A Positive Spin on Problems

Igniting character movement: the art of resolving inequity

A character at rest tends to stay at rest. Newton's laws apply to story as well as they do to the physical world. What exactly then motivates a character to get up and start moving?

Stories begin with the interruption of peace. Sometimes referred to as the "Inciting Incident", this disruption manifests within the Main Character an inequity, a separateness that must be dealt with one way or another. This inequity drives the Main Character forward, sparking the engine of story.

Problems That Really Aren't Problems

The very best way to stop a Main Character from doing the kinds of things they do then, lies in resolving this inequity. Most authors recognize this process and write it in to their stories by virtue of satisfying the Main Character's "needs."

In Dramatica (narrative science theory), the Main Character’s Solution specifically identifies the nature of what is needed for this resolution. Confronted with the term "Solution" one would quite naturally assume the existence of a Problem, and Dramatica does not disappoint in this respect. For every Main Character Solution there exists an appropriate Main Character Problem.

Unfortunately this term is a bit of a misnomer.

Problems imply something bad, and unfortunately, this does not apply to every story. The Main Character’s Problem actually describes the nature of the inequity that infuses the Main Character Throughline with life. Inequities, unlike problems, don't inherently claim the status of good or bad. They just are. How the inequity plays out within the story, however, does determine its positive or negative value.

An inequity that leads to positive growth appears to the Audience as a motivating force. An inequity that creates negative growth (or difficulties) looks to be a problem. Regardless of how they appear to the Audience, they still work the same within a story and occupy the same place within Dramatica concept of the storyform. They still push the Main Character into a story.

The Main Character’s Problem

These two alternative ways of looking at the same structural concept reveal themselves quite strongly through another key concept, the Main Character’s Resolve. When the Main Character changes (or flips if you prefer), the Main Character Problem will feel like a problem. When the Main Character remains steadfast, the Main Character Problem will feel more like a motivating force, or source of drive.

They both still operate the same way within a story, they still push the Main Character through his or her Throughline, but they do come across differently depending on how the rest of the story is constructed.

Interestingly enough, this same dynamic can be found in other throughlines as well.

Relationship Problems for The Good

The 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In provides a wonderful opportunity to see this dynamic at work in other throughlines. While firmly rooted within the horror genre, this film focuses almost all if its attention on the growing relationship between a young boy and the 12-year old vampire he falls in love with. This throughline, referred to in Dramatica as the Relationship Story Throughline, sees Pursuit as the problem between them.

But when they pursue each other, it actually brings them closer, not farther apart as one would expect from a Relationship Story Problem.

Like the example of the Steadfast Main Character above, the Relationship Story Problem in this case, acts more like a motivating force for their budding romance. When she shows up at the jungle gym or when he chases after Morse code to get closer to her or even when she steps inside his apartment without being asked--all of these drive their relationship in a positive direction. Pursuit defines the inequity between them, not a specific source of difficulties in a negative sense.

Contrast this with the example of a Relationship Story Problem of Pursuit in another film, 1969's beloved Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In this story, Pursuit really does act like a Problem between them. When Paul pursues Holly, she runs away--killing any chance of them being together. By pushing too hard to make a relationship, Paul insures there will never be one.

Only by applying the Relationship Story Solution of Avoidance, does Paul guarantee she’ll come running back to him. We need to separate and that will bring us together. That's the kind of thinking at work here. And it does work.

Avoidance applied to the relationship in Let the Right One In guarantees the two youngsters will never be together. When Eli tells Oskar "we can't be friends" she's trying to avoid, or prevent the two of them from getting closer. When she leaves him at the end, she dissolves the relationship. Only when she returns, when she comes back to Pursue him does she finally see this relationship through. A lack of resolution, but a positive growth nonetheless.

Look to Inequity

When is a problem not a problem? When it acts more as a source of drive rather than a messenger of difficulties. The Problems located at the base of each Throughline indicate the nature of the inequity as seen from that perspective. Understanding this allows Authors the freedom to develop solidly structured stories without feeling hampered by unnecessary constraints.