Chapter

 5

The “3” – CHARACTER ARC

 

The “3” is the character arc that defines your Main Character’s internal change over the course of the screenplay. It is the second thing you must work out before beginning to write a script. It can also help you if you are stuck trying to nail down the theme for The “1”!

As a story analyst, I also have a shortcut to confirm your character’s arc. What is it? I’m going to check pages 1-13 to see what thing your character rejects…then I’m going to check the middle of the script to see if they embrace it…then I’m going to check the last ten pages of the script to see if they sacrifice it. If not, you are a “Pass.”

 

 

To make it simple, the character arc in your screenplay is how your Main Character changes in relation to a single issue, ultimately learning an important life lesson.

 

 

Here’s what’s so hot about character arc:  audiences don’t go to the same movie over and over again because of what the characters do on the outside…but because of how the characters change on the inside. They learn to love! They learn to walk away from pain! They learn to finally believe in themselves! In short…they “learn” something – something the audience connects personally to learning.

This means you cannot make your character fabulous and likable in the beginning of the script, or there’s no room for them to grow and change. Your goal isn’t to create a pleasant character…it’s to create a relatable one, someone who needs to change in a universally understandable way.

If the Main Character does not change and ultimately learn something in your script, your audience and story analyst will utter the hated phrase:  “Nothing happened in that movie.” Then your story analyst will type: “Pass.”

We’re all on-board the Change Train, yes? Now comes the easy part. Your character has to change in a pre-defined way. There are three parts to the character arc in a hit American movie. That is why I call the character arc, well, The “3.”

Here is precisely how your Main Character must change over the course of your script:

 

The 3 – CHARACTER ARC

 

  1. REJECTION

 

  1. EMBRACE

 

  1. SACRIFICE

 

Got it? Rejection…embrace…sacrifice. That is classic, blockbuster, “Recommend”-worthy character arc.

Here is The “3” again in statement form. Still simple!

 

  1. I don’t want                                     .

(Rejection Statement)

 

  1. I do want                                          .

(Embracing Statement)

 

  1. I reluctantly give up                                  to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

(Sacrificing Statement)

Get the pattern? Now for the cool trick.

What is the “blank” that follows each step of The “3”? It is a single word. And to get a “Recommend”…all three of those blanks had better be the same word. For example:

 

  1. I REJECT/don’t want   fatherhood  .

 

  1. I EMBRACE/do want  fatherhood  .   

 

  1. I SACRIFICE/give up  fatherhood  to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

 

And what do you think “fatherhood” is? (drum roll)

It is the theme of your screenplay. Would you just go watch Kramer vs. Kramer already?

Let me say this again. Your Main Character must arc in relation to one and only one issue. And that issue is the theme of your screenplay. I told you earlier there was a way to cheat and find your theme!

There’s another term for the stages of the character arc. Rejection, Embrace and Sacrifice also are considered the Beginning, Middle and End of your Main Character’s journey.

 

 

 

 

 

REAL SCREEN REINFORCEMENT

 

Here are sample character arcs from popular movies:

 

  • Smash Hit #1
  1. I REJECT   adulthood  .
  2. I EMBRACE  adulthood  .   
  3. I SACRIFICE  adulthood  to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

 

What “classic” film do you still watch every Sunday and cry every time at the end of?

 

(a) The Parent Trap (b) Big or (c) Pee Wee’s Big Adventure?

 

Yes, “b.” And isn’t being “Big” just a kid’s word for being an adult? Would you just go watch “Big” already?

 

  • Smash Hit #2
  1. I REJECT   intimacy  .
  2. I EMBRACE  intimacy  .   
  3. I SACRIFICE  intimacy  to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

 

What pop superstar’s popular film is it?

 

(a) Maid in Manhattan (b) Monster-in-Law (c) The Wedding Planner (d) Shall We Dance (e) The Back Up Plan (f) hey, wait a minute…

 

Can you see that by respecting the rule of The “3,” you are giving critical focus to your script, but you are not confined to any specific characters, setting, actions, relationships, dialogue or other creative elements in your screenplay?

The truly magical thing about The “3” is that each part of your character’s arc has to relate precisely to the other two parts. That makes screenwriting simple! If you know one element of the character arc, you automatically know the other two.

