and expel Flynn
Learn the truth. One of Aloysius’s primary strategies is to uncover the truth about Father Flynn. Her first tactic in this plan is to put the staff on alert for signs of trouble among the students without identifying the nature of that trouble (scene 2). This is an easy step since she is not implicating Flynn directly. Result: success. Sister James reports disturbing news about Flynn and a boy in her class named Donald Muller.
Aloysius responds to the report from James by grilling her about the details of what she observed (scene 4). This tactic is more difficult than a general edict since it focuses on Flynn by name and lets another person know what she’s thinking. Result: success. Though her only evidence is the possible smell of alcohol on a boy’s breath, Aloysius becomes convinced that Flynn is guilty of child abuse.
Her next tactic is to get Flynn into her office on a false pretext so she can catch him off guard and get him to confess to wrongdoing with a witness present (scene 5). This is a far more demanding tactic that requires her to confront Flynn openly and put herself at risk by challenging someone above her in the Church hierarchy. Result: failure. Flynn claims that he is innocent and condemns her insinuations and unorthodox conduct.
Gather allies. Another of Aloysius’s key strategies is to get help in bringing the priest down. Because of the potential scandal, as well as the limitations of the patriarchal system in which she and Flynn operate, Aloysius has few potential allies other than Sister James and Donald’s parents. Aloysius consequently meets with Mrs. Muller to discuss Flynn’s relationship with her son and get her support (scene 8). This tactic carries high risk since it takes Aloysius’s concern about Flynn out of the school and into the community. Result: failure. Mrs. Muller chooses not to think ill of the priest and turns against Aloysius.
Attack. When Aloysius finds herself cornered by Flynn in her office, she employs her most dangerous strategy: to threaten his existence as a priest (scene 8). Her key tactic is to frighten him by falsely claiming to have incriminating evidence against him from a nun in his previous parish. Immediate result: success. Flynn requests a transfer from St. Nicholas. Delayed result: failure. Flynn is promoted to pastor of another parish.
■ TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
Booth and Lincoln try a variety of strategies and tactics as they compete in a duel that has room for only one winner.
Booth’s plan to become topdog
Make money. In his quest for power, one of Booth’s primary strategies is to get rich quick by becoming a card hustler. His first tactic is to gather the tools necessary for three-card monte and to practice being a dealer (scene 1). This is a simple step since the materials are easy to find and he is familiar with the routine. Result: failure. Throwing the cards is much harder than he thought.
His next tactic is to get Lincoln to partner with him in the scheme (scene 1). This is a logical step since Lincoln is not only his brother but also a master card hustler. Result: failure. In spite of Booth’s promises of wealth and women, Lincoln is a reformed man who refuses to touch the cards. As the story unfolds, Booth repeats this tactic several times. Though he eventually weakens his brother’s resistance to the cards, he never succeeds in acquiring him as a partner.
Have the best sex life. Another of Booth’s strategies is to win back his beautiful ex-girlfriend Grace so he can prove his superiority over his brother as a sexual dynamo. Booth’s initial tactics include asking her out on a date and giving her a special ring. This is a logical tactic since it used to work in the past. Result: success. Grace agrees to see him tomorrow night.
Attuned to the allure of personal image, Booth takes tactical steps to improve his own. After changing his name to 3-Card, a moniker more befitting a card hustler, he improves his wardrobe by stealing expensive clothing for his brother and himself (scene 2). This riskier strategy entails the chance of getting arrested. Result: success. Booth transforms himself into a sharp dresser with a new name.
Whether his triumphs in the bedroom are real or imagined, Booth makes sure his brother knows about them. Returnin
g home from his date in scene 3, for example, Booth wakes Lincoln up so he can crow about his sexual exploits. This tactic is difficult since he has to make most of it up. Result: failure. Lincoln acts impressed but knows Booth is lying.
Another recurring tactic is to denigrate Lincoln’s sexual prowess by bombarding him with insults and accusations of impotence. In scene 6, Booth taunts Lincoln about the failure of his marriage and his wife’s coming to Booth for sexual favors. This is a risky move since it could provoke a showdown. Result: success. The punch lands and leaves Lincoln vulnerable.
Beat Lincoln at his own game. Booth’s most difficult and risky strategy is to challenge Lincoln to a game of three-card monte for money. Even though he is facing a master dealer, Booth puts his $500 inheritance at risk. Result: failure. Booth loses his pride and his most treasured possession.
Lincoln’s plan to stay topdog
Hold down an honest job. One of Lincoln’s key strategies for success is to keep his job as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator at a shooting arcade. However odd the job may be, it is honest employment that has saved him from the dangers of being a card hustler. This is why Lincoln, in scene 1, rejects Booth’s offer of a three-card monte partnership. His tactic is to respond repeatedly with the mantra “I don’t touch thuh cards.” The tactic is easy since he has no interest in partnering with his brother anyway. Result: success. Lincoln in the first few scenes resists the temptation to throw the cards.