The Indy 500 is fun because there are other cars on the road. Basketball is exciting because there are other players on the court. Just like in NASCAR or in the NBA, in the theater, audience members delight in watching characters maneuver through obstacles. As an audience, we ride along with characters on their shifting playing field. We hold our breath as characters juggle a kaleidoscope of competing forces. All of this creates exhilaration, drama, and suspense. What will happen? Which way will she go? What will he sacrifice? What will she do in the face of that problem? Which choice will he make in this difficult situation? How will they get out of this mess?
When confronted with competing forces, a character must maneuver. He might change course to accommodate both forces. He might stall out in a moment of paralysis. He might sacrifice one force in favor of another. It is this movement and change that creates the twists and bends in a plot.
The lesson for authors is this: To control your plot, do not try to control your characters. Instead, try to control the balance of forces acting on your characters. If you do this deftly, the characters will maneuver completely on their own. It's as if you are playing one of those marble-in-a-maze games: If you tilt the toy in the right direction, the marble will move where you want it to go (without you ever having to touch it).
When authors do this well, the twists and bends in the script feel natural and organic. The plot seems to move on its own. Characters’ choices make sense and their problems are as real to us as our own. When authors do this badly, the twists and bends in the script feel clumsy and arbitrary. The characters’ choices make no sense and their problems seem manufactured or trivial. One becomes aware of the heavy hand of the author trying to steer the script and doing it badly.
The difference between bad writing, good writing, and great writing is the degree to which authors successfully focus, juggle, weave in, and manipulate multiple forces within a script to move their characters forward through the story. Take a look at the difference between Howard the Duck (a bad script), Die Hard (a good script), and The Godfather (voted one of the best screenplays of all time).
Howard the Duck is a disorganized mess. Without consistent dominant forces driving the characters, the script heads off in random directions. Die Hard, on the other hand, is a good script. The forces underlying the action are not complicated or multifaceted, but they are clear and consistent. A few dominant forces drive the characters through the entire film. The result is a focused and hard-hitting action movie.
The difference between Die Hard and The Godfather is not the quality of the experience; it is the sophistication of the writing. While Die Hard surfs on a few clear dominant forces, The Godfather weaves a kaleidoscope of forces into its plot. There are dominant forces, but there are also a myriad of other, subtler forces acting on each character in every moment. Screenwriters Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola expertly use those forces to give depth and dimension to the characters. This allows the plot to move in multiple dimensions. It is a personal story. It is a political story. It is a moral story.
LESSON 17: SCRIPT ANALYSIS EXERCISE
Have the group attend the same play or watch the same movie. (See the Appendix for a list of suggestions.) Pick the most powerful or interesting dialogue scene. Review that scene with the group.
For Discussion:
1. What are the forces acting on each character at the beginning of the scene?
2. Which forces are dominant? Which are not?
3. Do the forces come into conflict? When? How?
4. How do the forces shift as a result of the conflict? Are any goals achieved? Are any desires sacrificed? Do any new wants appear?
5. Can you identify the exact moment of the shift? If so, how did you identify it?
6. What are the forces acting on each character at the end of the scene?
7. How do the forces at the end of the scene propel each character into the remainder of the story?
LESSON 17: BEGINNER EXERCISE
1. Go to a clothing store or flip through a clothing catalogue. Pick out two completely different outfits. Imagine the characters who might wear them. Where are they? What is their relationship?
2. Now, while imagining the characters in that context, write down a list of at least three forces acting on each character.
3. Using that list of forces, write a three- to five-page scene between the two characters. Look for opportunities for the forces to come into conflict with each other. Look for opportunities to create shifts in the balance of forces.
For Discussion
Review each scene with the group.
1. Can you identify the three forces acting on each character?
2. Which forces are dominant? Which are not?
3. Do those forces come into conflict? When? How?
4. How do the forces shift as a result of the conflict? Are any goals achieved? Are any desires sacrificed? Do any new wants appear?
5. Can you identify the exact moment of the shift? If so, how did you identify it?
6. Have each author discuss the process of weaving the multiple forces into the script. Was the task difficult or easy? Were some forces easier to include than others? Did the addition of multiple forces open up new dramatic opportunities or ideas?
