Secret Immortality of Characters and Story Components

1. Secret Immortality of CharactersandStory Components James Bonnett

2. The Quintessential • Most perfect manifestation or embodiment of something • The best or worst of something • The most extraordinary example of • subject, • profession, • or dominant character traits

3. Subject • What your story is about • Subject explored in depth • Source of unity, clarity, meaning, and power • Singleness of purpose • Evolve theme into the best example of the characteristic • Conjuring the subject to demonstrate the 10 greatest secrets • Iliad – Achilles’ anger • Harry Potter – magic • Gladiator – slavery • 9/11 – terrorism • Kinsey - sex

4. Profession • Hero must be the most fascinating by creating the definitive portrait of the profession • Teasing the hidden truth to the surface • Intuitive feelings in the process to evolve all this to the quintessential • Monk – most emotionally and psychologically challenged detective • Don Juan – the greatest lover

5. Dominant Character Trait/Quality • Quintessential dominant trait personified, conjured • Examination of (learn as much as you can about) the quality • Full impact of the components of the quality • Trait in the Context of the full human being • Strengths and weaknesses • Good and bad • Mirrors real life • Make a psychological connection with character • Sherlock Holmes – dominant trait – deductive reasoning • Achilles – dominant trait – anger • McBeth – guilt • Don Juan – lust • King Arthur – chivalry • Archie Bunker – bigot

6. Create Charismatic Figure • Identify the dominant, most persistent trait • Evolve character into the quintessence of that characteristic • Trait governs the mannerisms and attitudes of the character • Work with the dimension until you evolve the trait • Fred Astaire – quality is charm – quintessential dancer • T-Rex – aggression • Most ordinary or dull person – Bill Murray or Peter Sellers • Characters become charismatic and symbolic of qualities • Personify some human quality • Exaggerate their nobility, flaws, foibles • Become like deities • Superman, Harry Potter, Nala, Einstein

7. Charismatic Figure • Avoid a stereotype or cliché by putting the person in the context of a whole person. Tony Soprano – family and other human qualities – want to be able to identify with the character. Must have some good and some bad. • Hero and anti-hero are metaphors that are personifying our unconscious selves. • Other characters are either helping or opposing one of the 2 main characters.

8. Difference between Protagonist & Hero • Protagonist – Greek word meaning 1st actor - initiates the action • Antagonist – opposes the action • Hero – a type of protagonist that either sacrifices herself or risks her life for the sake of other people • Cinderella – central character, but she is a victim. The hero is the Prince. The protagonist is the Fairy who gives Cinderella the means to get to the ball. • Scrooge – central character. Protagonists are the 3 ghosts who get the action going. Scrooge is the threat and trait is greed. Problem is poverty. Story transformation into the hero, but no longer being greedy.

9. Other Story Components • Story Structure & Threat • Sub-plots • Creating Excitement and Tension • Ways to End a Story

10. Structure & Threat • Classic Structure • complications, crises, climax, resolution • Antagonist Journey • Entity being transformed • Threat – the thing that makes it possible to tell the story in a few words • Shark brought the story of Amity Island into being • Threat and its Relation to the Essence of Story • Source of resistance • Problem • Change of fortune • Force of resistance

11. Sub-plots • To accomplish something physical, you must interact with others emotionally • To accomplish something emotional, you must do something physical

12. Creating Excitement & Tension • Creating Excitement • Isolate and intensify the action • Quicken pace • Create Tension and Suspense • Make us anxious of how things are going to turn out and then delay the result • Prolong the result • Create tension and leave it unrelieved • Threats or intrigue that is unresolved

13. Ways to End a Story • Dominant Plot – gives the story its genre • Mental story or Mystery – ends in solution or enigma • Emotional or Love Story - ends in separation or reunion • Physical Story – War Story - victory or defeat • Jaws – shark destroyed • Gladiator – battle • Chariots of Fire – Olympic competitions • Rocky - victory • Spiritual Story – Transcendence or Descendence • Ghost

14. Stories • Metaphors for the potential for human spirit. We are not living on the level that we really could. • Revelation of the different areas of our psyche. • Move toward the revelation of truth. • Solve problems and crises that are most needed to survive

15. Metaphor of our Time • Odds are overwhelming, time is of the essence, everything is at stake, the chances of success are unlikely • Our environmental situation • Likeliness of humans and Americans to reform is unlikely • Everything is at stake