For Discussion:
Have each author share her collage and do a ten-minute presentation on her world to the group.
1. Have members of the group question the author on the details of the world. Try to fill in any blanks.
2. What is familiar about this world? What aspects of it do you relate to?
3. What is unfamiliar or foreign about this world? What aspects of it are outside the realm of your own experience?
4. What is most interesting or intriguing to you about this world?
5. How do you feel about this world? What would it be like for you to enter it?
6. If you were writing a scene set within this world, where would you begin?
LESSON 11: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE
Do the Beginner Exercise (without the discussion). Write a three- to five-page dialogue that is set within this world.
For Discussion:
Read the dialogues out loud to the group. Do not share the world notes or the collage with the group. Based on each dialogue, have members of the group try to answer the following questions:
1. What are the larger worlds that this world is a part of? What are the smaller worlds contained within this world? If these details weren't explicit, what in the script caused you to draw these conclusions?
2. Describe the setting and situation of this world. What is its time and place? Give a detailed description of what this world looks like. What do you see when you walk around this world? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you feel? What kinds of clothes are people wearing? How do people talk? What is the day-to-day activity of this world? If these details weren't explicit, what in the script caused you to draw these conclusions?
3. Who are the inhabitants of this world? Whom do you see when you walk around this world? What are they doing? If these details weren't explicit, what in the script caused you to draw these conclusions?
4. What defines status in this world? Who or what has the highest status? Who or what has the lowest? If these details weren't explicit, what in the script caused you to draw these conclusions?
5. What is the tone of this world? What emotions does it evoke? If these details weren't explicit, what in the script caused you to draw these conclusions?
6. Are there any special or unique rules that govern the way this world works? If these details weren't explicit, what in the script caused you to draw these conclusions?
7. Have each writer describe how the group's impressions matched his own intentions.
8. Were there any differences between what the writer intended and what the group inferred? If so, why?
9. Have each writer discuss how the exercise in creating the world inspired or infuenced the dialogue.
LESSON 11: SOLO EXERCISE
As a regular writer's workout, do the Beginner Exercise in this chapter. Create a permanent file for each world that you develop with this exercise. In the future, when you are working on scenes or full-length scripts, you can refer back to these files for setting ideas and inspiration.
CHRISSY: All my life I wanted to be somebody, but I see now that I should have been more specific.
—Jane Wagner (The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe)
LESSON TWELVE:
Populating the Scene
I
t's time to meet the characters in your scene. Who are they?
A character is a person, and — just as there is for a real person — there is a process for getting to know him. You meet him for the frst time; you get a frst impression. Then, as you spend more time with him, you become more intimate. You go to his house; you meet his family; you see what he likes to do for fun. You hang out with him in different situations and you learn things: whether he has a short temper, how much he drinks, what he likes to eat for breakfast. If you spend enough time with a character, you will be able to give as much detail about his life and personality as you could if you were talking about your best friend.
Just like real people, some characters will interest you more than others. These are the ones you should pursue and find out more about; these are the ones who will eventually end up in your scripts.
You should make notes on all the characters you start to develop. You never know where the characters will end up. You might create a minor character for an assignment and then find he takes on a life of his own to become the center of an entire script. A character who starts out as a sketchy and unusable idea for one project might find a full life in a different project.
As a writer, you must know as much as you possibly can about your characters. This process starts from the moment a character enters your consciousness. It intensifes as you start writing about him. It becomes a team effort when your script goes into production; even after that, it dwindles, but it doesn't stop. I'm still learning things about characters I wrote years ago.
LESSON 12: EXERCISE INTRODUCTION
For the exercises in this chapter, you are a spy. You are a top-level secret agent. Your assignment is to gather all the knowledge you can about your character. You will be sent on several missions. Through these missions, you will develop a character file for a particular character. This character file will contain two sections:
1. Field notes: Your field notes should include only behavior and facts that you have witnessed on your missions. Do not draw any conclusions. Do not say that “Bob loves his mother.” Instead, report on Bob's behavior toward his mother: He brings her flowers on her birthday, he calls her every night, he takes her out to the theater, etc. Do not say that “Elaine is secretly the parent of an illegitimate child.” Instead, report exactly what you observed or what document you uncovered that reveals that Elaine is the parent of an illegitimate child.
