a reason for your main character to grow

July 22, 2006

In addition to the Main Character (which most authors know), Dramatica also sees an equally important character known as the Impact Character. This character, in addition to having a significant relationship with the main character, is responsible for influencing the main character to grow.

On the front page of this post I’ve put up shots of a Main Character and his influencing Impact Character. Now, it just so happens that in Braveheart (one of the greatest films of all time) the Impact Character does not influence the Main Character to change. Instead, he influences the Main Character to hold his ground - to plant his feet even further into the ground as he withstands the onslaught of the English empire.

Obviously, William Wallace (Mel Gibson) is the Main Character. His Impact Character in the story is Robert the Bruce (Angus MacFayden). It’s Robert’s wishy-washy “I’m not ready to rule” hestiant nature that influences William to stand resolute. His very existence is enough to cause William to grow throughout the story.

So how do you go about writing this kind of character in your own story?

The answer lies below…

A question that has always bothered me was to what extent should the Impact Character’s throughline directly include the Main Character. It’s supposed to be his impact on the Main Character, right? So you should have to write about the effects on the Main Character when writing the Impact Character…right?

Not exactly.

What prompted this question was an example from the Dramatica software in the Throughlines section of the Dramatica Query System. The DQS examples are a great way to learn about Dramatica. In the hypothetical story, “Losing the Sparkle,” the Main Character is a law-abiding law enforcement agent and the Impact Character is a different kind of cop, one who sees justice and honor as flexible (think Training Day).

If you take a look at the Impact Character’s 3rd Signpost (which for those writing a typical screenplay occurs between the Midpoint and the Second Act Turn) you’ll see this:

Memories - The Impact Character forces the Main Character to remember their days growing up in the same neighborhood. Recalling how the Main Character’s thinking was not so black and white back then, he urges the Main Character to learn a lesson from those memories and bend with the wind.

Now that’s a great spot to start writing from!

But if you’ll notice, it’s about the Main Character’s Memories, not the Impact Character’s Memories. Now, when I usually start writing a story, I don’t usually try to tie the Impact Character’s throughline to the Main Character. But the above example feels so right, maybe that’s what we should do…

So I asked Chris Huntley - one of the masterminds behind Dramatica - about how I should go about writing the Impact Character in my own story. In my story the first Impact Character signpost had to do with Progress. So should I write it in such a way that whatever the Impact Character does it causes the Main Character to realize that some things never change (an example of Progress) or do I write it without even thinking about the Main Character? (e.g., the Impact Character, concerned about how his house is seemingly growing smaller and smaller, looks for another place to live)

Chris came back with this answer:

It can go either way. The IC can either exhibit Progress or cause the MC to consider Progress. It’s the fact that the IC is DEFINED by his impact on the MC makes whatever he does affect the MC. So long as the story point is explored (directly or indirectly) by the IC and influences the MC it’s fine.

This finally made sense to me this afternoon. It doesn’t matter if it’s directly or indirectly, just as long as the influence is there to make the Main Character stand up and take notice.

When you write it this way, I think you’ll start to feel the reason for a Main Character to grow throughout a story. The Main Character will be dealing with his own stuff in Act I, and then the Impact Character will come along (directly or indirectly) and his influence will be so much, that the Main Character will have to move into the second act.

Try this with your own story. Write the Main Character first act throughline with the Main Character’s first Signpost in mind. Then write the Impact Character’s first act throughline in such a way that it will force the Main Character to grow - either positively or negatively - doesn’t matter - as long as there is some motion in one direction or the other.

You’ll feel it when it is right - it will seem natural, and you’ll love how genuine your story will feel.

Here’s another great tip about how the impact character relates to the main character.

Something to help get you started.