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What is your Dramatic Moment?
William Faulkner wrote The Sound and the Fury because he imagined the
following moment: A young girl with dirty fingernails climbs a tree. That
young girl would evolve into Faulkner's tragic heroine, Caddy. The moment
reveals two key elements:
1. Character: What kind of girl has dirty fingernails?
What kind of girl climbs trees?
2. Situation: Why is she up a tree? Where does she live?
Who takes care of her? Who watches her? We start to imagine the others
who populate her life. Do they adore her? Revile her? Demean her?
Faulkner has lots of freedom in answering these questions - but not total
freedom. First, he has to remain true to the elements of the moment; he
can't come up with elements that won't fit. Second, he has to understand
that whatever choices he makes regarding this moment will bind him to
another choice, and then another, and then another.
A good dramatic moment is the place where idea, action, and character
intersect. Consider the dramatic moments that fill the news: a school
shooting in Columbine, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Soviet submarine
sunk in the North Sea. In these moments we have dramatic action - people
die. We also have interesting characters - someone is responsible, someone
is heroic, someone is victimized. And finally we have ideas: in the Columbine
shooting, we have an example of the terrible consequences of neglect and
bullying; in the Oklahoma City bombing we have an example of how beliefs,
held too dear, can become terrible; in the case of the Soviet submarine,
we have an example of the extreme vulnerability of modern technology.
Of course, these moments suggest many other themes-just as they suggest
many characters and many actions. But once you've chosen your moment,
you've limited your themes. The sinking of the Soviet submarine is unlikely
to be a good moment in which to explore the themes of unrequited love,
or parent-child tension.
Of course, dramatic moments aren't always about life and death. Our lives
pivot on many quieter moments: the moment we meet someone we love; the
moment we move away from our childhood home; the moment we understand
that our parents are not perfect. But no matter how big or small the moment
is, the writer's task remains the same:
* Consider who the characters are: what they feel, what they want, what
they need.
* Consider their actions: what those actions say, what they deny, what
they conceal.
* And finally, consider the ideas that preoccupy the characters and impose
themselves on the moment.
Remember also that actions and objects can operate on a symbolic or metaphor level. In film making we often refer to this as "Subtext" or what is implied or meant below the surface or behind the action.
Once you've successfully unpacked the moment, you'll have all the makings of a good story.
Task # 2 - Develop your Dramatic Moment-
1. Describe your main characters:
- what does he or she feel, need and want
- what's at stake for success or failure in their moment/ what are the consequences of success or failure and how could they reveal themselves in the story?
2. Describe their Dramatic Moment-
- detail the dramatic situation they find themselves in
- consider their actions
- what do they deny
- what do they conceal
- how do the ideas that preoccupy your characters impose themselves on the moment (subtext)
- outline each moment/action that reveals subtext
3. Does your casting, setting and production design reinforce their dramatic moment?