OK - so this was supposed to come after the last two posts that attempted to clarify Change Characters as Tearing Down a Wall of Justifications and Steadfast Characters as Building Up a Wall of Justifications.
How can a Change Character, who we’ve already established as someone who is “tearing down a wall” also be seen as someone building up a Justification?!
Because there is a difference between Justification and Acceleration.
For the rest of this post, let’s stick with the Change Character.
Justification is the wall - that is what is there. The Acceleration (or Growth) is how that wall is either torn down.
Whaddya mean?! Isn’t there just one way to tear down a wall?
Well, what if it’s one of these things where instead of starting at the top, the main character starts at the bottom?
He’ll pull a little bit off the bottom and let a little in. But then the pressure will build up, and he’ll have to pull some more off the bottom. It almost feels like he is trying to let stuff in.
When he starts at the top it will feel like he’s trying to break through the wall.
It’s almost like the difference between push or pull.
The one where you’re tearing down from the top is almost like you are being compelled to break through and push those pieces out. The one where you’re starting from the bottom, you’re clearing those pieces out in order to pull things in.
This sounds an awful lot like a Start Story. In a Start Story you need something - you constantly are pulling in what you need. And, of course, as you are pulling in, clearing those bricks from the bottom, you are tearing down that wall of Justification.
In a Stop Story you need to get rid of something - so you’re constantly pushing things out of the way - taking those bricks from the top and tossing them aside.
So how that wall is torn down is the nature of the Main Character’s Growth. It gets you to a point where you can recognize and see your true problem.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Andrew Hull // Jul 29, 2005 at 8:11 am
So, would Godfather be an example of pulling at the bottom of the wall? If possible, I’d welcome examples of both types - change characters that push and pull. Plus, and not to torture the metaphor further, does it sometimes happen that as you pull out the bottom of the wall, it ends up collapsing on top of you?
2 Jim // Jul 29, 2005 at 10:41 am
For examples of both types, click on “Problem Solving and Justifications” under the Categories section in the upper right. I think I’ve got examples of all four combinations in the posts there.
As far as Godfather, I think it’s a Stop story - which would be more of a push story. His wall of justification would be his resistance to the family “business.” His resistance is torn down throughout the story to where he finally accepts his place.
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