But not every character should necessarily change. This runs contrary to the prevailing wisdom in modern storytelling. From screenwriting gurus to studio executives, a successful screenplay is thought to be one in which the principal characters in a story undergo significant change. But is that really true? Must every character grow in such a way that they see the world through different eyes? Partly yes, and partly no.

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If there is one thing 300 gets right, it’s the awesome spectacle of blood spattering. Matching with uncanny accuracy the images provided by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, director Zack Snyder provides fanboys with the ultimate comic book adaptation.

If only a complete story had accompanied the crimson-soaked celluloid…

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Not every well-told story fits perfectly into the typical Dramatica story paradigm - i.e. an Objective Story, a Main and Impact Character, and a Subjective Story. Sometimes a good story can have multiple Impact Characters and multiple Main Characters. One way of pulling this off with minimal confusion to your audience is to ensure that each Main Character shares the same perspective…just as the South Park movie did.

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When it comes to the Crucial Element, Change Main Characters have it easy. They restore balance to the story by either giving away or receiving an element. Makes sense to most authors. But Steadfast Main Characters are a different story entirely. In these kinds of stories, what element is moved? And if the story is about a hole to be filled, which element do we write about?

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Powered by a meteoric performance from Denzel Washington, Training Day offers up a complete and riveting story. An analysis of the film and in particular, a deleted scene available on DVD, proves that no matter what you do, the storyform will always win out.

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If you’re writing a Steadfast Main Character, remember this - at every Act change the world changes around him. This forces the Main Character to readjust, refortify their position, and determine how deep his resolve really is.

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On the way in today I was thinking about why most popular kid’s stories have Steadfast Main Characters. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original movie), Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, The Little Mermaid - they all have Main Characters who manage to change the minds of their Impact Characters (usually a [...]

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So, if justification is building up, and problem solving is tearing down, how is that different from the building up or tearing down through growth?
First, take this as a given: having a Justification (or having a wall as described here) balances out your world. It hides everything and makes you feel like everything is fine.
Then, [...]

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If you have a Steadfast Character with a huge Resolve at the beginning, a very strong Resolve, then you’ll want to tear that down over the course of the story so that there is some kind of mystery as to their final decision.
You want the audience to think, “You know, in the beginning, this MC really [...]

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And the reverse is true as well…
Removing the justification is the Forestory for a Change Main Character and the Backstory for a Steadfast Main Character.
For a Steadfast Main Character this would be more about creating the position he will hold on to. It would be about how he got to where he is through some experience [...]

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