Making One Change

Sometimes I think I write by rote—I have a certain way of writing and I follow that pattern. And when I’m into writing a script I have an idea of where I’m going, what I want to happen, and I work to get there. Not unusual, pretty much how it goes for any writer. But to guard against complacency and a kind of sameness to my writing, I like to consciously remind myself to do something different than what I planned.

When the creators of the 1960s black and white English series The Avengers were casting their show they were looking for two actors to play the two main characters—male detectives who worked for a super secret branch of England’s government. The show was cast and things were ready to roll and one of the actors dropped out. At the last minute they decided to replace the actor with Diana Rigg—thus making the part written for a man one that was now going to be played by a woman. And guess what happened? She was a kick-ass very cool character unlike anything women had played on television. Why? Because the part had been initially written for a man.

Ask yourself what would happen to the script you’re working on if you simply changed the gender of one of your main characters? Or what if you changed their nationality? Or their accent? What if one of the teenage sisters you’re writing about discovered she was actually adopted?

Change. It’s often very hard in life to change—lots has to happen to make us break out of our normal patterns and behave differently than we normally do. And it’s the same in a story, change is hard. But changing your preconceived notions of where your story is going can take a predictable story and make it something special. Let’s face it, if, as you’re writing, you know exactly where the story is going then your audience will too. And you want stories that are surprising, not predictable.

So think about what you’re working on right now. Think about your main character. What profession did you give him? Lawyer? What if he was a carpenter? Or a shoe salesman? Does he live in New York? What if you had him living in the Midwest? Does he love to play sports? What if you had him in a wheelchair? Is he a confirmed bachelor? What if a child he unknowingly fathered 15 years ago turned up on his doorstep?

And you know what? The changes you decide to make don’t have to be huge to make your story more striking. Ask yourself why your main character is so relentlessly outgoing. Maybe it’s not her nature at all. Maybe she’s painfully shy and her outgoing nature is an act to cover that shyness. One small character change and she’s got more depth, more interest, something that you can work with as you continue to write. And you have more fun in the bargain—because it’s always more interesting to write a character who becomes so much her own person that she even surprises you!

Copyright © Diane Lake

09Apr17

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