Ever get stuck with your writing? Of course you do, we all do. I think I’ve got a scene worked out, only to discover the dialogue is trash. Or the scene is really great, but my structure is so bad that the scene stands out and ruins the story like an unwashed patch on old clothing. Or maybe you have a story idea and just don’t know where to start.
I’ve been writing for about seven years now. All told, I’ve taken roughly fifteen to twenty courses and participated in a screenwriting group before I left on deployment a few years ago. Despite all this, I still feel inadequate compared to some of the less experienced writers I come across.
Maybe it’s just natural talent on their part or possibly that I haven’t put forth the dedicated effort to hone my skills enough. As I ponder my apparent lack of focus, I have to ask myself, what is my purpose here? Do I have a purpose in writing the story I’m working on and does that story itself have purpose?
Both are good questions. So where do we start? How about we just start at ground zero. Let’s talk about STORY and CHARACTER.
What is Story?
Merriam-Webster says a NARRATIVE or STORY is a report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in a sequence.
In his magnum opus, Screenplay, Syd Field states, “A screenplay is a STORY TOLD WITH PICTURES.”
Ultimately, a story is a sequence of events which build to a climactic conclusion. Good stories show the dramatic progression of a character from a state of incompleteness to wholeness. By this I merely mean that the main character, the PROTAGONIST, just moves forward in life. They learn something, attain a goal, or bring others along on a journey of change.
Comparative Analysis.
I’ll be doing some comparative analysis to give you all examples of good and bad writing. For the most part, I’m going to use STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and LOGAN. The last two are probably my two favorite movies of all time.
For the bad examples I’m going to use THE LAST JEDI, along with the scripts I’ve written the last couple of years. Ultimately, I want to learn from my mistakes and get better. You should too.
What is a Protagonist?
The PROTAGONIST is the leading character in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. They are the ‘who’ in “who the story is about.”
Syd Field states, “the subject of a screenplay is action and CHARACTER.”
Story whisperer John Truby says the PROTAGONIST “is the person that has the central problem and who drives the action in an attempt to solve the problem.”
In STAR WARS the protagonist is LUKE SKYWALKER. Luke’s external goal is to destroy the Death Star. His internal goal is to become a Jedi Knight. In LOGAN, the protagonist is, well, LOGAN. Logan needs to get Laura to safety. His internal goal is to die.
Who is opposed to the Protagonist?
Merriam-Webster says the ANTAGONIST is the person who actively opposes, or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
John Truby states, “the opponent is the character who most wants to keep the hero from achieving his[/her] desire.”
In STAR WARS the ANTAGONIST is DARTH VADER. Where Luke wants to destroy the Death Star. Vader wants to use the Death Star. Where Luke wants to become a Jedi, Vader wants to eradicate the last vestiges of the Jedi.
In LOGAN, the ANTAGONIST is DONALD PIERCE. If Logan’s external goal is to get Laura to safety, then Pierce’s external goal is to get Laura back in custody so his company can make money off of her. If Logan’s internal goal is to die alone, then Pierce’s goal is to kill Logan himself for the sole reason of knowing he killed the unkillable mutant.
All these stories have distinct PROTAGONISTs with very simple goals. But what if there are several good guys, or it’s an ensemble cast all working towards the same goal. Or competing goals surrounding a mutual end state.
What about multiple Protagonists?
In a story with multiple heroes Truby says, “have one character emerge over the course of the story as more central than the rest.” This, I believe, is absolutely imperative. We can’t have more than one major lead. We can look at the Avenger’s movies and see even Marvel follows this rule. Tony Stark is the more central character and leader in those ensemble movies.
Truby goes on to say, “give all the characters the same desire line.” And then, “connect the characters by making them all examples of a single subject or THEME.”
We’re going to talk about THEME later. For now, though, let’s look at the PROTAGONIST(S) and ANTAGONIST(S) in a movie that does ‘ensamble’ rather well.
