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Lesson 3
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14 Replies
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Ken Wood’s Characters for Horror
This assignment helped me focus on my characters, and make selections on who would die, who would survive, and the pattern in which they would meet their fates.
1a. Concept: The longer an arachnologist keeps a newly-discovered, Amazonian spider alive, the more it kills and the more it breeds.
1b. Group: A Team of Professionals.
2. Dying Pattern: B. The characters experience the terror and survive together, but one or two die.
3. Characters and Descriptions
A. Arachnologist, Dr. Rexy Lambert: University Director of the Entomology. Runs an Anti-Venom Lab. Does what she does out of guilt. Out of fear, she did not help her sister after she was bitten by a venomous spider, when they were both children.
B. Keaton Mercer, State Medical Examiner charged with investigating deaths of Banana Boat Crew and Port Security Officer. Former love interest of Rexy Lambert.
C. Atticus Xanderman, American arachnologist, stationed in the Brazilian Amazon who does “gain-of-function” experiments for the CIA.
D. Sheriff Mauer, local lawman, with a no-nonsense demeanor.
E. College Entomology students, Reese Robbins and Cali Ann Nichole. Cali is the cautious one. Reese is the foolish one in the lab.
F. Bob Crutchfield, owner of the Food Distribution Company which received the deadly banana shipment. More concerned with money than public safety, allows half the banana shipment to go to market.
G. Jack, director of the Horse Barn, where animals are used to create anti-venoms.
J. Banana Boat Crew: Captain Andrade, and four family members. Only the Captain survives.
K. University Janitor, Carlos.
L. Lilly, Rexy’s pre-teen daughter.
M. Rosco, the Lambert’s Dog
N. Georgie, the gentle horse used in creating the anti-venom from Teras.
O. Teras. The monster spider.
P. Numerous Venomous Creatures in the Anti-Venom Lab which get attacked by Teras.
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Good one, spiders!
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Kris’ Characters for Horror
1. Tell us your Concept and the Group you have chosen.
The group is C. The social group – In the big picture, it’s the entire community of this village, but on the specific scale it’s the Sullivan family.
2. Tell us the Dying Pattern of this movie.
Speaking specifically of the Sullivan family, the dying pattern is B… the characters experience the terror together, but one of them dies. HOWEVER… other members of the community will also die.
3. Give us an Identity and a sentence for each character that makes up your group.
Pete Sullivan – Father to Liam, son of Henry. I guess he’s the rescuer, as he is the protagonist who ultimately saves his son from the Quarterman.
Henry Sullivan – Father to Pete and Anne, Grandfather to Liam. Leader, he’s the one everyone turns to for advice and direction, but he doesn’t believe in the myth, so he ignores the danger until he comes face to face with it. Does that make him “Out of Control” instead?
Liam Sullivan – Son to Pete, the Innocent. He is the ultimate target for the Quarterman, and it’s up to Pete to protect him. He represents Pete’s instincts, which he should learn to follow.
Anne Sullivan – Sister to Pete, Daughter of Henry. Rebel, but could also be the Moral one… She is Pete’s conscience – She knows it’s time for him to step up and be the leader in addition to the rescuer. She functions as his spiritual mentor, while he also has a wisdom mentor who teaches him about the Quarterman.
4. What I learned doing this assignment is… never had considered social groups and dying patterns before. I struggle with identities, because I believe characters can be nuanced, and may start as the rescuer, and become the leader, so not sure how to put that down in black and white.
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I really like your story concept, Kris.
You’ve probably already thought about this, but it just dawned on me that the Quarterman has rules he must abide by. He can only go after children, or people, who do bad, therefore, even in his quest for revenge, he cannot harm Liam, the innocent. All he can do is lay in wait until Liam does something bad.
I see this dilemma of, The Quarterman lusting after Liam as his ultimate prize, as becoming the real heart of your story.
Perhaps the Quarterman has another rule that he cannot directly provoke a person to sin. However, the Quarterman can do despicable things to those around the innocent one, who are guilty of sin.
