Should every central character have a "goal"

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  • Should every central character have a "goal"

    movies like Jason and Freddy or Scream did the central character have a goal?? besides being chased and stalked throughout the entire movie what was the actual goal?

    i ask because i have a horror/thriller i am working on and reviewing my screenwriting book it asks in several places to identify your central charcters goal that is driving the story.

    in a horror/thriller does the protagonist have to have a goal?
    One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

    The Fiction Story Room

  • #2
    Re: Should every central character have a "goal"

    for nev cambell in scream her goal (objective) was to find out who was stalking her, and for just entertaining reasons, we get see some blood and cr#p throughout the movie. Thats what I think.

    and for freddy, once they knew they couldn't fall asleep or be attacked, their goal (objective) was to think on how to kill it, make it stop.

    I hope this helps
    actor

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    • #3
      Re: Should every central character have a "goal"

      cool thats what i was thinking. maybe i am putting too much thought into it when the books say what is your main characters goal that is actually driving the story.
      One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

      The Fiction Story Room

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Should every central character have a "goal"

        Many horror movies work on the structure of the protag's goal being reactionary. Starting out, their goal is to go to class, get a new car, study for exams, screw their boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. However, with the introduction of the killer, their goal then becomes, on a very basic level, "to survive."

        The antagonist invokes this goal into the protagonist.

        The protag's goal is to survive. The antagonist is an obstacle to survival because...well...he's trying to kill the protag.

        Rarely does a horror movie have a deeply developed goal structure (though, I'm sure it's happened).
        "Tact's just 'not saying true stuff.' " - Cordelia Chase

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        • #5
          Re: Should every central character have a "goal"

          Juno, when I write my stories, I need a begining middle and the end, without this I'm hooped. Knowing all this, you will see what your main charactor's goals are. As he progresses at achieving his goals, and as your story moves along, you start building your charactor ARC, IT ALL FALLS INTO PLACE as you write your story, understand?
          this is the best I can explain it, I'm learning too.

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          • #6
            Re: Should every central character have a "goal"

            Originally posted by ACTOR
            IT ALL FALLS INTO PLACE as you write your story, understand?
            this is the best I can explain it, I'm learning too.
            Until you discover the ten thousand other things you need to do... <wink> Ohhhhh, how I wish it were so easy. Oh, how I wish.

            (Excellent Website to peruse for starters: Scriptforsale.com) Then add writepro and two adverbs... also great resources. I think it's writepro... been awhile.

            Thought for the day: Consider... "The Outline." <shhhh, don't tell anyone I told you this.>

            LOL!! Good luck with it, and keep writing. It's truly a wonderful thing, writing.

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            • #7
              Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

              Juno, when I write my stories, I need a begining middle and the end, without this I'm hooped. Knowing all this, you will see what your main charactor's goals are.
              Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that every story needs a beginning, middle, and end. Without them, the story is "hooped."

              Outlining your 3 Acts (beginning, mid, end) shouldn't reveal your protags goals to you. You should know them before you start writing.

              In each act, the protag is on an increasingly difficult journey to achieve his/her goal, not to meander around aimlessly and hopefully realize it at some point, which is what the writer will be doing if the goal is not clearly in mind before writing the outline and script.

              The outline should develop from the goal, not the other way around.
              "Tact's just 'not saying true stuff.' " - Cordelia Chase

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              • #8
                Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                That would be wordplayer... sorry, like I said-- It's been awhile...

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                • #9
                  Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                  Yeah, survival becomes the primary goal, often evolving to reluctant confrontation. Scooby Doo Syndrome.

                  -Derek
                  My wittle web page - hack stories, failed novels, dud screenplays, terminal writer's block.
                  My evil self is at the door, and I have no power to stop it.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                    Originally posted by Optimus
                    Outlining your 3 Acts (beginning, mid, end) shouldn't reveal your protags goals to you. You should know them before you start writing.

                    Exactly.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                      Yes, the goal of the central character, in a horror/thriller, is very often survival. His/her goal from the absolute beginning isnâ€TMt very interesting â€" it is more to reveal character.



                      IMPORTANT! Donâ€TMt let your protagonist only react to what is happening. Make him/her act too (and act in accordance to his/her goal)!



                      Take a look at The Ring:



                      What do we know about Rachel, what does she know and what is her goal?



                      First act



                      Rachel is a determined journalist who finds out her niece has died a strange death (we know how she died). Her sister asks her to investigate her death (since Rachel is a journalist) and her nieceâ€TMs friends tell her about the video tape. She finds a receipt of photos in her nieceâ€TMs room, collects the photos and notices that the persons faces are all blurred from a certain photo (in front of a cabin) and onwards. She finds out the teenagers on the photos died exactly one week after watching the video tape. She goes out to the cabin, finds the video tape, watches it and the telephone rings â€" â€Seven daysâ€.



                      Rachel acts in the first act, but mainly to help her sister (personal) and as a journalist to get a scoop (professional).



                      Act two



                      Now, Rachel believes she will die and after taking digital photos of herself which shows also her face blurred, she â€knows†she will die. Now, she must act to survive and she has a clear time limit â€" seven days. Her ex-boyfriend, who is also a journalist, watches the video and she makes a copy for him. At first he doesnâ€TMt believe her, but when he sees his face all blurred on a screen from a surveillance camera in a store, he believes her and also wants to solve this. They act in order to save their lives, but they donâ€TMt panic (it would totally destroy the â€creepy feelingâ€)!



                      Their, especially Rachelâ€TMs, investigation (in accordance to her goal to survive), is what we follow in act two. The stakes get even higher when Rachel finds out her (their) son has also seen the video.



                      When act two ends we think it is over â€" the curse is finally broken. At least Rachel and Noah (the ex-boyfriend) think so, but…



                      Act three



                      …Noah dies the same brutal death as the teenagers did. Rachel wonders why she hasnâ€TMt died and now worries about her son. Her investigation has led her to the knowledge that Samara wanted people to know â€" to spread the story about her tragic life/death â€" the video tape. Rachel remembers - she made a copy, so she makes her son make a copy â€" he also survives â€" story ends.

                      /H
                      'Media is the evil of all evils, they tell you only what
                      they want the story to be'¦'

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                      • #12
                        Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                        thanx Zarakow where did u get that breakdown of the story? since i am writing mainly in the horror/thriller genre these types of things help. thanx for all the great feedback. if anybody else has more input please feel free.
                        One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                        The Fiction Story Room

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                          from my head - not sure i remember it entirely correctly, but it should be close enough. i'm working on a horror/thriller for the moment so i try to get some inspiration for it.

                          /H
                          'Media is the evil of all evils, they tell you only what
                          they want the story to be'¦'

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                          • #14
                            Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                            I recently rewatched Scream, and I haven't seen the others you mention in a very long time, but the Goal for the protag is to have an emotional/sexual relationship with her boyfriend is the external expression of her internal goal of getting over her mother's death.

                            So, the real goal is to get over her grief over the death of her mother. Her inability to have sex with her boyfriend is the physical expression of that conflict/goal.

                            Survival is the B plot, while she still has to deal the the A plot- her grief and boyfriend.


                            If you wanna talk about extended metaphor and theory; Sidney's defense, and ultimatly her killing her boyfriend/lover is her taking control of her own sexuality in a male dominated world that tells her how she has to be.

                            But that's probably not what you wanted to hear, and it's best left for an essay someone can write for their Film Theory class.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Should every central character have a &quot;goal&quot;

                              Yes. Whether it shows up on screen or not.

                              - Bill
                              Free Script Tips:
                              http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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