In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK the protagonist is LUKE SKYWALKER. The ANTAGONIST is DARTH VADER. Luke wants to learn the ways of the warrior class, learn more about his father, avenge his father’s death and save his friends. Vader wants to keep Luke from becoming a Jedi by turning him to the dark side so they can rule the galaxy together as father and son. Now, to the ‘ensamble.’
In the subplot, HAN SOLO is the PROTAGONIST and he is opposed by a slew of characters which develop him, including Leia, Lando, and Boba Fett. Both Luke and Han are each on a journey to solidify the new lives they discovered in the first movie and develop their characters and skills further. The writer, Lawrence Kasden, uses the main plot and subplot in parallel as a mechanism to develop these lesser characters AND for Vader to put Luke in a crunch. Because of this, EMPIRE is by far one of the most captivating movies of all time.
What is a foil and with it, what is a subplot?
A FOIL or SUBPLOT CHARACTER is a character that shows attributes which are in contrast with the attributes of another character. The objective is to highlight the traits of the other character. In most cases to highlight the protagonist. The SUBPLOT is the small story within the main story which tells this story between the protagonist and the foil.
John Truby says, “the subplot character is one of the most misunderstood in fiction. The subplot character has a very precise function in a story, and again it involves the comparative method. The subplot is used to contrast how the hero and a second character deal with the same problem in slightly different ways. Through comparison, the subplot character highlights traits and dilemmas of the main character.”
In STAR WARS, Han Solo is the jaded smuggler who highlights Luke Skywalker’s optimism. Through conversations, Han pulls things out of Luke as the plot unfolds to show this.
In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Lando and Boba Fett are foils for Han. Lando and Boba Fett are both representatives of Han’s former life. Han is literally being chased by his former life AND conned by it. They highlight his new life. We wonder if his former life will win, or if he will become a new man. Yes. The answer is yes to both, which is super exciting to watch.
In LOGAN, through Laura, we get to understand the complexity of Logan’s life, his loss and his view of the world. We see that he’s afraid of intimacy because he’s afraid to lose someone again. But Laura shows him the value of family transcends life on this planet and in the final scenes we see that Logan changes to finish his race. He gives Laura his legacy so she can carry it on in her own way.
How does a through-line and subplot work together?
The main through line of the story must stay intact within the subplot. the subplot’s sole purpose is to highlight that through line, so it must be similar but different. Truby says, “the subplot character tracks a parallel to the [main character], with a different result.” In EMPIRE, Han’s character progresses as Luke’s does, but Han is also the bait Vader uses to lure Luke into a trap. Where Han is clearly being swindled, we wonder if Luke will be swindled as well.
A FOIL or SUBPLOT CHARCTER should never outshine or solve the Main Character’s problem for them. They should have a different outcome. Imagine if Han blew up the Death Star in STAR WARS. Or if Laura died at the end of LOGAN and Logan escaped into the mountains.
The main goal of the FOIL could be the same as the protagonist, such as winning a race, but the ending should always be focused on the protagonist. If the two characters attain the same goal, then it should be to challenge the main character to do better. I’ll use ROCKY to explain this. At the end of the movie, Rocky loses to a very formidable opponent, but he attains his internal goal, which is to gain respect.
Foils and subplot characters apply to the ANTAGONIST as well. The bad guy is both the opponent and the foil for the protagonist. When the ANTAGONIST is in a scene separate from the PROTAGONIST, they become the main character of that scene. Minions, henchmen and victims are the foils which highlight the magnitude of their evil and twisted ways.
Foil v. Subplot Character.
On a side note, Truby makes a point that the SUBPLOT CHARACTER is usually not the ‘ally.’ He uses a rather intricate hierarchy of characters. I’ve been using FOIL and SUBPLOT CHARACTER synonymously, but really if I were to explain it right, a SUBPLOT CHARACTER is a subsection of the overarching term FOIL. So keep that in mind. When I’m referring to the FOIL, I’m generally referring to anyone who is not the protagonist or antagonist.
