StoryNotesNewsletter

ISSUE #1:

THE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR PROTAGONISTS & SCREENWRITERS

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And now: here's a topic not covered in any screenwriting book.

I noticed this pattern after having studied various "goal
achievement" programs, books, and tapes some years ago, and then
began seeing many of the recommended steps in numerous movies ...
in fact, in most of them, once I started to pay attention to this.
I then spent some time studying quite a few films with this concept
in mind. This article is the result.


DISCOVER THE

* * * * K E Y S T O S U C C E S S * * * *

HIDDEN IN ALMOST EVERY HOLLYWOOD MOVIE!


WHAT WORKS FOR YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS

CAN WORK FOR YOU AND YOUR CAREER


There's a little-known sub-structure in many movies. This
near-secret can be of great value in fleshing out your main
characters and developing your plot. Once aware of it, a writer
can use it to add vitality and dimension to a screenplay.
Most writers apply this knowledge subconsciously: it's been
absorbed via osmosis from having seen and read so many stories in
which it's been employed.

IT'S NOT ABOUT PLOT POINTS

It isn't about act breaks or turning points. It does, however,
concern character and action, and thus it affects both
plot and characterization. In addition, it can become a kind of
second-level theme.
It's an old (but flexible) formula. It goes back to the Greek
Epic poems about heroes like Odysseus.
Hollywood grabbed it in the silent days. You can even see it
in some of the Disney short-story cartoons of the mid-1930s.
It serves as an underpinning for probably three-fourths of the
mainstream movies made today.

A RECIPE FOR UNDERDOGS

What is this formula? It's almost a recipe, really. It's a
recipe for success, used – generally without planning, without
being fully conscious of it – by nearly every outmatched main
character who is up against a horrendous problem, trying to achieve
an immensely difficult goal, and/or pitted against a powerful
opponent.

Which is a good way to describe the fundamental situation in
the great majority of movies.

About three-fourths of Hollywood movies go something like
this: an outmatched character (or pair, or team) struggles against
steep, sometimes overwhelming odds towards an important but
difficult goal.
Most of the time, the main character, couple, or team is
successful.
If we stop to think, we might wonder, "How *can* such an
outmatched character prevail against such odds? How can they
succeed at all, much less in a believable, acceptable manner? How
to make the victory both satisfying and credible?"
These are important questions. Knowing the answers to them is
critical to good storytelling.

WHY WE WATCH MOVIES

Audiences don't want the reason for success to be luck. Or
coincidence. It's not satisfying. And it's not helpful.
Audiences want to see a solution which can, in some way, be of
use. Because being helpful is, after all, one of the attractions
of movies.
Besides providing an emotional experience, one reason we watch
movies is to see interesting people solve difficult life problems,
and to see them change as a result of this.
Perhaps we, too, are capable of change, we think. Perhaps,
even though our problems are different, we can follow some of the
same steps, and solve some of *our* difficult problems.

And we are right. We *can* apply some of what protagonists do
to our own lives.
Let me repeat: we enjoy movies for several reasons. To have
an emotional experience. To "escape" or to undergo vicarious
experiences. To see people change, and get an inkling of how they do
it. And *to see how significant life problems are solved and
how dreams can be realized.*

NO "DEUS EX MACHINA"
SOLUTIONS

Therefore, we don't want to see luck as a key factor. Luck
(or coincidence) is not in our control; it's not reliable.
Nor do we want the central character to be saved by others; we
know when we seek to solve tough problems and achieve difficult
goals in our own lives, rarely will someone come riding to the
rescue.

Luck, Coincidence, and Rescuing Protectors are all modern-day
equivalents of a "Deus ex Machina." That's a Latin phrase for "God
from a machine," a dramatic device in some Greek and Roman plays in
which a God or Goddess would descend from a crane-pulley-rope
contraption, and then enter the scene and solve the problem.
Audiences hated it. It was a cheat. Then and now, we want to
see the protagonists be primarily responsible for their success (or
lack of it). Because we'll admire them more for it. And maybe we
can *learn* from them.

WHAT'S AN UNDERDOG TO DO?

So ... that leaves us back at square one. How *can*
outmatched central characters overcome great odds and overwhelming
opposition? In a manner that is both believable and possibly even
helpful to the viewer?
It turns out there is a kind of success paradigm in many
movies. It's a "Recipe for Success," if you will. A recipe that
is believable and helpful. Another way to describe it would be as
a Model for Goal Achievement and Problem Solving. In fact, *it is a
model we as writers can also use to achieve success in our careers!*

So what *is* this Design for Success? It's a list of
attitudes and actions. It's a set of character traits and problem-
and goal-related behaviors. Not all of them need be used. Their
order is completely flexible. Some will usually be given more
emphasis than others. And here's some good news ....

