“In the end something has changed”

“In the end something has changed. If nothing has changed, it isn’t a story.”

Author Malcolm Cowley’s observation rings true. And something to bear in mind from micro to macro, scene to story.

In a story, things happen. Characters are forced to respond to those events. Invariably this creates a shift in perspective on their part. In turn that alters how they respond. In so doing, they make something else happen. And the endless loop of cause and effect continues, one scene to the next, one plot point to the next.

At each point, change. We add up all of those incremental changes, by the end of the story we have a big change, what we can call metamorphosis.

So as you pound out your first draft, always keep an eye on change. Who is changing? How are they changing? Is change happening? Why is it happening?

Remember:

“In the end something has changed.”

I encourage you to head to comments to discuss today’s questions. And for a related discussion on The Black Board, check out these topics:

• Does the protagonist go through a metamorphosis?
• Externalizing your character’s inner change
• The importance of the protagonist
• Protagonist change
• What if my protagonist doesn’t change?

The Quest” has entered Week 22! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s a 24-week immersion in the screenwriting process and you can do it here — for free!

Today and every Monday through Friday for 10 weeks, I’ll use this slot to post something inspirational as GOYOQ participants pound out their first drafts.

Why not use the structure of this 24-week workshop to Go On Your Own Quest? That was an idea that gathered energy among many members of the GITS community which I described here.

For more information on Go On Your Own Quest, go here.

Plus you can join The Black Board, the Official Online Writing Community of the Black List and Go Into The Story, another free resource to help keep you inspired and on target at you Go On Your Own Quest from FADE IN to FADE OUT on the first draft of your original screenplay.

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