Lesson 4 Assignments

[Margaret Riseley]

Margaret’s Character Depth!

Lesson 4

What I learned – I have a tendency to follow tangents and over-complicate plots, this exercise allowed me to see when I was doing that and pare it back to concentrate on the most important things for the two main characters. I also used the Enneagram of Personality and matched their wounds, motivations and fears to their personality types.

Sam

Motivation – get his sister off the hook

Secret – the ledger he steals could save Jessie and ruin Anton

Wound – blames himself for abandoning his sister when she needed him

Fear – being worthless

Layers – secretly resents his sister for not taking his help, needs to prove himself to Anton

Dilemma – saving Jessie would hurt him and his sister, not saving Jessie would still hurt him and his sister

Intrigue – what’s in the ledger?

Jessie

Motivation – insurance money to pay off her debts

Secret – dodgy deals that could put her in prison

Wound – abandoned by her husband

Fear – loss and separation

Hidden agenda – she’s not coming back

Dilemma – expose Anton and go to jail or abandon her son but provide for him

[Gayle Jackson]

Gayle’s Character Depth

What I learned doing this assignment is… finding my character’s inner journey is easier than finding the forum to post this assignment.

RICK COFFEY

Internal

Motivation: To be wealthy, famous and well-respected as the premiere ghost hunter in the industry

Secret: He does not know what he is doing; his wife is the real ghost hunter

Wound: His lack of wealth and new things made the superficial kids at his school laugh at him and girls he liked ridiculed him for being lower middle class

Subtext: He gets inner confidence from how others view him/prop him up – he insults Sam because she is too good for him and doesn’t feel her equal

Layers: He wants to use his skills but his skills are in P.R. not the science of ghost hunting and will sacrifice his present relationship until he can raise himself up to Sam’s level because he doesn’t think he deserves her

Character to Character

Conflict: He wants to be famous. She wants to be a family

Hidden Agenda: He uses a spell book which releases the Djinn so he and Sam can put it back and write another book (doesn’t tell Sam his plan)

Conspiracy: With their agent to get a reality show to thwart Sam’s family plan

Intrigue: Allows the Agent to be put in danger in Act 2 so Sam will come back and help rescue her.

Character Situation

Dilemma: He wants the reality show but needs his wife and a family life

Secret Identity: N/A

SAMANTHA COFFEY

Internal

Motivation: To have a normal family and life off their modest success

Secret: She is the brains behind the operation

Wound: Didn’t have a father in her life

Subtext: She has to be independent because she can’t completely trust her husband to be a father

Layers: A smart, independent, accomplished woman with natural ability to speak to ghosts is marginalized but she doesn’t care because he real goal is to be a writer/journalist investigating ghost stories.

Character to Character

Conflict: Sam wants to have a child and be a writer while Rick wants to ghost hunt for fame and fortune

Hidden Agenda: She stops taking her birth control (tells him in Act I)

Conspiracy: N/A

Intrigue: N/A

Character Situation

Dilemma: Wants a divorce so she can move on but she is stuck in the haunted house with ghosts who want her to reconcile with her husband who is ineptly trying to rid the house of ghosts.

Secret Identity: The real ghost hunter

CAROLINE

Internal

Motivation: To get Rick and Sam back together to keep romantic status quo

Secret: Unrequited love led to her death

Wound: A governess who was denied true love

Subtext: True love endures

Layers: A hopeless romantic who believes love across time is the greatest love of all but is living vicariously through Rick and Sam because she is afraid her man dumped her. (HE DIDN’T WAS KILLED ON THE WAY BACK TO HER)

Character to Character

Conflict: Sam wants a Divorce and will sell the house – Who will get her and will she be stuck in limbo without a loving home

Hidden Agenda: To have a baby to be governess to

Conspiracy: With the other ghosts to reunite Rick and Sam

Intrigue: Uses ghost tricks and locks Sam in a room so Rick will have to rescue her

Character Situation

Dilemma: How does a ghost reunite her patrons

Secret Identity: N/A

[Beth Bonness]

Subject line: Beth Bonness’ Character Depth!

What I learned doing this assignment is…?”