As Liam observes the Quarterman doing his vengeful work against the family throughout ACT 2, he gets angry enough to do something wrong, and the Quarterman can now pursue him which would make for a powerful ACT 3.
If Liam is to survive, he must seek repentance and forgiveness, and return to a state of purity again. Then he can obtain the power and wisdom to conquer the Quarterman.
Feel free to disregard any of this if it doesn’t align with your vision for the story. These are just my random thoughts.
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Thanks, Kenneth. I had NOT thought of that. It’s a really interesting idea though, and it may actually buy me some time in the second half of act 2, so that makes it even more appealing to me 🤣. Really appreciate you reaching out with this suggestion, and will be giving it a lot of serious thought. Thanks agin.
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Rad’s Characters for Horror
What I learned:
Answering the questions really helped me disqualify what didnt seem to work with the concept.
Staying focused on the concept helped me to make sure I didnt move away from the core of the story.
As I go through each stage of the course, I can see the essence of the story get stronger and clearer. But I have to be willing to let go of earlier creative work when it no longer suits the story.
1. Tell us your Concept and the Group you have chosen.
THE CONCEPT
A. The monster/villain.
Spirit of a deceased once passive male artist painter who was humiliated by his wife and a fintech entrepreneur who had an affair that everyone else knew about except him and he seeks vengeance on adulterers and deceivers
B. The interesting terror.
Through people viewing his paintings, he detects liars, cheats and dishonest people and he steals the souls of the innocent people the dishonest person is deceiving and the only way they can be saved is through the deceiver giving a full and frank confession of all sins
C. An isolated and horrific environment.
Art gallery, within the frame of his painting, and within the deceiver’s own headspace
D. The people who will be terrorized.
The deceiver’s wife, two children, business partner, golf buddies, friends, his parents and the deceiver/adulterer.
The Group is predominantly SOCIAL GROUP of family, friends and business associates and some SINNERS.
2. Tell us the Dying Pattern of this movie.
The characters experience the terror and survive individually / together, but Bentley / Brandon dies in the end….
3. Give us an Identity and a sentence for each character that makes up your group.
The Carrier: Bentley / Brandon – the main character that brings misery and terror to everyone he knows through his deceptive actions
Innocent – Emma – Bentley’s wife – believes her husband is a good man and a good provider
Innocent – Ryan – Bentley’s 15yo son – knows his dad isnt perfect but has no idea how deceptive his dad is.
Innocent – Hannah – Bentley’s 17yo daughter – doesnt trust her dad around her friends as he is sometimes a bit “too friendly”
Innocent – Lynnette – Bentley’s mother – thinks the world of her son constantly telling him how good he is.
The Rescuer – Gregory – Bentley’s father – knows his son isnt as good as he claims but plays along to keep his wife happy.
Sacrificial Lamb – Alexander – Bentley’s business partner – is the harder worker in the business but sees Bentley as the brains behind the business
Friends:
Red herring – Nick – Bentley’s jealous friend since school who secretly loves Emma his wife
Monster bait – Pete – high anxiety depressed mate too scared to live
Introvert / Loner – Ben – friend from uni days doing well in finance
Rule breaker / Rebel – Parker – Bentley’s long time friend and local dealer
Golf club:
Innocent – Jack – golf club coach who plays with Bentley and Luke
Innocent – Luke – golf club legend & champion who plays with Bentley
Sinners:
Sacrificial Lamb – Madison / Nevaeh – Bentley’s secret love affair / interest
Out of control / obnoxious – Kaden – Nevaeh’s jealous submissive husband
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Radford White.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Radford White.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by
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Chris’s Characters for Horror
What I learned doing this is: fun!
1. Tell us your Concept and the Group you have chosen: SINNERS. Comprised of the 7 deadly sins and true a holes of the day.
2. Tell us the Dying Pattern of this movie: Killed off one by one.
3. Give us an Identity and a sentence for each character that makes up your group:
Pride: corrupt cop will be tied down and smashed with a battering ram; starting with his shins.