YOU KNOW MOST OF IT ALREADY

Chances are you have subconsciously absorbed much of this and
will already have incorporated many of its steps in your present
outline or first draft.
But by studying these steps and attitudes – becoming
consciously aware of them – you may find one or two you *didn't*
use. Then ask yourself, "Can I add an incident or a scene in which
this step can be utilized, or change an existing scene to include
it? If so, will it harm my story, or help it?"
If the answer is that it helps your story, then a conscious
knowledge of this list will have paid off; your story will be that
much stronger.

Here it is. A flexible formula that doesn't guarantee, but
makes much more likely the solving of thorny problems, and the
achieving of difficult goals. You can use it for your
protagonists. And you can use it for yourself.

THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

1 -- GOAL

Have a well-defined goal. Without a goal that is clear and
specific, the chances for success diminish greatly.

2 -- STRONG MOTIVATION

Be strongly motivated. A difficult goal must be supported by
a fierce desire and compelling reasons. Otherwise the goal will be
abandoned during the uphill struggle and the ordeal.

3 -- TOTAL COMMITMENT

Be fully committed. This is a necessary psychological state
to weather the storms ahead. No "trying" allowed. Complete
determination is needed: "This is what I intend. I WILL do it."

4 -- PLAN

Come up with a good plan. Without a well-considered plan (but
flexible if it needs revising), a person merely muddles through.
Working hard is not enough; we must also work smart.

5 -- PERSISTENCE

Be intensely persistent. There will be setbacks. There will
be times we are discouraged and depressed. As soon as we give up,
it's all over. Persistence keeps us in the running.

6 -- WITS

Use your head; be clever. A person doesn't always need to be
well-educated or a genius. But we must use whatever brains we have
to try to solve the problem and to out-think our opponents. We
must be resourceful, maybe even tricky. Creative thinking and
ingenuity can be crucial to success.

7 -- SUFFERING

Be willing to endure pain. The uphill path is strewn with
obstacles, setbacks, and confrontations; physical and emotional
pain will be encountered. It's part of the price for victory.

8 -- STRENGTH AND SKILLS

Whatever you have, use it. Even if a person is weak and
incapacitated, there will be times when that limited strength must
be employed to the utmost. Any special skills or knowledge must
also be remembered and employed.

9 -- ASSISTANCE

Seek or accept help when needed. When the opposition
overwhelms, few can go it totally alone. Self-reliance is
necessary and admirable, but we show strength when we compensate
for our weaknesses by enlisting an ally or two.

10 -- MAXIMUM EFFORT

Give it all you've got. Being fully committed is a
psychological decision; this is the action phase. For difficult
tasks, a half-hearted effort won't do. One who is outmatched must
strain to give a total, 100% effort. If not at first or all the
time, at least some of the time – and especially toward the end,
and whenever it really counts.

11 -- MORAL FACTOR

Listen to your conscience. If we violate our inner-voice,
part of our mind will work against us, and will often trip us up.
We may alienate our allies, as well. When an evil person triumphs,
it's usually one without a conscience. Those who have one and
continue to ignore it, jeopardize their chances for success.

12 -- COURAGE

Summon up physical or emotional courage. We must be willing
to be laughed at. We must risk failure. And sometimes even our
lives. Fear is inevitable. To continue despite our fears requires
courage. We may not have known it was there, but to be successful,
we must summon it. Success requires courage.

* * *

There it is. It's a common-sense list, when you think about
it. There's nothing startling here, nor any one thing which, by
itself, is profound.
But it's the combination of these actions and attributes that
can transform the difficult into the possible. For your characters
... for any person struggling with a difficult problem, task, or
goal ... and for a struggling screenwriter, trying to master the
craft and attain success.

Furthermore: incorporating this paradigm – this list of
problem- and goal-related traits and action steps – can make a
huge difference to your story; it can enrich and improve it
immensely. Appropriately applied, this can provide not just added
credibility, but additional variety and vigor – even while
serving, almost subliminally, as a behavioral model for all who
seek to solve big problems and achieve difficult goals. In short,
it can help your story, and it can help those reading or viewing
it as well.

This may turn out to be just as important to story theory as
"Beginning, Middle, and End with two or three major turning
points."
This doesn't supplant that structure, or any other kind of
structure. Rather, it enhances structure; it's a potentially
valuable complement to story theme and story structure.

Now let's look at each step of the Recipe for Success in more
detail. We'll concentrate more specifically on how it relates to
your main character, to real-life people in general, and also to
you as a screenwriter.


(TO BE CONTINUED ...)

(End of Part 1; see Issues 2-4)
(#2 will be sent tomorrow)


Copyright Jeff Newman, 2000


For information about Jeff Newman's "StoryNotes Screenplay
Evaluation Service," go to www.storynotes.net.