THIS IS A LONG ONE YA’LL. But I’m super proud of it, so I hope you will keep reading!!!
I became interested in screenwriting while working for an LA film production company. One of the owners was a writer, and the other two partners were producers. Loved those guys.
I remember my interview over lunch at this lovely Italian restaurant called Panevino. Within weeks it became my go-to Friday night hang. I met so many amazing people there. It was my “Cheers” and the owner, who I typically sat next to at the bar to eat dinner, was great about introducing his regulars. Yes! I was a proud regular. Great food. Great company.
Many a night I found myself sandwiched between Mr. Clarence Williams and Mr. Billy Dee Williams, two pioneering African American actors who came to fame in the ’70s, paving the way for many to follow. Clarence, aka Linc from the “Mod Squad” was one of the first black actors to hit primetime TV. And here I am, this kid from 2nd Street in Palmyra NJ, chopping it up with our black Hollywood royalty! Go figure.
I recall one evening, craving a pork chop. (Which wasn’t on the menu.) I mentioned it to Clarence. He told me to grab my purse and off we went to a restaurant a few doors down so I could get my pork chop. (Which may or may not have been on the menu there, but it was for him! And I appreciated it! Yum.) He didn’t appear to like too many people, so I was flattered to be one of the few.
One night Jamie Foxx approached Billy and me at the bar to introduce himself. (Not to me, to Billy!) I saw and met so many folks! From Debbie Reynolds to Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) to Bernadette Stanis (Thelma from Good Times!) you never knew whom you might see or meet. At Panevino, I was constantly surrounded by creative people, and it was truly inspiring.
I had recently started writing, but it wasn’t until after I started that job that I start taking screenwriting classes at UCLA. I also attended workshops at the DGA. (Directors Guild of America) It was at one of those workshops, I heard writer/director Nancy Meyers speak. I LOVED her films. (I’ve mentioned her in numerous posts, I’m sure.) But it was right there at the DGA, I decided, that’s who I wanted to be! The black Nancy Meyers. (Writing scripts where grown people of color fall in love.)
At first, I was just writing, but then I started gobbling up every screenwriting book ever published and taking classes so that I could have a better understanding of what made a script great! Of course, the answer is story! Great characters and great stories make great films.
During these classes, I learned some of the formulas used by screenwriters and how a screenplay should be structured. I learned about acts and beats! But something else that I learned was unexpected. In order to write a good script, create compelling and believable characters, you really needed to know a little about psychology. It was something I had never studied, and I found it fascinating. In order to understand what made your characters tick; you needed to understand people. (And yourself!)
I realized, that in every story I had written, I was a piece of one of the main characters. What was even crazier was in one of the first classes that I took on structure, the very first script that I had completed (completely ignorant to anything structure-related) fit exactly into the proper structure. I thought to myself at that time, “Wow, you might be a natural!” I was so excited and truly believed this was what I was supposed to be doing!
I finally got up the nerve to tell my boss (The one that was actually a produced writer.) that I had been writing. You could say I was in the writing closet up to that point. He asked to read something, and I printed and posted his response on my monitor! It said, “You’re a good writer! Keep going!” I was so encouraged that I started writing and studying every day!
But, the purpose of this post is to share a little bit about what I learned about characters (And, myself, along the way!) in the writing process.
I recently revisited some of my scripts and some of my study materials. I realized that reviewing them was actually helping me to think about my own story. Not a fictional story. My life story!
So, of course, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. I’m hoping I’m only in the middle of mine, but really, none of us really knows how close to the end of our story that we might be! But what I learned that I find fascinating is this:
In a screenplay, the story usually starts with the appearance of satisfaction and completeness for the character. But, then something happens. This is called the inciting incident.
An inciting incident is usually an event that sets our character on a journey. It usually involves some newfound realization and creates questions. (Similar to the realization for me lately that I find myself back on the treadmill of life and going nowhere. Treadmill 101: Moving is great, so long as you are moving forward. Steps are great, so long as you are moving forward. On a treadmill, you are moving. But you ain’t going a damn place!) In any event, back to the inciting incident in storytelling.
Definition of the Inciting Incident in a Story:
The inciting incident is an event in a story that upsets the character’s status quo and begins the story’s movement, either in a positive way or negative, that culminates in the climax.
The incident interrupts the so-called “normal” life. It threatens to change the character’s life in an impactful way. Sometimes, like in my case, your desires can interrupt you and become urgent. It might be all the incitement you need! The story might start with a character lacking something. (fulfillment perhaps) The character is yearning for more. But often, something else happens that forces them to act!
What usually follows is a bunch of conflicts! The character, like most of us, faces difficult choices and painful consequences throughout the story. When written well, the character reminds the viewer of their own lives and their own journeys.
The conflicts are often tied to values. Examples of values in conflict might be Life vs. Death, Good vs. Evil, Love vs. Hate, Accomplishment vs. Failure!!! (Ding! Ding! Ding!) That one hits home. But, the list goes on.
Okay, so there is typically a tangible goal (Such as a promotion at work.) combined with an unmet need that is usually standing between the character and the goal. (Like you’re an asshole and your boss hates you because you’re an asshole.) But why are you are an asshole is the question?????
Inner motivation is the unmet need or the deep longing for something, while the goal is the outer motivation. There is typically a conflict between the inner and outer which is the core of storytelling.
The outer motivation might involve other characters or forces opposing the character. Of course, sometimes those forces are actually the character himself. (Or herself. Like being an asshole, but not knowing why you’re such an asshole!)
