June 5th 2008 - Like Icarus
…came to me almost seven years after I left the BFA program at Bowling Green State University here in Ohio. And it came from a Hollywood writer, director and producer I happen to have a great deal of respect for–David Milch (Deadwood, John from Cincinnati, NYPD Blue, etc.).

In his book “Deadwood,” he talks about creating characters who “spin against their axis.” The way I understand this is that each of us has a nature from which are generally expected to act from. A father who is normally given to bouts of momentary rage which flare up and go away, for example. But spinning against the axis means that the father acts contrary to that nature (because he falls in love, etc.) and the friction that comes from that kinetic revolt is what drives good drama.

Consider Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good as it Gets. He’s a douche. He’s a mean douche, actually. His nature is to be a total douche to everyone equally. But then he falls in love. And then he falls into friendship with a gay guy and his little dog and his black assistant. This sudden onset of emotional attachment and caring causes him to act antithetically to his nature and this drives the drama of the entire movie. And it’s a pretty fugging good movie, right?

As an aside, my favorite scene from that movie is when he’s talking to the restaurant manager and he says, “Look, I’m not a prick. You are. I’m not judging.” That’s got to be one of the funniest lines in any movie I’ve ever watched.

So you can see, armed with this knowledge, it is very possible to create interesting characters and plots that can drive an entire novel or screenplay or television series.

Look folks, you’ve gotta find good coaches in the world and learn from them. Most of the time, we’re stuck with mediocrity passing itself off as excellence. This is a good thing because those of us with a lick of common sense and self worth will seek out true excellence, learn from it, apply our own natural skill sets and experiences and the excellence train rolls on.

Creative Commons License photo credit: Stephen Poff

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