Beer-worthy moment
I’ve been working on this project for almost three years, now. Before I actually typed FADE IN: I had been thinking about it for at least five or six years prior. That’s a total of nearly a decade with this thing bouncing around in my cranium. After I completed the first draft—which was really nothing more than a glorified working outline—I set it aside.
After a couple of weeks I read through it and hated it. I still like the idea and I’m still sold on the story. The protagonist, antagonist, and all of the supporting characters are interesting. In my mind I have what I believe to be a very compelling story taking place within a valid world, and interesting people populate that world. The problem is that what is on the page does not accurately portray what I see in my mind’s eye. The flaws are glaring. I suppose being able to recognize that there are indeed flaws should be thought of as a bonus. But actually pinpointing the flaws is what has proven to be difficult. It’s impossible to fix the flaws unless they are adequately identified. It is one thing to read over a draft and have the ability to be able to recognize that it’s flawed, but quite another to actually identify the actual mechanics that cause it to be flawed.
So I took the script and forced myself to identify the areas that did not feel right; that’s the easy part. Then I really thought long and hard. Many of the problems are simple transition issues; getting from point A to point B in a seamless manner that does not distract one from the story. Ok, that seems helpful. But what exactly does one do to address it? Then, last night to be specific, I had the proverbial EUREKA! moment. In this one instance the path out was putting a certain character to better use. Said character is minor in the sense that he only shows up in one scene, but the consequences of his presence are major. His small moment in the sun is a major event in the story. But he was bordering on being a simple story advancement mechanism.
I needed this character to do more, to want more. In his brief moment in the story he certainly wants something. That “want” helps to propel the story for the main protagonist. But it was a “want” of convenience; a device. So, I elevated his “want” to a “need” and, therefore, the actions he is willing to employ to satisfy that “need” were then plausibly utilized in addressing what I felt was a major flaw earlier in the story. Consequently, this adjustment addressed issues throughout the remaining second act. In fact it was hugely important in improving THE pivotal moment in the transition from second act into the third act. I can’t even begin to tell you how important this one small adjustment is. It also added credibility to the actions of the main antagonist. It created a sort of nexus, if you will, between the protagonist and the antagonist that adds credibility to the advancement of their conflict.
EUREKA!
Now, for those of you who are pros, or at least have real experience, you’re probably rolling your eyes and murmuring, “duh”. But for me it’s a beer-worthy moment.