The second part of the Swain writing model has to do with the dynamics of process within a story:
GOAL
CONFLICT
DISASTER
REACTION
DILEMMA
DECISION
###
The character has a goal, and if she can accomplish it easily, there is no story. There must be a conflict. The attempt to resolve the conflict leads to bad or awkward stuff--your "disaster". Now, these first three steps comprise the "Scene" or the "Motivation"
##
Your character will have a reaction to the disaster. Their reaction will place them on the horns of a Dilemma--choice A versus choice B, neither choice being great. She must choose...or synthesize a new choice (The superior approach). This choice represents a decision, which leads to a new goal...and the process begins anew. It's a loop, don't you see? And a story might only have one or two micro-cycles of this, while a book has dozens. This second section is the "Reaction," and coupled together this is a "Motivation-Reaction Unit." This is the power train within story, and as a simple model, it rocks.
Let's see how this works in, say, "The Godfather" for Michael Corleone:
Goal: to visit his father (who has been shot)
Conflict: the guards have been removed from the hospital. This is no simple visit.
Disaster: Assassins are on the way.
Reaction: Fear
Dilemma: Self-preservation versus protection of father
Decision: To pretend to be armed and dangerous to stand off the assassins.
New Goal: to protect father
Conflict: This places Michael, an outsider to the family "business," firmly in the cross-hairs.
Disaster: A crooked policeman confronts Michael physically, trying to force him from the hospital...
###
And so it goes. Take a section of a film you like, and start breaking it down. Get to work!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Dwight Swain Part Two: Motivation-Reaction units.
Posted by Steven Barnes at 9:40 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
This topic about motivation reaction is very important nowadays because it's difficult for people get the perfect control themselves.
Hey, there's a lot of effective info here!
Post a Comment