Villains and Heroes - Larry Brooks

Victims and Heroes – Larry Brooks
2010 Willamette Writers Conference
Website: storyfix.com – Confluence of Path (especially non-fiction)


Aside: First thing new writers should do: Throw away what you learned in high school writing classes

First: Ask self. Am I really in love with this story?

Dirty Little Secret: Two reasons to write a book:
1) Writing for self – can write anyway you want
2) To get published
a. Rules and structure required
i. Story structure
ii. Each genre has its own form of structure (required?)
iii. There is a structure for a story
1. Only one way to do it
b. Construction analog:
i. Starts with blueprint
ii. Need structural expectation
1. Eg – Putting in ceiling beams before understanding what they do – wouldn’t do
a. Don’t put stuff in story until you know what story structure is supposed to do
3) More on Structure
a. First goal: Wrap head around structure
b. Story milestones: 4 separate parts
i.

Aside: Many think stories are right-brained – not true. In reality they are much cold-blooded left-brianed
Architecture analog

Example:
1) First plot point
a. Not necessarily the inciting incident
2) Midpoint
3) 2nd Plot Point

Need mission-driven scenes.
1) Each scene has different mission.
a. Most powerful writing advice ever -> Mission-driven goals
i. Of characters or plot(???)
Example: James Patterson – short chapters – 1 scene per mission

Heroes and Villains -> also mission-driven

Aside: “Screenplay” by Sid Field: #1 book on story structure

Aside: In February 2011, he has a book on story structure coming out. He is drawn to breaking down story structure.
Core Competencies: Everything in writing fits in one of six following buckets.
1) Elements:
a. Characterization
i. “3 dimensions of character”
b. Concept
c. Theme
d. Story Structure
i. Most important -> story, story, story
1. Many overdo writing
2) Executional:
a. Scene writing (book is a series of scenes)
b. Writing voice
i. (Lowest of six)
1. Readers can tell in one page
3) Need all six just to get in the game

Character: (“3 dimensions”)
Cooking analogy – Get all ingredients out first
1) Story – Sum is greater than adding all of six buckets
a. Pour all six buckets into one -> creates synergy
i. Art – See how blend will come out
2) Major things to do with characters -> 10,000,000 possible outcomes
3) 7 Major Things To Do With Character
a. Surface Affectation and Personality of Characters (Quirks)
i. Quirks – huge pitfall – Writers try to define characters by quirks
1. Okay, but not enough. Have to make quirks work later
b. Backstory – Everything that happened before character was introduced
i. Mistake – Making story about backstory
c. Character Arc
i. Enters stories with series of levels
ii. Character learns, changes -> discovers along the way
(Example – Paranormal)
d. Inner demons, Inner Landscape
i. From backstory
1. Things that change
e. World View – eg. political, religious
i. Can decide what character will do
f. Goals and motivations of character
i. Enter with one set
ii. Will change throughout book
1. (What story is all about)
iii. First plot point -> redefine character; (relation to inciting incident – don’t have to be the same)
iv.
1. New goals and motivations
2. And so on with each new plot point?
g. Actions, decisions, and behaviors of character
i. Can be different from above 6 (a-f)
ii. Difference between what character wants and what he actually does
4) Character s move story forward
5) Don’t want flat or 1-D (or 2-D?) characters
a. Goal -> To understand what 3D characters are
b. Define the 3 dimensions - As part of your tool chest
i. 1st Dimension
1. What’s on surface.
2. What we want people to see.
3. May or may not be the real person.
a. Fake it til you make it
b. Sometimes struggle with this inside
4. Type A versus Type B (Tools of Character – 1st Dimension Stuff)
a. A versus B
i. Energized versus Expending Energy
b. Type A: Someone who gets into interactive situation and gets jazzed up by it.
c. Type B: Being in society causes them to expend energy
i. Need to recoup afterwards
ii. 2nd Dimension
1. Who person really is
2. What’s going on inside
3. Mystery of being human
4. 1st and 2nd Dimensions don’t click – They clash
iii. Third Dimension
1. Decisions, Actions and Adapted Behaviors
a. Stuff of heroes
b. These may not jibe with first 2 dimensions
iv. Want all three manifest on page (this is the hardest part – this is the art)
1. Tool Chest – Should have all 3 of these levels
v. 3 Definitions to Character:
1. All you put in book
2. Description of someone
a. “Quite a character”
3. Have or lack character of character
a. Integrity Issues
b. Third Dimension
i. Actions and Words which show real character
ii. When pressure on -> shows character
1. Defines who they are
a. (character arc)
c. Arc
i. 1st part: At first character is reluctant
ii. Later: When pressure is on, what do they do
1. Defined by 3rd dimension


Examples:
Terrorists – what do you believe in – Jesus? Or save skin and deny Jesus and live with for life
Clinton versus Monica Lewinsky: Clinton’s character: lied; then (“what does ’it’ mean”?)

Note: All characters have resentments

6) Conflict
a. One word definition of story
b. No conflict -> No story
c. Story is not all about characters
i. Actually more like about conflict
d. Without plot or conflict, have more like a memoir
7) Plot
a. Gives a character a stage and circumstances to do above 7 things related with characters
i. Showing not Telling
ii. Plot powered by characters
1. Readers care about plot when they care about characters
iii. Dumping two buckets together: Plot and Character
iv. Character is not story or plot:
1. A partner with plot

Examples:

1) “Sixth Sense” screenplay: everything wrong, including not using any of 7 character things – but succeeded because it had a great concept.
2) Hitchcock: “Strangers in a Train”: has all 6 buckets done the best.
a. Two characters -> kill each other’s spouses


Heroes and Villains (hero equals protagonist)

1) The experience is almost the same for both.
a. Hero - responds to same stimuli as villain only in opposite way
b. Villain – To make 3D
a. Have experiences so strong and have them make a low-integrity decision
2) Back to Dimensions:
a. 1D
1. Put on face to world
2. Reader may make interpretations from 1D-level
3. Assigns meaning to 1D
4. Façade – may or may not be who character really is
b. 2D
1. What they want inside
c. 3D
1. What character really is is what he does



Example:
1. 1D (eg. diet coke)
2. 2D (character wants to drink diet-coke)
3. 3D (decides to drink diet coke)

3) Hero versus Villain
a. Different 3D choices to same stimuli
4) Conflict most important
5) Heroes versus Villains
a. Heroes
a. Most important – reader needs to root for character
1. (doesn’t have to like character)
b. 2D Level
1. Can be filled with dark stuff
a. Person on stage has bad qualities that reader will empathize with
b. Villains
a. Readers can have empathy for 2D
b. But horrified by 3D choices villain makes

Aside: Handout – circus tent example: (in his website)
1) Part I – Character reveals 1D
2) 2D – Show with:
a. Dialog
b. Empathy from other characters
c. First person narrative
d. Inner dialog


Continuum of writers:
1) Organic Writing (seat of pants writing)
2) Ruthless story planner
a. Writes everything out ahead of time
i. Answers questions ahead of time
1. Only then can you fill the 6 buckets
2. Planners revise bucket sheet
3) Both search for story


Aside: Inciting incident versus first plot point: Terrorist example:
Inciting incident – See terrorists board plane
First plot point – Plane blows up