Envy: eyes are sewn shut then they are slowly waded into freezing water.
Gluttony: slowly force-fed a buffet of rabid rats; then poisonous toads and saw-scaled viper snakes (the most toxic)
Lust: set on fire then walked into a man made tornado (wind tunnel); tossed hundreds of feet to their death.
Wrath/Anger: they are forced to self-mutilate.
Greed: they withdraw all their cash then burned at the stake with the money.
Sloth: zip tied and tossed into a pit filled with mildly poisonous long fanged snakes.
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Bill Anderson’s Characters for Horror
What I learned doing this assignment was the particular value of the list of universal characters that work for horror scripts.
Group C: Family – Jeb (70, Father), Jan (eldest daughter), Michael (Jan’s husband), Beth (middle daughter), Jack (Beth’s partner and father of the child Beth’s carrying), Leah (youngest daughter)
Dying Pattern: A – Only Leah and Beth’s child survive.
VICTIMS:
Leader: without consultation, patriarch Jeb (70, Father) announces at the family gathering for his birthday that he’s going to sell the failing family farm. None of his daughters want this, they want to keep the farm where they were raised in the family, but how could they possibly make the farm work?
Complainer: Jan (eldest daughter) can’t understand why Jeb persists in not letting her take over running the farm – she graduated from agricultural college with honours, she’s been working in sales for a fertilizer company and she knows exactly how she’d turn the farm around using the latest cutting edge technology – if she was Jeb’s son it would all be so different. She blames Michael for their not having conceived a child yet.
Introvert: Michael (Jan’s husband) is a scientist specialising in genetically modified coatings to make crop seeds resistant to attack – from pests, fungi, bacteria etc. Happy in the sterile environment of the lab, he is quietly furious that the fecundity of his own seed is in question.
Rebel: Before she even knew what they were, Beth embraced the principles of permaculture and rewilding to define herself as an individual against her domineering father and high-achieving, conforming sister Jan. Beth’s semi-itinerant hippy lifestyle brought her into contact with Jack and for the latter months of the pregnancy they have been living on the farm.
Out of Control: Jack is a talented musician who fancies himself as a shamen. He also has an eye on Beth’s share of the farm. And sees that Jan has an eye on his proven fertility.
SURVIVOR:
Moral One: Leah was born deaf but at least she survived – her Mother died giving birth to her, and Leah has always been a healer – becoming a veterinarian was a way of making that useful with the animals on the farm and beyond. In addition she has always seen the hurt in Jeb for the loss of her mother and felt a responsibility to look after him in her mother’s absence. She has always lived on the farm.
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Spike’s Characters for Horror.
What I learned doing this assignment is having a diverse group and thinking about how to incorporate todays social influencers we love to hate in the mix.
Survivors and Victims.
Concept:
Influencers who prank random people go too far and prank the wrong person.
Group:
Thrill Seekers/Instagram Influencers
Dying Pattern:
Each person from the group dies a gruesome death brought on by Haitian witchcraft.
No one else can see the suffering before the death.
Identity of characters:
Chad, leader of the group, asshole, forces friends to cross the lines or morality.
Logan, ball hugger of Chad, tried to be like him in every way but is really scared shitless.
Karen, complainer of the group, gets out of hand when the pranked get mad at them.
Kamal, the kid they bring for security because hes big but they don’t really like him.
Deshon, Kamal’s best friend, the voice of reason.
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Mike’s Characters for Horror
What I learned doing this assignment is that the characters need to fit together like pieces of a puzzle and each needs to drive the story in some way.
This movie is about a deranged former teacher who traps some students in and old school building and takes them one at a time, putting them in precarious situations in which the others have to solve problems to save them.
The group are thrill seekers, young people out for a good time.
