Driving the Vehicle

Great characters are reverse-engineered from function. Form follows function, not vice-versa. Once you have completed your log line, you will have a good idea of what your function needs to be. In this case, function is the specific character trait or traits that will create the maximum dramatic conflict during the circumstances of the story, yet also be suited to carry the story's momentum.

Momentum is the driving force of the story, the gasoline in the car, the propelling inevitability that moves events forward. Without it, you don't have drama, and you don't have a screenplay.

Where does it come from? Character, of course.

A story only has momentum when a protagonist cares about something. Their prime care or concern is their goal. Selection of this goal is one of the most important decisions you can make. It affects everything in the story. It is the story.

To create maximum conflict, to drive the story inexorably forward, to raise story tension to its highest level, the attainment of this goal must be imperative (please burn that last word into your brain). If a goal is not imperative, the story will fall flat. Cars will go unchased. Guns will go unfired. Victims will go unkilled. Dishes will go unwashed. All because you, God of your written universe, didn't give your characters a good enough reason to act -- and act right now. What actually often happens is that a screenwriter will write scenes in which characters will sit around discussing what to do next instead of doing it.

There is more than one kind of goal necessary if a story is to have depth. Characters can actually have three kinds of goals, and dimensional characters have all three. They are:

• Outer Goal
• Inner Goal
• Superobjective

Most modern, Hollywood films are very firmly focused in the realm of the outer goal. This is what every action film is about attaining. The outer goal is simply the goal upon which the physical, external motion of the story is focused upon, and is typically the domain of the plot. Outer goal is always about getting or achieving a specific object or result.

The inner goal is the psychological or emotional need of the main character. Often they themselves are not aware that they have this goal, but whether conscious or subconscious, it is a desire that drives their behavior. This kind of goal is often developed or explored via character relationships and behavior within the domain of the subplot. Although in many European or art-house films, this goal is contained within the plot.

An excellent dramatic choice is to have conflicting inner and outer goals. A great example is Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs." His outer goal is to manipulate the system so that he has opportunity to escape. But his inner goal is wonderfully contradictory; to mentor FBI agent Clarice Starling. A nurturing psychopath -- now that's a memorable character!

The superobjective is what the character wants to achieve by reaching their goal (whether inner or outer). The disclosure of superobjectives in films has become clunky, and often parodied, as in a moment from the "Simpsons" cartoon that showed a clip from a fictional TV cop-show called "McBain." McBain's new partner tells him that when he retires in a few days, he wants to buy a boat and sail around the world (the most clichéd superobjective possible). He is immediately shot, and McBain, in anguish, yells out, "Nooooooooooo!!!" Yet nowhere is is carved in stone that a character must speak their superobjective aloud. Often it will be evident simply through their actions what it is they are working towards. Typically, resolution scenes following the climax reveal that the character has either now reached their superobjective, or that having reached their story goals, they are now free to pursue it. If a story outcome is of one of the two varieties of failure, then the superobjective is now unattainable (which reinforces the tragic aspect) or no longer desirable (because the main character has changed).

At the end of "Body Heat," femme fatale Matty is shown sipping drinks on an isolated tropical beach. Luke receives a medal at the end of "Star Wars" -- the ultimate acknowledgement of his newfound "hero" status. In "Thelma & Louise," the two protagonists die and the end of their journey, yet achieve their superobjective, which is true, unfettered liberation.

Even it the audience never knows what the character wants out of life, you, the writer, must know. A character's superobjective is the driving force behind both their inner and outer goals. The superobjective is the dream beyond the immediate story goals.

What is Dorothy's superobjective in "The Wizard of Oz?" Her outer goal is to get home. Her inner goal is essentially to mature. All of the traits possessed by her companions, such as courage, heart, and wisdom, are actually the traits that Dorothy herself learns on the road to Oz. But her superobjective is to have family, which is why the comrades she accumulates on her journey are the mirror images of her friends and family back home. Home represents family, but it is her newfound maturity that allows her to appreciate it. The three goals very neatly tie together.

These basic character components of aesthetic idea, defining trait, and imperative goals fuse together to produce a storyline based upon character conflict. To understand the conflict through character is to understand the direction of your story.

In the next section, you will see how to use these basic elements as primary ingredients to flesh out a believable personality for your main character.

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