LESSON 17: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE
1. Pick any holiday (e.g., Christmas, Passover, Arbor Day). Write down a list of three characters who might be celebrating that holiday together.
2. Now, while imagining the characters in that context, write down a list of at least five forces acting on each character during the celebration.
3. Using that list of forces, write a five- to seven-page scene between the three characters. Look for opportunities for the forces to come into conflict with each other. Look for opportunities to create shifts in the balance of forces.
For Discussion:
Review each scene with the group.
1. Can you identify the five forces acting on each character?
2. Which forces are dominant? Which are not?
3. Do those forces come into conflict? When? How?
4. How do the forces shift as a result of the conflict? Are any goals achieved? Are any desires sacrificed? Do any new wants appear?
5. Can you identify the exact moment of the shift? If so, how did you identify it?
6. Have each author discuss the process of weaving the multiple forces into the script. Was the task difficult or easy? Were some forces easier to include than others? Did the addition of multiple forces open up new dramatic opportunities or ideas?
LESSON 17: SOLO EXERCISE
1. Brainstorm a list of forces. You can draw from your own experience, asking yourself, “What are the forces that act upon me in my own life?” You can also draw from the world of fiction and drama (What are the forces acting upon Hamlet?)
2. Write each force down on an individual index card. Begin the description of each force with the phrase “Wants to…” or “Needs to…” Try to gather at least fifteen different forces. When describing the forces, try to keep the terms generic enough that they could apply to any character. Here's a small sample set:
• Needs to murder an authority figure
• Wants a nap
• Wants respect
• Wants to get a puppy
• Needs a new car
3. Once you have made your index cards, draw three cards out of the hat. This will be the mix of forces acting upon Character A. Choose one to be the dominant force.
4. Draw three more cards out of the hat. This will be the mix of forces acting upon Character B. Choose one to be the dominant force.
5. Write a three- to five-page scene between Character A and Character B. Look for opportunities for the forces to come into conflict with each other. Look for opportunities to create shifts in the balance of forces.
6. As an ongoing writer's workout, keep adding to your index card file of forces and repeat this exercise on a regular basis.
ILSA
: But what about us?
RICK: We'll always have Paris.
—Casablanca (1942)
LESSON EIGHTEEN:
Ending the Scene
E
ach character enters the scene with a dominant force — something that drives him to this place at this time. There is something that the character wants or needs and he is here, in this scene, to get it. But there are problems. There are other forces at work in the scene. These forces might come from other characters, they might come from the situation, or they might come from an internal need or drive. Wherever they come from, these forces require the character to twist and maneuver in pursuit of his goal. A king must pass a sentence of execution on a traitor, but that traitor is his beloved brother. A husband and wife must negotiate a divorce settlement, but their six-year-old daughter is playing in the same room and they do not want to upset her. A man wants to ask a coworker out on a date, but the man's boss hovers outside his office door. All of these situations create competing forces for a character to navigate.
So, you start writing a scene. You create a dominant force for each character. You make sure that there are competing forces for each character. You deftly slalom your characters through the crosscurrents of desires and goals. But how do you end the scene? When is it over?
When we talk about scenes of dialogue, we are referring to something different than film or theater scenes. In dialogue, the ending of the scene doesn't necessarily have anything to do with changing a location or time. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the lights going down in the theater or a blackout on the screen. It's true that these things often coincide with the ending of a scene, but it's not necessarily set in stone. Films are full of examples of one dialogue scene getting broken up across multiple locations or times. Even some plays will break dialogue scenes into multiple fragments of performance.
Regardless of locations, times, and blackouts, from the dialogue writer's point of view, the scene is over when one of the forces wins. When one of the many competing forces outmaneuvers or overpowers the others and accomplishes its goal for the scene, the scene is finished. A shift has occurred. A new status quo is established. The script can now move forward with a new balance of forces. These new forces will propel the characters into the remainder of the story. They will force the characters into different actions and unexplored territory.
By introducing, evolving, and then resolving the competing forces within a scene, you give the scene a basic structure: beginning, middle, and end. The scene begins as the dominant forces are introduced. It passes through its middle as the competing forces maneuver for position. It reaches its end when one force wins out over the others.
