Character, Scene, and Story

by Will Dunne

  ■ HOW THE DRAMATIC JOURNEYS INTERSECT

  The dramatic journeys of your characters most likely intersect in different ways at different times. What your Character 1 does probably affects what happens to each of the other characters in the story. At the same time, the other characters affect what happens to Character 1.

  How Character 1 affects Character 2. As Hamlet moves from injustice to revenge, Claudius moves from success to ruin. Many steps of Hamlet’s journey intersect with, and affect, Claudius’s journey. When Hamlet exposes Claudius’s guilt through the play within the play, for example, Claudius’s confidence is so shaken that his kingship is put into jeopardy. This a significant development in his road to ruin. Identify a few key examples of how your Character 1’s journey directly affects your Character 2.

  How Character 2 affects Character 1. After he realizes that Hamlet knows the truth about the murder, Claudius uses Hamlet’s accidental killing of Polonius to send him to England. This is a major obstacle in Hamlet’s quest for revenge. Identify a few key examples of how your Character 2’s journey directly affects your Character 1.

  WRAP-UP

  Your two most important characters are the ones you need to know best. Once you figure out how they begin and end the dramatic journey, you can clarify the step-by-step transition that each must experience in order for these opposite points in the story to connect in understandable ways. Keep these arcs of action in mind as you continue to develop your script, and know how each affects the other and the story overall.

  Related tools in The Dramatic Writer’s Companion. For more about character arcs, go to the “Building Your Story” section and try “Before and After.” For help with outlining the steps of these transitions, try “Step by Step” in the same section.

  FOUND IN TRANSLATION

  THE QUICK VERSION

  Learn more about your story by translating key topics into dramatic elements

  BEST TIME FOR THIS

  After you have completed or nearly completed a draft

  DRAMATIC WRITER AS TRANSLATOR

  A dramatic story addresses a number of topics as the characters interact and cause certain events to take place. The writer’s challenge is to figure out how to translate this intellectual content into dramatic elements, such as character traits, behavior, and visual imagery so that the story can be shown to the audience more than explained. During this process, some topics matter more than others. One topic can be so important that it determines who the characters will be and how the dramatic journey will unfold.

  ABOUT THE EXERCISE

  This exercise can help you explore your story from new angles by translating some of your key topics into different types of dramatic elements. Examples are from The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh. Set in 1934 on a remote Aran island off the coast of Ireland, the story is incited by news that a famous Hollywood director is filming a documentary on a neighboring island. Among those who wish to be in the film is Billy Craven, a crippled teenager who yearns for an escape from the loneliness and boredom of his life.

  This exercise asks you to associate topics and dramatic elements with characters from your story. As you do this, you may use some characters repeatedly and others not at all. To prepare, list your characters so you can see them all at a glance—for example, Billy, the village cripple; Kate and Eileen, the aunts who raised him; Helen and Bartley, other teenagers in the village; Babbybobby, a fisherman; Johnnypateenmike, the town crier; Mammy O’Dougal, Johnny’s mother; and Dr. McSharry, the village doctor.

  ■ STORY TOPICS

  McDonagh’s story tackles such topics as life in the Aran Islands, being crippled, Hollywood, tuberculosis, England versus Ireland, truth, isolation, gossip, drowning, matricide, worry, and death at an early age. In random order, list twelve topics your story addresses at any time during the dramatic journey. This will be your master list.

  ■ FIRST SET OF TOPICS

  Of the topics listed from The Cripple of Inishmaan, the four that spark my interest most are life in the Aran Islands, being crippled, Hollywood, and tuberculosis. Review your master list of topics, and choose the four that seem most interesting to you now for any reason. Let this be an instinctive process, without concern for how the topics relate or compare in importance. Then copy your choices in a new short list.

  1. Objective. My first topic is life in the Aran Islands. From Billy’s perspective: “Life in the Aran islands is so fecking boring and so fecking awful that I want to go to America and become a movie star if they take cripple fellas.” Match the first topic on your short list to one of your characters. Then translate the topic into something important that this character wants at any time in the story.

  2. Three actions. My second topic is being crippled. Billy has been viewed as the village cripple all his life and has been taunted by nearly everyone around him. At various times in the story, his disability prompts him to retreat from the world of people into the realm of cows and books; to demand that others call him “Billy” instead of “Cripple Billy”; and to convince his neighbor Bobby to take him by boat to the film shoot on the next island. Translate your second topic into three important actions that one of your characters might take at any time during the story.

  3. Misinformation. My third topic is Hollywood. Billy believes that Hollywood is a paradise where all of his problems will be solved. When he actually gets to Hollywood, however, he ends up in a squalid one-dollar rooming house with no one to care for him as he lies in bed gasping for air. Remember that characters are not always right: they can be misinformed, delusional, or deceptive. Translate your third topic into a falsehood that involves any of your characters.

