This is Story Fanatic, a collection of articles covering story structure and analysis for
creative writers. Published weekly.
This central character is defined as Change because during the moment of crisis, when their Resolve is most tested, they drop their approach to solving the story’s problems and adopt a new one. This change in no way guarantees a success. It simply describes a character who trades their old paradigm for a new one.
The idea that a Main Character must always change runs counter to many a writer’s intuition. A more productive approach would be to focus on the growth that character undergoes as they deal with the build-up in pressure over the course of the story. This development can be likened to the tender balance that exists when one visits the deep blue sea.
There are two ways to adapt a favorite novel or short story for the silver screen – the right way and the wrong way. The first requires a comprehensive understanding of the original source material. The second only needs an ambivalence towards the mechanism behind what makes great stories great.
While the complaints concerning Avatar’s resemblance to Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas are abundant and well covered, there is one aspect of this story that is not covered in as much detail, and that is the problem with the Main Character, Jake Sully. A well-written Main Character is the key to bringing an audience into a story. Screw it up and you risk losing emotional involvement.
Complete stories, the ones we love and cherish, are those that are trying to say something beyond the spectacle. Where the Main Character ends up at the end of a screenplay or novel plays an essential part in providing that meaning.
Continuing exploration of problem-solving and justification. Here we take a look at the nature of the Change Main Character.
Continuing exploration of problem-solving and justification. Here we take a look at the Change Main Character.
Continuing exploration of problem-solving and justification. Here we clear up the Change Main Character.
Continuing exploration of problem-solving and justification.
Connecting the Main Character’s Approach with their Resolve.