DRAMATIC SITUATION: Often multi-leveled situation(s) that will inevitably lead to future conflict.
- who is your main character?
- what does the main character want?
- what’s stopping the main character from reaching his/her goal?
Characters are what they DO.
If drama is conflict, character is action: Doing things to achieve that goal—even if they are psychological actions to prevent him from achieving the goal— because achieving the goal is his ISSUE.
Some Methods (Devices) For Creating Interest from a Viewer:
- Dog & Truck
- Lit Fuse
- Mystery/ Something’s not normal
- Posed Question
- Unresolved Emotion
- Fear of discovery
- Sex factor
- Unjust punishment
- Undelivered expectations
- Audience knows crucial info that character doesn’t
- Incredible Dialogue
And Maybe:
- Creep/Gore Factor
- Surprise (The Boo! Factor)
- Reverse expectations
- Cliff Hanger
- Fascinating Subject
- Extreme Fish Out of Water?
Bonding with Characters
- Oppressed
- Misfortune
- Meeting someone who is compassionate or selfless
- An Outsider
- Some who is funny.
- Someone in Pain/suffering (of nearly any kind that’s relatable)
- A character tries to help/improve themselves
- A character has a dream/tries/aspires
- A Passionate person
- An heroic person
- A stylish/cool/hip person … maybe.