This class is primarily geared towards cinematic storytelling, but the principles and techniques presented here can just as easily be applied to writing plays or literature.

I have divided the classes into three parts:

1) the aspects common to all characters, 2) the aspects specific to each character, and 3) the modus operandi of creating a compelling story from scratch. In this first part of the series, we take a helicopter view on the art of storytelling — we are looking at the playing field, and its contestants, from above.

Welcome to the second part —the aspects specific to each character.

FREDRIK HILLER, Stockholm Film School

Teacher Scriptwriting

Scriptwriter and Director. Educated at Stockholms Filmskola (1992-1993) and The Theatre Academy of Fine Arts in Malmö (1995-1998) Besides writing and directing Psalm 21 (2009) och Operation Ragnarök (2018) Fredrik has an impressive background as theatre playwright and director.

Overview

13. OBJECTIVE (To solve the problem) 

14. MOTIVATION (The problem is a matter of life and death) 

15. OPPOSITION (Obstacles & antagonists) 

16. ALLIES (Team members) 

17. ACTION (What we do to achieve objective) 

18. SUBTEXT (What we communicate non-verbally) 

19. DIALOGUE (What we communicate verbally) 

20. EMOTION (Our emotional reaction to the situation)

21. Buisness (What we do physically while pursuing) 

Chapter 13: Objective

In this chapter we learn about how to make the protagonist´s goal as clear and engaging as possible.

To solve the problem

No problem, no story

Questions:

What is the character's overall goal in the story — the super objective?
What are her external goals? And her inner goals? Relationship goals? How does conflict arise between these?
In the end, does the character win one goal by winning the other? Or does she have to give up some of them? Or lose all?

What is the goal of your protagonist and why is it engaging to the audience? Share it here!

Chapter 14: Motivation

In this chapter we learn about the importance of high stakes for our charather in order to engage the audience.

Why the problem is a matter of life and death

All good drama is a battle of life and death.

Questions:

What will be the disaster for me if I do not reach my goal? What kind of life-and-death is the question: is it mainly physical, emotional or another life-and-death?
Why right now and here? Why not later? Why nowhere else?
What is the time pressure/the ticking bomb: how little time do I have to reach the goal?

Tip:

Write your characters from their perspective. The more you write from within the characters, the more subjectively you will experience the situations, the more you will engage the audience. And vice versa. Actors learn to defend their characters — to motivate their actions. Do not write “an idiot” — write a wise person, who commits actions that others perceive as idiotic, and/or they themselves think are idiotic in retrospect. Jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis (1926 — 1991) says that the trick to becoming a good musician is to “get inside the music”. The same goes for writers — the more you experience and write from within your characters, the more true and interesting your writing becomes.

Pick one of your characters and describe the character´s subjetive motivations and share ite here!

Chapter 15: Opposition

In this chapter we learn about how to crate suspence in bringing in obstacles and antaginists.

Obstacles & antagonists

Chapter 16: Allies

Question:

What are the allies and adversaries of your protagonist?

Tip:

a) Borrow qualities from friends and foes in your own life, and attribute them to the allies and enemies of your protagonists.

b) Remember that all characters view themselves as the hero fo the story — no one should be there to serve the protagonist; all characters are trying to serve themselves and what they love.

c) Draw a mindmap, with the protagonist on one side, the antagonist on the other — and place all other characters according to their loyalties.

Share your mindmap here!

Chapter 17: Action

In this chapter we learn about about the dynamics of taking action for your story to move forward.

What we do to defeat the opposition, in order to achieve our objective?

Questions:

What actions are your characters employing in the story/scene to win the fight?
How do these actions escalate?
How do they change?
Why do they change tactics?

Tip:

Study the ending of your scenes. The final effort in every scene should outmatch the previous one (unless the scene performs the function of a “sequel” — a regroup-and-rethink scene — in which case the ending will not outmatch the previous one).

Share an example from your story where an escalation happens between two scenes!

Chapter 18: Subtext

In this chapter we learn about how communication works and that most of it happens non-verbaly.

What the character communicate non-verbally

Questions:

What is the scene about?
What is the main message of the characters to each other?
How can you, as far as possible, find ways to let the characters communicate this not through the text, but through the subtext?

Tip:

Write what the characters actually say and mean in the parentheses of the dialogue, and try to push the text so far away from this subtext. If the subtext, as in True Detective, is something along the lines of “are you hitting on my wife, you bastard!” — then the dialogue should not say so. But write it down, in parentheses under the character's name — and find ways to push the dialogue as far away from the subtext as possible (in this case almost to the opposite):

Share an example of your story where you have moved from verbal communication to subtext!

Chapter 19: Dialouge

In this chapter we learn about how to write good dialougue, keeping it short and with suspence!

The characters’ verbal actions

“I do not think that dialogue is like music — I think dialogue is music.”

— Aaron Sorkin

Dialogue is not information — it is verbal weaponry

Question:

What is your character trying to convey? How can you push the text as far away as possible?

Tip:

Read your scene without dialogue. Do you understand what’s going on just from the scene descriptions? If not, you need to strengthen the physical aspects of the communication. The scene should work as a silent movie.
Write down what the characters mean. Then make them communicate this via a) gestures and/or facial expressions, or b) by using words that are about something else.
Choosing a subject to talk about, distant from the subtext/meaning, can help you create interesting dialogue. For instance, a mobster threatens a mother and her child — but is only allowed to talk about Pixar movies as to not frighten the child.

Give an example of dialogue where the text is not what the meaning of the scene is.

Chapter 20: Emotion

In this chapter we learn about emotion and how to really stretch the emotions in order to engage the audience.

The character’s emotional reaction to the situation

Questions:

What is the emotional orchestration in the scene? Try to have as wide an emotional palette as possible.
What are the emotional journeys in the scene? Try to cover as vast emotional ground as possible.

Tip:

Maximize the differences in emotion between characters. If your protagonist is feeling one way, try to have at least one character feel differently.

Share your scene here!

Chapter 21: Business

In this chapter we learn about how giving the characters something to be occupied with while acting.

What the characters do physically while pursuing their objective

Questions:

What happened before the scene/story entered the characters' lives? What is the story before the story?
Can you find a business that is not only realistic, but also symbolic of the subtext and what the scene is about?
What constantly changing physical positions and actions can the characters perform which make us understand the scene even with the sound turned off?