Desire
This is what we’ve come up with so far. Desire is the key word. Sorting out the 3 Desires for your protagonist will take care of deciding what Act 2 will cover and how Act 3 has to pay-off, and in what order. Of course there are other parameters in there, providing their fuel to the structure, but at the moment I’m finding great use for working with Desire.
- Desire #1 – Primary Personal – What does the protagonist really want most of all when the film starts? i.e. if he/she got/achieved this now, this story wouldn’t need to be told.
- Desire #2 – First minor TP – Intellectual/Logic – where the protagonist is compelled to pursue the part of the plot which will result in the first major TP where it will change the course of the story. ** TP 1 – Change of path
- Desire #3 – Life, Death – The need for perseverance and survival is presented and will continue until this is resolved at the end of Act 2, only to be taken into second gear by TP2, where the protagonist has grown strong enough to deal with the need to resolve Desire #2 & #1.
** MP – Acknowledgment: Risks & Danger – Protagonist Takes first Step towards proactively solving Desire #3. Even if he/she hasn’t been passive until this point, the steps taken has merely been logical and necessary to maintain status quo of TP2. This slow progression results in a situation where the protagonist has to make a serious choice. This continues to progress in full conflict with antagonist forces until we reach…
** TP 2 – Near total disaster
- Desire #3 – Pay-Off – TP1 – whatever the story was changed into here, this will be resolved and take a second turn – this time driven by the protagonist.
- Desire #2 – Pay-Off – The first logic/intellectual question.
- Desire #1 – Pay-Off – Acceptance – The protagonists initial desire is finally resolved, either fulfilled or rejected – either way he/she has got the answer to the question posed in the first 10 pages.
Ends. more soon…
