Pat Verducci, Writing Coach, Teacher and Mentor: Most main characters do have transformations
in most Hollywood movies, there's some growth. There are main characters who don't transform.
Film Courage: Why is it important for writers to start their story slowly
and take their time with introducing the characters?
Pat: That's such a great question because we need that time to be introduced to your characters
to create that empathy that we talked about like that's where you have the luxury of having
a little bit of time up front to establish who they are what they want why they want
it and to allow us to kind of be introduced to their world and really get connected to them
so that we're willing to follow them on the journey and you know that takes pages
you know I'm not saying you should spend like you know 20 pages introducing your
main character you shouldn't if you're writing a feature for sure you know you you pretty much
do need to kind of get to that inciting incident or that call to adventure pretty quickly
but we need but look at WALL-E you know like that little character we just like follow him around
in his little world doing his little thing and we learn so much about him
and we basically fall in love with him and we will follow that little robot dude anywhere
right and so but we also get introduced to the world and the stakes in the world and that there's
nothing really living in the world you know and so I think that's just a really beautiful example
of visually starting slow and letting us connect to our character and his world
and in the queen's gambit I know we we took some time yes and the back story wasn't always clear
why she was in the orphanage right and different things are revealed later and it really keeps you
but why is she reacting this way oh and then finally you see the conversation I don't want to
give away too much but yeah just little snippets and it takes time yeah it takes time and it also
you know as the writer when you're writing you're starting to write whether it's your pilot or your
future it's like you know your job is to create questions not give answers your your job is to
create questions like why is she like you said why is she doing that what's going on here so
that the audience is like we're just moving closer and closer because we want to know
why is she acting that way will she be able to be like a chess champion will she beat that that guy
or whatever you know it's like all these questions that you set up in the story is really what holds
us to the story and so you know in setting up your character you don't want to just tell us a
bunch of stuff about the character you know maybe we see them do something and we go that's weird
why are they doing that and we keep wondering that until later we get the answer to that question
as as we start to fully understand kind of who this person is and why they are the way they are
you know so yeah you're kind of like putting up you're creating trails you know breadcrumbs
and you're leaving blank spots and one thing one thing to think about too as a
writer which I think is really important is to create ellipses in your story where
there's gaps where maybe we you know if you have a section of your script and it just feels like
here we go every you know then she drives here and then she gets out then you know it's like
do a time cut like what's the next scene that moves the story forward like let us the audience
actively engage with the narrative to figure it out because the more we're doing that the more
interested we are in your story so you know leave gaps ask questions and you know yeah take that
time at the beginning for sure why is it important for the main character to have a transformation
oh the main character okay so let's be honest most main characters do have transformations
in most Hollywood movies right there's some growth there are main characters who don't transform
Forrest Gump does he change no he just like he just stays the same through the whole movie
the early James Bond movies James Bond doesn't really change he's just getting the chicks and
you know bringing down the bad guy right so the thing to remember is it's not necessarily that
your main character has to transform it's that you need transformation in your story
because that is actually what's important so so if you have a main character who doesn't change
and they kind of move through the story like this what happens is they change everyone around them
like Forrest Gump changes everyone around him but he's still Forrest Gump right you know James Bond
it's been interesting to watch him sort of evolve you know with the daniel craig version because
9 11 like suddenly James Bond became like this wounded hero where he was always just the suave
martini girls you know blasting off into space roger moore he was the one that I grew
up with roger moore but it's been interesting to watch his character evolve you know and become
more of a character that has a tiny bit more of an emotional range you know in the in the stories
but yeah it you know transformation in a story is a key element and whether
it comes through your main character or your main character changing everyone else
it doesn't matter it's just that transformation is actually the purpose of a story it's actually the
purpose of the story because the reason we tell stories is to actually understand ourselves better
and that insight is a transformation for us okay so however you package your transformation in
your story have at it you know it's up to you but the reason we watch stories is to be transformed
so if someone were looking to write a Forrest Gump type scenario maybe leave it for a few scripts
down the line because that was very specific how all that was done and there's many timelines
yeah that was a very complex script for sure yeah it's easier to write a story where the main
character changes right because it's just clearer or whatever but if you really have a character
who doesn't change who kind of takes us through the story but really the point of the movie is
how this person changes the world around him or her or them then you know for sure write that
story it's just it's just ha think about how why is that person why is that person the catalyst to
change all these other people you know and how can they change the world around them
you know yeah great great yeah I'm not sure with queen's gamut gambit I would say she she had a
shift she did okay I mean it's not a huge one right right it's like did she really change you
know but I felt like she did because I felt like I don't know I'm not an expert on the queen's gambit
but I i like I love what scott frank did because she's she's impenetrable in a way like she really
is impenetrable you know and the actress is sort of has that face that's impenetrable you know
and at the same time I felt like I got close to her I got close to her like the mask was
pierced by the end of the of this of the show you know even though she didn't have this huge
you know transformation like a lot of main characters do but I think she I think she
did she did she did grow and we pierced her mask we did but she did feel like an engine
driving sort of because even the camera movement it would follow her up yes you saw she was driving
the shot yes she brings us into the world and the scenes and she is very sort of like
mask-like you know and she doesn't give a lot of emotion and the character isn't
written that way and but I did feel that I was taken on a transformative journey for sure you
know and that's that's a that's a true that's a tribute to scott frank's abilities as a writer
to be able to coordinate this character who seems at once kind of like opaque and yet at the same
time creates this feeling of transformation by the end of that show we're just like
I’ve had this journey she has taken me on this journey you know with her which was really great.