Knowing what a character strives for is important to drive the story forward, but just as important is where that character came from. This is defined as the backstory of the character, which has two aspects of character arcs: The Ghost and The Lie the character believes. As mentioned by some writers other than K.M.Weiland, The Ghost is also referred to as The Wound or an open wound. This is known as a harsh event that occurred to the character that still resonates with them presently. Some examples of The Ghost would be leaving a homestead, having a fight with a loved one, being a sole survivor of a crash etc.. This event gives reason for a false belief the character now has, either about themselves or the world around them. This false belief is known in writing as The Lie, which defines the actions a character will take.
These two elements (The Lie & The Ghost) shed light on "why" a character behaves a certain way. In the case of Oliver, who believes in enjoying life even though the Grimm are real and dangerous, The Lie I created is his fear of the Grimm. As a side-note, I think it's acceptable to have The Lie be the same as the Symptom of The Lie, or be something else as stated in K.M. Weiland's site that's linked above. This false ideal is enforced by Oliver's Ghost, which is that one sibling sacrificed theirself as a diversion for him and the other siblings to run away, as stated in the backstory. This sacrifice revealed to Oliver the consistent power of the Grimm and cements his lie that Grimm are dangerous, and so he fears them to the point of isolation.
One additional aspect of character arcs to discuss in this post is The Truth or The Need of the character. The Truth is inherently opposite to The Lie, and is called The Need since it is what the character needs to understand in order to grow and be a complete character. This truth is inevitable because the character in question will come to face it at some point in the story. Oliver's need in order to be complete is that strength alone cannot defeat the Grimm. This ideal opposes his single-minded Want of being strong to defeat the Grimm. The Need is often contrasted against The Want due to expressing conflict either internally and/or externally. More information about a character's actions regarding The Truth will be presented in my 'Character Motives' section/page.
Below is a video that further explains the difference between The Lie the character believes and The Truth they can embrace. Specifically, the redemption character path or story arc.
SPOILER WARNING: The following movies are showcased and discussed in detail
* Logan (2017)
* Children of Men (2006)
This video has inspired me to write a deeper dive into story acts and the theory of story. Write in the comments below of what you think of the site so far. If the feedback proves well then I'll continue into a secondary theory page.
I've been enjoying the blog! Character studies and what separates good characters from bad ones is a fascinating thing to understand and discover. I love Lessons From the Screenplay and his videos, and I think his ideas are worthy of discussion. Character backstories are so fundamental to understanding their motivations and what makes them who they are. Also the film Logan is one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad for your feedback. Given your expressed love for writing, are you working on some form of story writing as well?
DeleteI've been writing short stories here or there, but I haven't committed to any of my big ideas yet!
DeleteI am learning so much from your blog posts! I like how you included the importance of what the character strives for in reference to the actual story you are writing. I never realized how interested I was in creative writing until reading your blog. The explanation of the Truth versus the Lie was very detailed.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I can be a learning influence like this, thanks for reading. I thought it would be easier to understand the subject if I used the character to describe it, and not just have narration of information.
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