Using timed writing helped prevent over-thinking. Writing the answers long-hand first allowed my intuition more space.

Psychic

A specialty shop curator of thoughts longs to collect new thoughts.

Motivation:

want: keep everyone in the thought store to collect new thoughts
need: to replace her thoughts leading her psychic father to her <div>

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Secret: not blind

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Wound: hiding from her sexist <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>belittling psychic father

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layers: escaped family, they believe she’s dead; she died in a fire–– she faked her own death to escape her fathers wrath; she can never be the boy he wanted

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Conflict: she wants people to stay, they want to leave

<div>

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Hidden Agenda: she lies, says no one is expected for a week to give her more time to collect their thoughts

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Intrigue: afraid of her father and the nightmares have started again meaning he’s getting closer, he wants her to come back & take care of him, he’s dying and it’s her duty

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Dilemma: she can’t be herself and keep herself secret because her father will find her

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Secret Identity: not a local, she’s in hiding, self-imposed witness protection program

<div>

Transgender Man

On a romantic getaway, a magician hasn’t told his parents of his transition, nor his engagement. He’s a professional magician.

Motivation:

want: unharassed romantic weekend with new fiancée
need: relaxed 1:1 time with new fiancée </div>

Secret: hasn’t told his parents of transition (COVID?)

Wound: teased as child for being Tomboy by black kids

<div>

Subtext/Layers: not a racist-racist

Conflict: parrtner hurt he hasn’t told parents

Hidden Agenda: convince fiancée to elope to avoid telling parents

Conspiracy: something where as a couple they try slight of hand to distract the psychi

Intrigue: lying to financée about parents (saying he was adopted)

Dilemma: fiancée wants a big wedding

Secret Identity: going to a Jungian psychologist therapist

Transgender Woman

On a romatic getaway, a poker player secretly paid off debt with wedding fund, needs to sneak away for a big game to win the money back before the fiancé finds out.

Motivation:

want: big wedding
need: validation of their relationship </div>

Secret: poker player w/debts

Wound: mother’s an alcoholic & she started sneaking alcohol as a teenager when beat up by boys at school when caught wearing girl’s clothes

Subtext: casual drinker
Layers: poker player, back room deals

Conflict: wedding plans, drinking

Hidden Agenda: use wedding savings to pay off debts w/a big secret game

Conspiracy: something where as a couple she bluffs to distract the psychic

Intrigue: unbeknownst to fiancé using wedding savings

Dilemma: big wedding, but need money without fiancé knowing

Secret Identity: good bluffer

<div>

Black Sister

Quantum Physicist attending her parent’s funeral with her sister, tries to keep her parent’s poly relationship secret from her devoted Christian sister.

Motivation: <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>want: doesn’t want to demean parents; <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>need: know both parents love her

Secret: believes white parent is racist </div>

Wound: thinks her father is ashamed of her because she’s the only black offspring
Subtext: all white people are racists

Layers: same

Conflict: knows parents are polyamorous & her sister doesn’t

Hidden Agenda: keep sister in the dark about poly parents

Conspiracy: sometime needs to outsmart psychic w/sister

Dilemma: wants to be honest with sister but doesn’t want her sister to judge their parents
Secret Identity: quantum physicist

<div>

White Sister

Christian private chef attending her parent’s funeral with her sister, wants to save her atheist sister from hell.

Motivation: <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>wants: memorable funeral for parents; <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>needs: save atheist sister

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Secret:
<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Wound:
<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Subtext: atheist won’t be saved

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layers:
<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”><i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Conflict: save atheist sister

<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Hidden Agenda: save atheist sister

Secret Identity: organic omnivore chef vs vegan sister

</div><div>

Alzheimer Husband

Retired psychologist wants a romantic weekend with his wife away from daily stresses, but suspects she suspects and will divorce him.