  4. Stakes. My fourth topic is tuberculosis. For Billy, this is an extremely important topic for different reasons. At first, it is a fake TB diagnosis that enables him to convince his neighbor Bobby to take him by boat to Inishmore. Later, it is a real TB diagnosis that explains why Billy is coughing up blood. Explain why any of your characters might view your fourth topic as extremely important.

  ■ SECOND SET OF TOPICS

  Of the remaining topics listed from McDonagh’s play, the next four that attract my attention are isolation, truth, drowning, and death at an early age. Review the remaining eight topics on your master list, and choose the next four that seem most interesting to you now for any reason. Then copy these into a new short list.

  1. Three character traits. My first topic in this set is isolation. Because of his lonely life as a cripple on a remote island, Billy has become resourceful: whether he’s staring at cows or reading books, he knows how to amuse himself. Isolation has also made him restless: he yearns for a new life elsewhere. In addition, isolation has made him desperate: he will do anything—tell lies, forge a doctor’s letter, take advantage of others—to escape his loneliness. Match your first topic in this set to one of your characters. Then translate the topic into three of his or her defining traits.

  2. Conflict. My second topic is truth. After his dreams of Hollywood fail and Billy ends up back on Inishmaan, he feels the need to confess his worst sin: that he faked a TB diagnosis to get Bobby’s sympathy and a boat ride to the next island. Billy’s confession is difficult, however, because Bobby’s wife died of TB. Billy will thus have to expose himself as a heartless manipulator who preyed on Bobby’s deepest vulnerability. Translate your second topic into a conflict that any of your characters must face.

  3. Double-sided fact. My third topic is drowning. Billy’s parents were thugs who tried to kill him because he was crippled but ended up drowning themselves instead. The upside of this tragedy is that it enabled Billy to be raised by two loving aunts. The downside is that many unanswered questions surround his parents’ deaths. This uncertainty has left Billy feeling confused and alone in the world. Translate your third topic into a double-sided fact, past or present, about one of your characters.

  4. Visual image. My fourth topic is death at an early age. Like his parents, Billy is likely to di
e before the age of twenty. His death will be due to either TB or suicide. The latter possibility leads to this visual image: Billy alone in his aunts’ store, tying a burlap sack to his wrist and filling the sack with cans of peas so that he can drown himself in the sea. Translate your fourth topic into a visual image that reveals something important about any of your characters.

  ■ THIRD SET OF TOPICS

  The remaining topics on the sample list are gossip, worry, England versus Ireland, and matricide. Review the last topics on your master list, and copy them in a new short list.

  1. Advice or warning. My first topic in this set is gossip. From Johnnypateenmike, the town crier who goes from door to door announcing the news of the day, here is a piece of advice: “When you’re telling your news to people, always save the best news for last and make sure they know you are doing this so they will have to wait and listen to the other less interesting news first.” Translate your first topic in this set into a bit of advice or warning that one of your characters might offer.

  2. Unusual fact. My second topic is worry. When Billy’s auntie Kate worries, she talks to stones and believes they talk back to her. This is why she keeps a large stone handy after Billy disappears from the island for two months. Translate your second topic into an unusual fact about one of your characters.

  3. Emotion. My third topic is England versus Ireland. Helen is angry about the oppression that the Irish have suffered historically at the hands of the English. She vents her anger by giving her brother, Bartley, an “Irish history lesson” in which she represents England and he represents Ireland. She then breaks raw eggs over his head. Identify a strong emotion, positive or negative, that one of your characters associates with your third topic, and give an example of this emotion in action.

  4. Question. My fourth topic is matricide. Johnnypateenmike has been plying his elderly mother with liquor against her doctor’s orders. After she falls down a flight of stairs, he leaves her lying on the floor with a pint of porter. Such facts might lead one to wonder why Mammy O’Dougal doesn’t seem to care that her son has been trying to kill her for the past sixty years. Translate your fourth topic into a question your story might raise about any of your characters.

  ■ MAIN TOPIC AND THEME

  You’ve identified twelve topics your story tackles, grouped them instinctively, and translated them into character and story specifics. Review your findings now from a more analytical perspective.

  1. Three most important topics. Of the topics listed from McDonagh’s story, the three that feel most important to me are isolation, being crippled, and truth. Return to your master list of topics, and identify the three that feel most important.

  2. Main topic. Of the three highlighted topics from McDonagh’s play, the one that feels most important is truth. All of the characters are struggling with truth in some way, whether they’re trying to hide it, figure out what it is, or recover from the pain it causes. What is the main topic of your story?

  3. Main theme. Many dramatic stories center on the theme that the truth shall set you free. McDonagh’s story does this as well, but with a dark side. Near the end of the story, Billy confesses that he used a fake TB diagnosis to trick Bobby into taking him to the film shoot. This confession lifts Billy from his guilt and shame but results in a beating from Bobby with a lead pipe. The implied message appears to be that the truth shall set you free, but you’ll be a bruised, bloody mess because of it. State your story’s main theme. Then translate it into the story event that illustrates it best.