The dying pattern involves the characters surviving together, with a couple of them getting killed off
Character roles:
Leader: Brad- Very popular; he organized this party and wants to control the situation
Love Interest: David- Brad’s best friend and Heather’s crush; earlier, Emily saw him making out with Madison; that is unfortunate
Rebel: Heather- She lives for the moment; she’s the one who convinced the group to break into the old school building.
Rescuer: Emily- Likely class valedictorian; she has to figure out how to outsmart the teacher.
Monster Bait: Madison- Nobody liked her anyway.
Complainer: Jacob- He didn’t want to be there; he never liked school; he just wishes he could ditch
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Rachelle’s Characters for Horror
I learned; I need to pay more attention to character development. I can see the story play out from beginning to end, but the participants are vague.
Concept: A deranged surgeon using his skills to create the mythological from the living forces colleagues to aid him in his mission.
Group: A team of professionals brought together by the Doctor, forced to work for him. I love the idea of outsiders for my subgroup, the ones who stumble upon the compound.
Dying Pattern (B): The characters experience the terror and survive together, but one or two die. Maybe more than one or two. I want to merge the groups to work together. Say we have a team of three surgeons assisting the doctor and a group of five outsiders, that makes eight.
Character Identities:
Anesthesiologist – monster bait – I am taking monster bait to mean we cannot wait to see this guy die. Hubris. Lack of foresight or awareness of how his actions affect others. Will eventually get himself killed due to his attitude of being untouchable.
Lead assistant to the surgeon – leader – female trying to prove herself. She is top of her class/excellent at her work. She naturally takes the lead, because she is confident in her skills and has a good record for making the right decision.
2nd lead assistant to the surgeon – moral one – gender non-specific. Humanity and ethics in play here, perhaps the one who delivers/dissects the message, “Don’t play God.”
Introvert/loner in the outsider group – Don’t feel they belong with this band of misfits, don’t belong anywhere. Will have to become more extroverted/engaged to help their friends/survive.
Rebel/rule breaker in the outsider group – The one who gets them into trouble in the first place. “We shouldn’t go in there,” someone warns.
Complainer in the outsider group – No one listens to them, they are misunderstood/never get their way.
Lovers in the outsider group – Maybe they have a fight, separate, and find each other… Or lose each other forever.
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Assignment 3.
Jon Clark’s Characters for Horror
What I learned on this assignment is the different types of characters and groups that they can fall in and how those can be used to flesh out the plot and carry the message.
TITLE: SECRET SANTA
GROUP: Social Group (clique of friends)
DYING PATTERN: B. The characters experience the terror and survive together, but one or two die.
CHARACTERS:
LEADER/MORAL ONE:
Riley. Newest to this group, she’s the low man on the totem pole in this group. She has done bad, as we learn through the course of the story but she catches on to what’s going on and why, and tries to convince the others. She wants to make amends and will but is it already too late?
OUT OF CONTROL/OBNOXIOUS:
Savannah: The queen bee. The leader of this group of mean girl bullies. She’s the hot one, but also the one that drinks too much and has a vicious mean streak to her. The school has come to refer to these girls as the “SS” Because they were founded by Savannah and Samantha, and you don’t mess with them for fear of the retribution they rain down. .
COMPLAINER:
Samantha. Second in command. Very beautiful, very difficult to please. Goes through life dissing every event, object and interaction.
REBEL/RULE BREAKER:
Caleb. Also, Riley’s ex boyfriend.
INTROVERT/LONER:
Zach. The shy, dark, geeky boy that the girls have tormented the most. He’s the one they think did it.
THE CARRIER:
Natalie. The ostracized former friend. The one who found and set the curse upon them. She was replaced by Riley.
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3. Jalynn’s Characters for Horror
What I learned doing this assignment is that I needed more characters than I first thought to make the concept work.
1. Concept/Group
Concept: Fraternity brothers play a drinking game with deadly results at the family estate of one of them and get the family’s big cats to eat the evidence of the “dead pledge.” When the cats get loose inside the house, everyone is “game.”
