Rewriting Your Script (Part 3): Characters
In November, upward to 1,000 writers — myself included — took a crack at pounding out a script as part of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Many of them reached FADE OUT / THE END. They’re probably like me, staring at my 86 pages of diamonds-in-the-rough amidst pages and pages of verbal manure pondering this question: How the hell do I rewrite this mess?
So I thought it would be helpful to do a GITS series on the rewrite process.
The first thing to acknowledge is that the same thing applies to rewriting as to writing: If there is no right way to write, there is no right way to rewrite. Every writer is different. Every story is different. And every rewrite is different.
That said, this week and next, I will lay out some keys to the rewriting process. If they help you, great. Use them with my blessing. If they don’t help you, feel free to chuck them… and find your own way.
But know this: Starting January 1, I invite you to join me in Rewrite Draft Thirty One: 31 days devoted to rewriting an original script. Hashtag: #RW31SCRIPT.
I will be hacking my way through my zero draft. If you have a draft from the recent ZD30 challenge or any script in need of revision regardless of its origin, mark your calendar. Take part in a communal effort to take our stories to the next level in this time-defined challenge.
Part 3: Characters
After your clean read, it’s time to go back through your draft again. And again. And again. Four aspect on which you can focus: Characters. Themes. Structure. Pace. Today let’s talk about characters.
We are not talking about novels, we are talking about screenplays. As screenwriters, we have no more than 120 pages within which to introduce and handle a cast of characters, manage a Plotline and numerous subplots, explore the Themeline, and hope that in the end we have told a whacking good story. Unlike a novelist, we don’t have the freedom to go off for 20 pages, veering into the backstory of a character because a script averages just 60 scenes from FADE IN to FADE OUT. As screenwriters we are forced to focus our characters and their respective narrative functions simply to survive the relentless push forward from P. 1 to P. 2 to P. 3 and so on.
Therefore every character in a script must have a reason to exist. Each character must influence the attitudes and actions of other characters. Each character must contribute directly to the advancement of the plot.
Thus a key consideration when rewriting a script is to determine the following: What is this character’s narrative function?
If you can’t figure that out, you have some work to do. If you can figure it out, then you have another question to ask: How does this character’s narrative function fit in with all the other characters?
Determining a character’s narrative function may seem reductionist in nature… and it is, but in a unique way. You are not diminishing the uniqueness of a character, but rather identifying their core essence. Everything about them — backstory, world view, personality, voice, habits, beliefs — should be identifiably tied to their core essence.
What exactly is core essence? It is that critical aspect of a character’s being that defines who they are. It is a foundational part of their persona, that which lies at the center of the psyche, and it can only be found inside the character, their Internal World.
Any writer who has engaged in even a small measure of character development will have dealt with these type of questions: What is driving this character? What do they want? What do they need? What is it they fear most? What lies at the base of who they are? We take all those queries and address them to the major characters in our story, and if we keep drilling into them, we discover their core essence. In a screenplay, their core essence is directly connected to their narrative function.
We see this clearly when dealing with the five primary character archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster:
Protagonist: Almost always the central character in the movie. It is their goal, their journey that creates the spine of the Plotline.
Nemesis: The Nemesis provides an antagonist function in that they work in opposition to the Protagonist. Generally their goal is the same as the Protagonist or involves the same elements, only the Nemesis has a different intent in mind.
Attractor: Oftentimes a romance figure, the Attractor is an ally, one most intimately connected with the Protagonist’s emotional growth.
Mentor: Typically a teaching figure, the Mentor is an ally most directly connected with the Protagonist’s intellectual development.
Trickster: Often a sidekick character, the Trickster tests the Protagonist’s will, shifting from ally to enemy, back and forth.
For purposes of shorthand:
- Protagonist: Hero
- Nemesis: The Protagonist’s Shadow
- Attractor: The Protagonist’s Heart
- Mentor: The Protagonist’s Head
- Trickster: The Protagonist’s Will
Each character tied to the Protagonist and his/her metamorphosis, this narrative archetype common to almost all stories.
After your clean read, I suggest you focus on characters. They are the heart, blood, body and soul of your story. The more you engage them, understand them, and see the story universe through each of their eyes, the more they will inform you what the story is and should be about.
Tomorrow: Themes.
DON’T FORGET! Starting January 1, you are welcome to join me in #RW31SCRIPT, a month-long challenge to rewrite an original script from FADE IN to FADE OUT. Who’s with me? If you’re into it, join the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook page here.