In ANBAR, Mike is the wise and experienced warrior who highlights Cade’s selfishness and lack of team loyalty. MAYA is the emotional context that highlights Cade’s immaturity. SKI is a carbon copy of CADE but tracks a different course. Through Ski, we are able to see where CADE’s selfishness will lead. Which is getting people or himself killed.
Does your story have purpose?
Your characters need to have purpose. Not little ‘a’ purpose, but big ‘A’ purpose. Your story has A purpose to it because all your characters give it purpose. When a character’s purpose is ambiguous, EVERYTHING is ambiguous. I’ve fallen into this trap plenty of times.
I’m going to finish off here by discussing a movie that has received some rather widespread criticism for what I consider a lack of purpose at many levels. Let’s talk about THE LAST JEDI.
The conversation about THE LAST JEDI has been incredibly divisive since it came out over a year ago. What I hope to do here is give my honest opinion about its story elements apart from everything else involved in the discussion. Here we go.
The PROTAGONIST in THE LAST JEDI is ambiguous. There are several heroes, but we never get a sense for which character is more central than the rest. Who is attempting to solve THE problem, let alone what THE problem is? If I were to guess I’d say it is Luke. I say this because Luke is the focus of the movie’s climax. Though there seems to be TWO climaxes.
The other problem here is the heroes do not share the same desire line. LEIA is trying to solve the problem of escaping the First Order. Luke is trying to be left alone and wanting the Jedi to end, which is confusing because when we first meet him in STAR WARS his internal goal is to become one and rejuvenate the Jedi. Rey is either trying to get Luke to come fight, or she’s trying to figure out who she is. It’s not quite clear which is primary.
The ANTAGONIST is definitely KYLO REN. The confusing part here is that Kylo is not actively seeking to stop Luke from solving his problem of wanting the Jedi to end. Or even to be left alone. Nor is he actively seeking to stop Rey. He just kinda messes with her head. The person that I believe he is most actively seeking to stop is Leia. I have concluded this from the amount of emotion he has in those scenes compared to the others. It’s still a far cry from the clarity of the films mentioned above, even my own.
Do your Sub-plot characters have purpose?
For THE LAST JEDI, there are two foils that I want to point out who lack a real purpose to the story or they upend the story altogether.
The first is Admiral Holdo. This character received a lot of push back for a lot of reasons. My problem with the character is that her purpose is to be the foil for Leia.
Through her we should see how great Leia is; however, this character ends up outshining Leia with the hyperspace scene and Leia’s character is rendered irrelevant the remainder of the movie. This character would have been much better served had she been introduced earlier, cowardly bailing on her own crew and ship as they all died.
Under Leia’s tutelage, Holdo could quickly learn the responsibility of being a leader and her hyperspace move would have been more meaningful for everyone. But even more than that, it would show the strength LEIA has in developing her troops. It could have also been a foreshadow for Leia, who should have died in a climactic battle with KYLO REN.
The second FOIL I want to bring up is GENERAL HUX. Hux serves as a foil to both KYLO and SNOKE. The problem is that he comes across as a buffoon in this movie. He never gets a win against Kylo.
If Hux got a win or two against Kylo we could understand Kylo’s development more and see that he is surrounded by other high-quality villains vying for the same power. At one point, in reference to Hux, Snoke states, “Do you wonder why I keep a rabid cur… In such a place of power? The cur’s weakness, properly manipulated… Can be a sharp tool.” This does nothing for Snoke or Kylo.
Competence surrounds itself with competence. This statement doesn’t show Snoke’s intellect, but rather his inferiority. He needs weak people around him because he himself is weak. The audience buys into a villain’s legitimacy when the people around the villain are as formidable as they are.
Final Thoughts.
Developing your story can be a tedious and frustrating process, but there are several tools which can help you. Today we talked about identifying your PROTAGONIST, your ANTAGONIST, the supporting cast (made up of FOILS and SUB-PLOT characters) and designing them all with a purpose.
I hope you enjoyed this lesson on STORY and CHARACTER. Next time we’re going to discuss an OUTSTANDING tool for character development, designed by John Truby, called FOUR CORNER OPPOSITION!!