Group: Social Group
2. Dying Pattern: Put several people together and kill them one-by-one.
3. Rescuer – Cole’s family owns the country estate where the frat boys gathered to haze their pledges. He’s basically a good young man, but wanted to impress the others by showing off the big cats. Then things went out of control with the drinking started.
Moral One – Gary, a pledge, doesn’t want to drink and only drinks a little. Since he refuses to drink a whole bottle of whiskey on his own, the fraternity releases him as a pledge and tells him to get in his car and leave.
Sacrificial Lamb – Benji, another pledge, goes along with the drinking game and drinks so much he gets alcohol poisoning and dies.
Innocent – Another pledge, Wesley, drinks a whole bottle of whiskey and also gets alcohol poisoning, getting very ill.
Rebel/Rule Breaker – Ethan is frat boy who likes to break rules and push people to their limits. He’s a sociopath and a sadist.
Monster Bait – Kit is a fraternity brother and always follows anything Ethan says.
Out-of-Control/Obnoxious – Creighton is a frat boy who had a hard hazing when he pledged and wants to make sure all of the other pledges earn their position in the group.
Monster Bait – Malcolm is another frat boy who laughs off everything, until one pledge dies.
Monster Bait – Phillip is frat brother who has a conscience and gets very scared when the remaining pledges get alcohol poisoning.
Innocent – Kellie, the housekeeper (25) watches the group knowing something bad is about to happen.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Jalynn Venis. Reason: Thought of another character I wanted in the story
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by
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Andre’s Characters for Horror.
Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is …the 3 patterns of constructing Victims /Survivors.
The Group
Based on the group, I want to pick the group that I am sending through the gauntlet. The list of common groups are:
A. Team of Professionals
B. Social Event
C. Social Group
D. Thrill Seekers
E. Outsiders
F. Sinners
Key: Whatever group I choose, it must be an expression of the Concept. Either it is a direct expression of the Concept (the group is there to solve a problem or do something that is in the Concept) or it is an ironic expression (the group is the opposite of what we would expect).
The Dying Pattern
There are three consistent types of dying patterns. Choose 1 for now…
· Put 6 to 8 Characters together and kill them off one by one.
· The Characters experience the terror and survive together, but one or two die.
No one dies, but the
Characters are brought to the very brink of death and/or insanity.The basic identities of my Characters.
In general, we want
Characters that an Audience can connect with so the horror will feel real. When I get to Lesson 6 and 8, I will create the Character Journey, that will bring them to life.Starting with picking a role of each Character.
Universal Characters that work for horror scripts:
· Leader
· Rescuer
· Innocent
· Out of Control / Obnoxious
· Red Herring
· Love Interest or lovers
· Complainer
· Rebel/Rule Breaker
· Introvert / Loner
· Moral One
· Monster Bait
· The Carrier: The One who brings the horror to the group
· Sacrificial Lamb
The above also represent
the different ways a person might respond to real horror. For the moment, don’t
worry about having the perfect group or perfect Characters. These are big
picture decisions that I can change anytime during the process of writing.1. Tell my Concept and Group I have chosen.
I chose Team of Professionals. Because it is the group of Police, Soldiers, Scientists, Priests, Explorers, Ghosthunters, TV Crews or etc., who already know each other.
They are already in an isolated environment or by virtue of their profession, they are required to venture into an environment that becomes hostile.
2. Tell the Dying Pattern of this movie.
I chose Dying Pattern. I chose to put 6 to 8 Characters together and kill them off one by one.
I may save one or two, haven’t decided yet.
3. Give the Identity and Sentence for each Character that makes up my Group.
1) The Carrier- The One who brings the horror to the group.
2) Sacrificial Lamb(s)- the Aborted Fetuses.
3) Love Interest or lovers- the Aborted Couple.
4) Rebel/Rule Breaker- Is this the unholy trinity?
5) The Moral One- Our Writer (still working on this concept).
6) The Innocent- the unknowing fathers whose unborn child is aborted without his knowledge, the spiritual toll it takes on his soul, unknowingly.
-Andre
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