So I have a good theme and characters that relate strongly to the theme. I have the protagonist's goal and most dramatic question defined but they don't really relate directly to my theme. The way the protagonist achieves his goal is related to the theme but the goal itself isn't. In fact, the goal and MDQ could almost be a different theme, complementary to the main theme but only slightly related.
This feels wrong. It seems to me like the protagonist's goal should grow directly from the theme. In fact I'm not sure I understand the concept of most dramatic question. I've been thinking that if the goal is "protagonist must acomplish X" then the MDQ is "will the protagonist acomplish X?" but that can't be right. It seems like the most dramatic question should illuminate the primary question of the theme. Or that it should somehow be more complicated than simply stating the goal as a question. But I'm not sure.
Am I worrying about nothing or am I right to think that all of these elements should emerge from and relate back to the central theme? I'm worried that I haven't actually formulated the protagonist's goal correctly and if I just thought about it from the right angle it would all make sense without actually changing the plot. But then, maybe the goal and MDQ don't have to relate directly to my theme.
This feels wrong. It seems to me like the protagonist's goal should grow directly from the theme. In fact I'm not sure I understand the concept of most dramatic question. I've been thinking that if the goal is "protagonist must acomplish X" then the MDQ is "will the protagonist acomplish X?" but that can't be right. It seems like the most dramatic question should illuminate the primary question of the theme. Or that it should somehow be more complicated than simply stating the goal as a question. But I'm not sure.
Am I worrying about nothing or am I right to think that all of these elements should emerge from and relate back to the central theme? I'm worried that I haven't actually formulated the protagonist's goal correctly and if I just thought about it from the right angle it would all make sense without actually changing the plot. But then, maybe the goal and MDQ don't have to relate directly to my theme.
Comment