LESSON 18: SCRIPT ANALYSIS EXERCISE
NOTE: Beginning and intermediate writers should do this analysis exercise on a script with a traditional linear structure. The scenes should flow forward in time, one logically to the other. Advanced writers can try this analysis exercise on a script with a nontraditional or nonlinear structure. See the Appendix for a list of suggestions.
Have the group watch the same film or attend the same play. Get copies of the script. Have each member of the group review the script on her own and:
1. Mark the beginning and end of each dialogue scene.
2. At the beginning of each dialogue scene, briefly describe the forces at work in the scene.
3. At the end of each dialogue scene, make a note to describe which force has won the scene.
For Discussion:
1. Go through the script scene by scene. Is the group in agreement on where each scene begins and ends? If not, why?
2. Discuss the forces at work at the beginning and end of each dialogue scene.
a) At the beginning: Which forces are dominant? Which are not?
b) At the end: Which force has won the scene? How do you know? Can you point to a particular moment in the scene when the force dominated? Were any new forces added? Were any forces sacrificed?
3. How do you think the audience's perception has shifted from the beginning of the scene to the end? Does the audience leave the scene with different knowledge, assumptions, or expectations than when it started?
LESSON 18: BEGINNER EXERCISE
Write a three- to five-page scene between two characters. Use what you have learned about the introduction, competition, and resolution of forces to give your scene a beginning, a middle, and an end.
For Discussion:
Review the scenes with the group.
1. Discuss the forces at work at the beginning and end of each dialogue scene.
At the beginning: Which forces are dominant? Which are not?
At the end: Which force has won the scene? How do you know? Can you point to a particular moment in the scene when the force dominated? Were any new forces added? Were any forces sacrificed?
2. How do you think the audience's perception has shifted from the beginning of the scene to the end? Does the audience leave the scene with different knowledge, assumptions, or expectations than when it started?
3. Look at the middle of the scene. When and where did conflicting forces cause twists and bends in the plot of the scene?
4. If you were an audience member, in what way(s) would you identify with the forces acting on each character? What feelings would the scene provoke?
LESSON 18: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE
Write a five- to seven-page scene between four characters. Use what you have learned about the introduction, competition, and resolution of forces to give your scene a beginning, a middle, and an end.
For Discussion:
1. Discuss the forces at work at the beginning and end of each dialogue scene.
a) At the beginning: Which forces are dominant? Which are not?
b) At the end: Which force has won the scene? How do you know? Can you point to a particular moment in the scene when the force dominated? Were any new forces added? Were any forces sacrificed?
2. How do you think the audience's perception has shifted from the beginning of the scene to the end? Does the audience leave the scene with different knowledge, assumptions, or expectations than when it started?
3. Look at the middle of the scene. When and where did conflicting forces cause twists and bends in the plot of the scene?
4. If you were an audience member, in what way(s) would you identify with the forces acting on each character? What feelings would the scene provoke?
LESSON 18: SOLO EXERCISE
1. Create two original characters. Imagine them at the beginning of a scene. Who are they? Where are they? What are they doing? What are the dominant forces acting on each character? What are the smaller forces acting on them?
2. Write down three adjectives to describe each character at the beginning of the scene. The adjectives might describe the character's state of mind, his beliefs, or his relationship to the other. Here's an example.
Bob and Sally at a Hot Dog Stand: Beginning of the Scene
Bob: Agitated, Jealous, and Hungry
Sally: Vain, Perky, and In Love with Bob
3. Look at your list of adjectives. For each adjective, list its opposite. This will be the state of things at the end of your scene.
Bob and Sally at a Hot Dog Stand: End of the Scene
Bob: Calm, Disinterested, and Sated
Sally: Humbled, Morose, and Loathing Bob
4. Write a three- to five-page scene between the two characters. Begin with the characters in the state described with the beginning adjectives. By the end of the scene, the characters should be in the state described by the ending adjectives. Use what you have learned about manipulating the forces within the script to steer the characters through the scene and to wrap it up at the end.
5. Repeat this exercise as an ongoing writer's workout.
CATHERINE: I go back to the beginning, I could start it over again. I could go line by line; try and find a shorter way. I could try to make it… better.
—Proof (2005)
Rewriting the Scene
O
nce you have mastered the techniques in this book, you can use them to identify problems in your dialogue and to rewrite an existing scene. Building upon what you have learned, this chapter takes you through a set of focused rewrite exercises.
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