2. Profle reports: In this section, you should write up the conclusions that you have drawn about your character based on your observations. In particular, look for patterns of behavior that indicate an attitude about or relationship with a particular topic. Every conclusion must be linked to facts or observations that you have detailed somewhere in your field notes.
There are three secrets to being a successful secret agent:
1. Use detail. Take thorough notes on each mission; include as much detail as possible. Explain exactly what you saw and where you saw it. When you have completed your notes, go back and add more detail.
2. Be proactive. Your boss has sent you on a mission, but you're not limited to answering only the questions that the boss asks. Be proactive in digging for information. When you discover something interesting, unusual, or unexplained about the character, zero in on that fact and do further research. If necessary, create another mission for yourself that has the sole purpose of researching that fact.
3. Be creative. You are the world's best secret agent. You can gather information by any means necessary. You are not only an expert locksmith and a master of disguise, but you also have the ability to become invisible and to travel through time. You can break into buildings and dig through files. You can follow the character without being seen. You can observe any moment in the character's life. You can don a disguise and interview a character or his friends. (If you do an imaginary interview with a character or his friends, write it up word for word and put it in your feld notes.)
LESSON 12: BEGINNER EXERCISE
Go on Missions 1 through 4 below. As discussed in the exercise introduction, take feld notes and prepare a profile report.
• Mission 1: Research basic information about this character. Give his full name and nickname (if he has one). How old is this person? When and where was he born? Where does he live now? Does he live with other people, like friends or family? Who are the five most significant people in his life? What's his current job? What's his financial situation? What does he look like? Give a detailed physical description. Include any other facts that you think are relevant.
• Mission 2: Go to the character's house. Give a detailed description of the outside of the house. Break into the
house. Give a detailed description of each room. Your boss wants to know everything about the house. How are the rooms decorated? What's on the shelves? What's in the drawers? What food is in the pantry? What clothes are in the closet?
• Mission 3: Follow the character around for one week. List and describe in detail everywhere that the character goes. Identify everyone whom the character talks to.
• Mission 4: Find out about the character's history. Where is he from? What was his childhood like? What kind of education did he receive? Has he ever moved? If so, where and why? What have been the major turning points in the character's life?
For Discussion:
Based on your field notes and profile report, prepare a ten-minute presentation on your character for the group. What are the major conclusions that you have drawn about your character? What did you witness that led you to these conclusions? After the group has heard the report, discuss it.
1. What facts or aspects of the character does the group find the most interesting?
2. What facts or aspects of the character does the group findyou will develop a character surprising?
3. Based on the facts presented, what additional assumptions might be drawn about the character?
4. Based on the facts presented, does anyone in the group have a differing opinion on the character?
5. What questions about the character arise as a result of the presentation? If you were spying on this character, what information would you gather next?
LESSON 12: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE
Go on Missions 1 through 4 in the Beginner Exercise. In addition, pick four more missions from the list below:
• Mission 5: Go undercover and interview one or more of the people whom the character has talked to in the last week. Get each person talking about the character. Have each person tell you about his relationship with the character. How did they first meet? How long have they known each other? Do they have any interesting memories about the character? Any good stories? Transcribe this imaginary interview word for word.
• Mission 6: Go back to the character's hometown. Interview people from the character's childhood. (Some suggestions include the character's parents, the character's siblings, the character's grade school teacher, the character's high school sweetheart, and the character's best friend while he was growing up.) Get each of those people to tell you about their relationship with the character. How did they first meet? How long have they known each other? Do they have any interesting memories about the character? Any good stories? Are they still in touch with the character? If not, why?
• Mission 7: Go to each of the places that the character has lived. Interview people who knew him from those places. For example, if the character was in the Army, interview his best Army buddy and his commanding officer.