Often, the character starts out being motivated by fear. As writers, we are taught to have a clear understanding of the unresolved trauma and pain our characters need to face and move beyond.
These wounds dictate their behavior, how they view the world and themselves, what they think, and the decisions they might make. The wounds create false beliefs. Once we know the lie or the false belief, we understand what the character needs to learn in our story in order to change.
The character’s journey from broken to wholeness is something that most of us can identify with because we are all a tad broken. Something in our past (usually our childhood) is at the root of our fears and insecurities.
Very few escape childhood or their formative years without scars. And not the kind of scar you got when you fell off your bike and landed on the kickstand and the kickstand stuck in your shin leaving a gaping hole still visible 50 years later. (Don’t stare at my shin when you see me. That really happened!) I’m talking scars that might not be visible. You don’t see the scars. What you see are the effects the scars have had on the character.
Our backstories can alter who we are. Whether a single event or repeated episodes like emotional or physical abuse or bullying, these wounds can damage our self-esteem. (I mean, our character’s self-esteem!) It can change how they see the world and determine how they interact with others. (Like whether they’re an asshole!) In writing, the resulting trauma is usually hiding behind some false belief. This is what we call THE LIE.
The lie is a conclusion reached using some flawed logic. (Not to be confused with Fox News) People process painful events in different ways. Typically, when things happen to us, we try to make sense of them. In doing, so we often turn on ourselves and end up asking ourselves, why did I? Why didn’t I? Which usually leads to self-blame or the belief if we had just made a different choice, or paid better attention, or not trusted……..
So what do we do? (I meant, what do our characters do?) They decide there must be something wrong with them. As a result, this affects the character’s self-worth. They conclude that they are somehow to blame. (They might think to themselves, what did they do to not deserve a mother at such a young age? Or a mate. Or a fulfilling career. Or eyebrows!)
So the lie emerges, deeply affecting the character in almost every aspect of the character’s life. The lie plants seeds of doubt, which then grow wild, fertilized by the character’s fears and insecurities. Until the character recognizes the lie, the lie keeps him or her from achieving some goal in the story. Once that false belief is shattered, the character will usually find happiness and achieve the goal in the story.
Long lesson right? So, you ready to write a screenplay?
So, I started thinking about my own false beliefs and how they might be affecting my life story! I’ve tried many things and I get so close to success I can smell it. I just never seem to cross the finish line, so perhaps I need to examine the reasons why. It is certainly not because I don’t know connected individuals. If it’s just about “who” you know, I’ve known some folks! But only one or two has EVER read my screenplays. And why is that? Hmmmm I wonder. If you guessed fear and insecurity, you get the prize. (There is no actual prize!)
I started to wonder about what lies I’ve told myself that might be holding me back and keeping me from achieving my own goals.
No one is immune to psychological trauma and pain. No one is a stranger to fear, whether it’s rational or not. Our fears feed on our insecurities and our insecurities are often a result of our fear. Vicious damn cycle!
Sometimes we construct an emotional shield or a wall between us, and any situation that might result in pain. (aka rejection??? “Like, your screenplay sucks!”) This emotional armor is about avoidance. But that emotional wall, just like an actual wall, not only keeps bad things out. It also keeps good things out!
A wounding event (or events) can influence a character deeply. Carrying a false belief can cause us (I meant the character!) to become stuck. It can cause us to view the world through a filter of fear. We avoid hurt by playing it safe. We also avoid success, by playing it safe. Avoidance keeps our characters from feeling anything deeply but also limits opportunities for fulfillment and true happiness.
At some point (like now!) there’s a sense of something missing that needs addressing, but fear holds me back. (I meant fear holds the character back!)
Unmet needs and strong desires, however, CAN possess the power to push the character to act. Unmet needs can make life seem intolerable. They can also become a strong motivator to push a character to grow and evolve despite their fears.
Something is missing! So we, I mean the character, feels compelled to figure it out and fix it. Change isn’t easy. It can be painful and avoiding that pain keeps us in a safe place, behind our walls. We settle for less and stay in our comfort zones. The only problem is, “Life begins just outside of your comfort zone.”
This journey of change in writing is called the character’s arc. At the heart of most stories, the arc is the transformation of the character from the beginning to the end of the story.
During the story, the character usually undergoes the internal evolution allowing them to be free of the wounds of their past, leading to fulfillment and achieving the story goal.
The therapist I once saw (When I could afford it! Yes, a mental health post is coming soon!) said, “We cling to what is familiar no matter how painful or unhealthy because of fear.” We fear change. Of course, she then broke down my daddy and caretaker issues. I didn’t get enough childhood apparently. And with a sick mother, I became the parent. As a result, I don’t know how to let others take care of me. I attract folks that need caring for. (Or who aren’t capable or interested in taking care of my ass.) It’s familiar to me. But that’s a whole other post! I will simply call that one “Issues!” and some of us have more of those than Time Magazine!
The bottom line is as a writer and a character in my own story, I can change the story at any time. The keyword there is CHANGE. Once you figure out what your wounds are, what the lie is you’ve been telling yourself, you CAN change your story. Or, at least how it ends. You can’t rewrite your backstory, but you can tear that page out. Its purpose was to tell us how we got where we are. You don’t need it to get to where you want to go.
So, go ahead and write a surprise ending! And write one your audience never saw coming! A HAPPY ENDING. AND, once you identify and heal the wound, you CAN achieve your goals!
Just like in the movies!
“Don’t let yesterday steal today and tomorrow.” ~ Kavon