For instance, if your bride is going to reluctantly walk away from the wedding altar and a bad marriage at the end of the movie, that means the theme for your story might be “commitment.” Let’s drop “commitment” into the Character Arc machine:

 

  1. I REJECT                   .

 

  1. I EMBRACE                          .   

 

  1. I SACRIFICE  commitment  to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

 

Your theme must be one and only one issue. So you know now that your character has to reject commitment at the top of the script and wholly embrace commitment in the middle. Now you’ve got a basis for your story.

 

 

PITFALL ALERT!!! The number one mistake that costs screenplays even a “Consider” is in the third stage of the character arc. One character rejects then embraces the theme…but a completely different character makes the sacrifice at the end. It has to be the same character, the Main Character, who arcs throughout the movie!

 

 

If different characters populate each stage of The “3” (Reject/Embrace/Sacrifice), your story analyst and audience will utter the hated words, “Whose movie is this?” We’ll discuss that other first-submission deathtrap, multiple Main Characters, later in the book.

 

The “Reverse” Arc

By now, you are thinking, “All the movies I’ve seen don’t follow this formula!” You are in an angry place. Wah!

First, no, not all movies follow this character arc. That doesn’t mean the screenplays they were based on, the ones that got sold, did not. Who knows what the studio, stars, director and entourage members changed after the green light?

Second, no, not all movies follow this character arc. But are these movies you love and watch over and over again? Or are these movies you enjoyed despite feeling there was something missing? Or are these movies you hated and couldn’t believe got made (see the “first” point again)?

Third, not all movies follow this character arc. Some employ the “reverse arc” instead. It is nowhere near as effective, but at least it’s an arc. Watch this:

 

The 3 – REVERSE CHARACTER ARC

 

  1. EMBRACE 

 

  1. REJECTION   

 

  1. ACCEPTANCE

 

Here it is in simple statements, like before.

 

  1. I do want                                .

(Embracing Statement)

 

  1. I don’t want                                       .

(Rejection Statement)

 

  1. I reluctantly accept                                      to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

(Accepting Statement)

 

Here’s an example:

 

  1. I EMBRACE/do want   intimacy  .

 

  1. I REJECT/don’t want  intimacy  .   

 

  1. I ACCEPT  intimacy  to make myself a better person and the world a better place.

 

Can you see how reluctant acceptance of one’s fate feels less powerful at the end of a movie than heroic self-sacrifice? Great! For any remaining skeptics: yes, of course there are hit films that successfully use the reverse arc, including the spectacular modern classic When Harry Met Sally. But know this: that script had brilliant dialogue (and Meg Ryan’s diner faux-gasm), was original as an issue film (men and women being platonic friends), and, most importantly, was not Nora Ephron’s first submission (she was already Oscar®-nominated for Silkwood). Unless you are at Ephron’s level, for your first submission, because it’s a softer ending, the reverse arc is really only “Consider”-worthy, and that’s with all other elements of structure soundly in place. Only the standard character arc is a giant leap down the road to “Recommend.”

Why? Because Hollywood audiences love generosity and sacrifice. Your character is only as good as what s/he gives up to learn and grow and make the world a better place. Frontier, shmontier – we’re softies at heart.

Make sure your character sacrifices something big at the end of your movie and completes his or her arc. The “5” will tell you how.

 

Creating/Identifying The “3” – Character Arc

 

 

“CLEAN SLATE”

 

To create your character arc, check your motivating moment to see if it clearly is a rejection, embracing or sacrifice of a relatable issue. If not, brainstorm one of these three moments for your story and see what theme your character is confronting. Then drop that moment and theme into the Character Arc machine and fill in the other two stages with the same theme.

 

 

 

“FIX-IT” MODE

 

To test your character arc, check the rejection your Main Character makes when faced with the initial unexpected change in your story. What’s the value/institution being rejected? Now flip to halfway through the screenplay. Is the Main Character now embracing that same issue? Now go to the end of the script. Is the Main Character now sacrificing in relation to that same issue? If not, rework these scenes until all 3 line up with the same theme – and the same character!

 

 

One more recommendation before you go on to The “5.” Watch the beginning, middle and end of your Research Lab flicks right now for the three stages of character arc. Here’s a tip – often the second stage, the “embracing” of the issue, is either an upbeat montage or an intense, silent action or love scene, usually with the hottest cut from the soundtrack!

 

 

THE ROAD TO “RECOMMEND”

P

Pledge #3:  My Main Character and only my Main Character will arc from rejecting to embracing to sacrificing in relation to my script’s single theme over the course of the screenplay (more on multiple Main Characters later!).