• Mission 8: Research and report on the character's religious education, beliefs, and practices. What was the character taught about God? What does the character think about God now? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 9: Research and report on the character's sense of ethics. It might be helpful to go to times and places where the character has faced an ethical dilemma and report on how he handled it. Has the character's sense of ethics undergone any significant changes over the course of his life? If so, when and why? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 10: Research and report on the character's financial situation, attitude about money, and spending habits. Has the character's financial situation, attitude about money, or spending habits undergone any significant changes over the course of his life? If so, when and why? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 11: Research and report on the character's social and political beliefs. Are there any social causes that the character fights for or believes in? Have the character's social and political beliefs undergone any significant changes over the course of his life so far? If so, when and why? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 12: Research and report on the relationship that the character has with each of the five most significant people in his life. Have those relationships undergone any significant changes over the course of his life so far? If so, when and why? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 13: Research and report on the character's hobbies and interests. What does he like to do in his free time? How and when did he first become interested in his hobby? How obsessive is he about it? How does it fit into the rest of his life? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 14: Research and report on the character's professional life. What is his job? How does he feel about his job? What do others think of him at work? How good is he at his job? What particular skills does the character bring to the job? Has the character's professional life undergone any significant changes since he started working? If so, when and why? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 15: Research and report on the character's relationship with his body. Does the character have any health problems or physical disabilities? Report on any particular physical indulgences, passions, or addictions (food, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc.). Has the character's relationship with his body changed over the course of his life so far? If so, when and why? Conduct interviews if necessary.
• Mission 16: Research and report on the character's status profile. In what situations does the character play high status? In what situations does the character play low status? How comfortable is the character in each status role? How effective is the character at taking on each status role? Has the character's status profile changed over the course of his life so far? If so, when and why? • Mission 17: Interview your character. Here are some suggested interview questions, but you should feel free to add your own: Describe your five most vivid memories. Describe the five most significant things that have happened to you in your life so far. What do you hope to accomplish within the next year? Type up the interview word for word and report on any conclusions that you draw.
For Discussion:
Based on your feld notes and profile report, prepare a ffteen- to twenty-minute presentation on your character to the group. What are the major conclusions that you have drawn about your character? What did you witness that led you to these conclusions? After the group has heard the report, discuss it.
1. What facts or aspects of the character does the group find the most interesting?
2. What facts or aspects of the character does the group find surprising?
3. Based on the facts presented, what additional assumptions might be drawn about the character?
4. Based on the facts presented, does anyone in the group have a differing opinion on the character?
5. What questions about the character arise as a result of the presentation? If you were spying on this character, what information would you gather next?
LESSON 12: SOLO EXERCISE
1. Conduct more research into your character. If you have discovered any fact that seems significant, unusual, or unexplained, create a new mission to research it. You can research any facet of your character that interests you. You might research your character's obsession with baseball, his fetish for women's feet, his television watching habits, or his secret stash of romance novels. To make your missions effective, try to stay focused on one topic at a time. In doing your research, examine not only the topic at this moment in the character's life, but also the character's history with the topic. Has his relationship with the topic ever changed? If so, when and why?
2. As a regular writer's workout, repeat the Beginner, Intermediate, and Solo Exercises for new characters that you develop. Create a permanent file for each character. In the future, when you are working on scenes or full-length scripts, you can refer back to these files for ideas and inspiration.
LESSON 12: SCRIPT ANALYSIS EXERCISE
NOTE: Beginning and intermediate writers should do this exercise with an established play or screenplay. See the Appendix for a list of suggestions. Advanced writers have the option of
bringing in their own material for analysis.
1. Have the group watch the same flm, attend the same play, or read the same script. Within that script, the group should agree on one central character to analyze.
2. After selecting the character, have each member of the group choose a different mission from the Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced Exercises presented in this lesson.
3. Have each member of the group prepare field notes and a profile report for his mission. One rule: While on your mission, you must limit yourself only to information contained within the script. Unlike the previous exercises, you cannot do interviews or jump into times, places, or scenes outside of the world of the script. You must limit yourself to observing only what the play or film presents.
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