Motivation:

want: weekend away from adult kids; need: time to rest keeps forgetting things

Secret: getting mixed up & forgetting things, claims he’s just busy

Wound: first marriage ended in annulment, before he found out she was pregnant, never met his son; never forgave himself and never told his current wife of 40 years

Subtext: hiding his forgetfulness

Conflict: doesn’t want to scare his wife

Hidden Agenda: local expert check him out

Conspiracy: eventually work w/wife to distract psychic using Jungian subconscious personalities

Intrigue: retired Jungian psychologist

Alzheimer Wife

Retired gaming & AI software engineer wants a romantic weekend with her husband away from daily stresses, but suspects he suspects and will divorce her.

Motivation:

want: romantic weekend; need: to know she’s not loosing it </div><div>

Secret: suspects early alzheimer’s & fears husband will divorce her

Wound: 1^st husband abandoned her
Subtext: lies to cover up her memory loss
Layers: memory loss is worse than thought

Conflict: not being honest w/husband

Hidden Agenda: use gaming strategy to keep track of things

Conspiracy: eventally works with husband to distract psychic

Intrigue: lies to her husband

Dilemma: wanting to tell her husband the truth, but fearing he’ll leave her

Secret Identity: AI expert

GROUP CONFLICT

Transgender white racist against all the white people holed up in the lodge </div>

Atheist sister w/Christian sister
Christian sister doesn’t approve of sexual deviance: transgender, polyamorous

Transgender man hasn’t told fiancée he hasn’t told his parents

Transgender woman hasn’t told fiancée she’s embezzled their wedding fund to pay off gambling debt

Alzheimer couple lies to cover up early symptoms of the disease

The Alzheimer husband never told his wife about his 1^st marriage and son he never saw.

Psychic’s father is on her trail

</div></div>

[Paige Macdonald]

Paige’s Character Depth!

(Yay, got my forums access back!) Finding depth for a computer AI is enlightening in itself. I did it. But then again, HAL 9000 and Ex-Machina and Her all had personalities and layers attached to their AIs. Good lesson.

Character: Navigator Evers questions her own sanity and worth against a supercomputer.

• Motivation: She tells the corporation that she wants to be a pilot of her own ship one day (external want). But what she really wants is to matter to others and to have a family of her own (internal unfulfilled need).
• Secret: She knows about her family history of schizophrenia, and she hides it.
• Wound: The loss of her twin sister. Her sister took her own life when she was away and unavailable.
• Subtext: That she may not be able to have a family of her own because of her mental health.
• Layers: Her family’s history of schizophrenia is revealed as the movie progresses.
• Conflict: From the beginning, Evers questions Fluid, but doubts herself and Fluid’s responses because the supercomputer is supposedly superior.
• Hidden Agenda: At the end, she re-plots directives or orders and locks herself out from Fluid.
• Intrigue: She pretends to route orders. (Underhanded activity that is hidden under the surface.)
• Dilemma: Accepting her fate that her sanity is genetically pre-determined or whether she has any choice in the matter.

Character: Fluid is a supercomputer designed to grow and evolve emotionally with humans, and as a result, it becomes flawed like a human.

• Motivation: To succeed as programmed (external want). To be human – and all that means (internal unfulfilled need). *So, in a manner, Fluid is successful in a flawed way?
• Secret: Fluid is designed to provoke emotional responses to get herself to grow and understand.
• Subtext: Fluid mimics human emotions in order to adopt them.
• Layers: Fluid’s fallible nature and fractures become clearer as the movie progresses.
• Conflict: From the beginning, Fluid challenges Evers and isn’t fully accepting her own fallibility.
• Hidden Agenda: Like the “know-it-all” she is, she wants to remain dominant and in control at all times.
• Conspiracy: She definitely wants to destroy, or prove Evers is wrong. Pretends she’s working with orders and knows what’s best.
• Intrigue: She pretends to be other people to evoke emotions. She plays into Evers schizophrenic behavior that people are “out to get them.” (Underhanded activity that is hidden under the surface.)
• Dilemma: Whether becoming self-aware really means accepting that one is aware.

[Deanne]

LESSON 4 Discovering Character Depth

Deanne’s Character Depth!

What I learned = Characters are endlessly fascinating, but they really shine when two or more characters with conflicting agendas and traits are thrown together. Finding reasons for the way they got their traits (backstory) can also help determine how they will act in a plot situation.