Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
8. What does the character want? A break.
9. How far will the character go to get what he wants? Not very far. He is a pushover.
He is extremely excitable when faced with physical threat. He will use all of his will-
power to avoid confl ict and will give in rather than fi ght.
10. What does the character need to learn? There are no breaks during crunch time.
Remember in this story that Chunk is an animator who starts to take a break, only to be
forced back to work by his chair. His chair has clearly been charged with the task of keeping
him in his place—working.
The character profi le makes sense when put in relationship to the story and how the character
emotionally reacts to the situation in which he fi nds himself. If your profi le doesn't help your
character progress through the story, then you need to change your profi le or change your
story. Don't think of the profi le as something that is set in stone. Think of it as a working
document that can be refi ned as you go through the story development process. Characters
are constructed. Their personality traits may need adjustment for the good of the story.
Working with Two or More Characters
When working with two or more characters, there is additional information you need to add
to the profi les:
1. What is the relationship of your characters?
Characters have relationships. Did they just meet or do they have a history? Are they
strangers, acquaintances, friends, foes, family members, lovers, siblings, enemies? How
do they feel toward each other? How does that affect the way they act in the story?
2. What is status of each character?
Status is defi ned by how much power you wield in a relationship. The power in a rela-
tionship is negotiable. We negotiate status all of the time. In a restaurant the customer
is of higher status than the waiter. It is the job of the waiter to serve the customer. But
that power shifts if you ask the waiter for a recommendation. Characters will negotiate
power by being aggressive, passive, pleasing, assertive, or manipulative. Who has the
power in your story and how is it negotiated with the other character(s)?
3. What do they want from each other?
This is slightly different from the original question, “What does the character want?”
In
Gopher Broke
, all of the characters want the same thing. They want vegetables. The
gopher wants the other characters to leave the vegetables alone. After all, he has done
all the work. The other characters simply don't care. In fact, they are willing to threaten
and fi ght the gopher for the vegetables. This defi nes the relationship between the
gopher and the other characters and becomes the primary confl ict.
4. Who is the story about?
This may seem obvious, but frequently when there are two strong characters, you some-
times lose sight of whose story you are telling. Make sure that you keep it clear who the
main character really is. Often the main character is the one who arcs the most.
