A Villain Problem
I'm having a bad guy issue.
Not who the bad guy is - but more what he does.
And how he is supposed to be at cross-purposes with my hero - who is really more of an anti-hero.
And how they both really want the same thing - but are approaching it from different angles...
Because right now - they are both sorta static.
Yeah, there are complications. Yeah, there are choices involving life or death. Yeah, there is a huge body count. Yeah, there are situations you can't believe someone is gonna get out of...
Believe that - cause that's how I roll.
But how the hero and his counterpart come into contact and conflict is somehow eluding me right now.
And I can't continue to just put an old boss of mine in every script as the bad guy. Truth is, he isn't so bad anymore - just sorta crazy - and so my rage levels when I write about him don't equate to good bad guys anymore...
I know I'm heading the right direction...
I gotta good guy who sees himself as bad
And a bad guy who sees himself as good...
Now I just gotta connect the dots....
posted by greg at 7:00 AM
2 Comments:
I say combine this script with your anal rape script and make the bad guy an anal rapist.
There, now you have a hit from any search for "anal rape."
You're welcome.
9:10 AM
This is how I teach story structure in my classes: You have a character. He wants something. He tries to get it through some method. The antagonist is the obstacle that stands in his way.
I know that sounds so basic, but I don't think we always remember to think of it that way. Your antagonist doesn't have to be a "bad guy". He just has to be the obstacle standing in your protagonist's way.
My favorite example of turning the rules on their head is from Lolita - the book, not the movie. In that book, the protagonist is a pedophile and the antagonist is his victim. He wants her, and she's the one standing in his way by refusing to surrender emotionally.
4:16 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home