Goal-Oriented

How your protagonist's want shapes their character

Quick reminder that I have a FREE workshop coming up tomorrow evening with StoryCo! But, I wanted to give my JULIA HAS NOTES subscribers a little sneak peak into the lesson plan.

In last week’s Tuesday post, I outlined three ways to create a strong character. Doing those three things alone in your writing, in my opinion, will elevate your scripts tenfold.

But how do we go a step further and build not just a strong protagonist, but a complex one, with emotional layers like a human onion?

The key lies in figuring out what your character wants.

If you’re a paid subscriber to JHN, you know how much I value character goals in regards to story and plot. In fact, tracking your character’s goal and plans to achieve said goal plays a key role in my JULIA HAS NOTES Template, the beat sheet I use to help plot out my feature scripts before I even open my new Final Draft document.

But, giving your character a clear goal is also a great way to reveal more about their character.

If a character’s goal is to find the love of their life, they’re probably pretty different from a character whose goal is to become a successful stockbroker, right?

What’s more, two characters can share the same goal, but their motivations for achieving said goal can define their personalities as distinct.

For example, if you’re reading this newsletter, it’s probably safe to assume your goal is to be a screenwriter. But what motivates YOU could be totally different from what motivates someone else.

What is the why behind your want?

Do you want to be a screenwriter to be famous? To be rich? To To fulfill a childhood dream? To tell a specific story that lives inside you?

If you can define a character’s goal — and the deeper why behind that goal — you can build a complex character!

And don’t miss the workshop, tomorrow, September 20th at 6pm PST/9pm EST. Here’s the Discord link for the event. See you there!