  WRAP-UP

  Drama is primarily an emotional experience but also tends to be rich in intellectual content, such as facts, ideas, opinions, insights, realizations, and other information. Know what topics you want to dramatize in your story, which matter more than others, and which matters most of all. Then keep looking for ways to translate this information into character and story specifics that the audience can experience.

  Related tools in The Dramatic Writer’s Companion. For more about the main topic and theme of your story, go to the “Building Your Story” section and try “What’s the Big Idea?” or “The Forest of the Story.”

  LIST IT

  THE QUICK VERSION

  Gain new insights about your story by listing key elements

  BEST TIME FOR THIS

  After you have completed or nearly completed a draft

  SETTING PRIORITIES

  At various times during script development, and especially after you have completed a first draft, you need to step back from the details of your story to get a clear vision of what it’s all about. Knowing the big picture can help you make more informed decisions about what needs to happen in each scene. It also can be a critical guide during revisions, when you are evaluating your story and figuring out what works best, what should be developed more, and what needs to be trimmed or cut.

  ABOUT THE EXERCISE

  A list is a series of related items that are recorded in random order one after another. This exercise can help you use lists to explore the big picture of your story. In the end, each list will have ten items. The first half of each list will probably come more easily than the latter half, which may require you to stretch creatively in order to reach a total of ten. It is during this creative stretch that you may make the most interesting discoveries. Work instinctively to complete each list without concern for how the items on it relate or compare. If appropriate, feel free to repeat items from other lists.

  Examples are from Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet. Recipient of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the play focuses on four ruthless real-estate salesmen in Chicago who will do anything to unload worthless land on unwitting buyers. Mamet later adapted the play to film for a 1992 release.

  ■ YOUR STORY AS A SERIES OF LISTS

  Develop twelve numbered lists with ten items in each.

  Character 1

  Mamet’s story centers on a group of real estate salesmen. The most important is Shelley “The Machine” Levine. Identify your Character 1.

  1. Traits. In random order, list ten words or phrases that describe your Character 1 at any time during the story—for example: real estate salesman, aging, in a slump, desperate, frightened, deceitful. Remember this is a list, not a paragraph.

  2. Desires. List ten things that your Character 1 wants at any time during the story—for example, decent customer leads, money, moral support, recognition, respect, help for his sick daughter.

  3. Deeds. List ten things that your Character 1 does at any time during the story. Use verbs or verb phrases—for example, begs, lies, bribes, threatens, complains, robs.

  Character 2

  Mamet’s second most important character is Roma. Identify your Character 2.

  4. Traits. List ten words or phrases that describe your Character 2 at any time during the story—for example, top salesman, smooth-talking, ruthless, greedy, duplicitous, methodical.

  5. Desires. List ten things that your Character 2 wants at any time during the story—for example, the Glengarry leads, sales, his name at the top of the contest board, money, respect, kickbacks.

  6. Deeds. List ten things that your Character 2 does at any time during the story. Use verbs or verb phrases—for example, charms, persuades, manipulates, plots, deceives, sells.

  Character 3

  Mamet’s third most important character is Williamson. Identify your Character 3.

  7. Traits. List ten words or phrases that describe your Character 3 at any time during the story—for example, unfriendly, greedy, smart, stoical, spiteful, mistrustful.

  World of story

  The world of Glengarry Glen Ross is the Chicago real estate business in the 1980s. Define the world of your story.

  8. Physical characteristics. A story’s physical landscape includes the settings in which observable action occurs, the unseen settings in which other action occurs, the physical elements that make up these settings, and the objects that can be found there. List ten important features
of your story’s physical landscape—for example, real estate office, paper files containing customer leads, a contest board on the wall that shows who sold what this month, a Cadillac, Chinese restaurant, a check signed by a customer named James Lingk.

  9. Psychological characteristics. The psychological landscape includes the collective inner world of the characters, such as their ideas, beliefs, emotions, memories, values, and ambitions. List ten important features of your story’s psychological landscape—for example, greed, anger, jealousy, success, fear of extinction, self-loathing.

  10. Social characteristics. The social landscape includes the relationships and communities in which your characters operate as well as the rules, expectations, and power structures that govern these groups. List ten important elements of your story’s social landscape—for example, real estate industry, office politics, sales contests, private lunch meetings, brotherhood of the oppressed, honor among thieves.

  Big picture

  A dramatic story addresses different topics as it unfolds in a series of events.

  11. Topics. Topics in a dramatic story are dramatized through such elements as character, plot, imagery, sound, dialogue, and action. List ten topics that your story addresses—for example, capitalism, greed, success, failure, manhood, revenge.