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Subtext Mastery Lesson 3 Assignments
Post your Lesson 3 assignments here!
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SUBTEXT – CHARACTER
TROUBLE (FANTASY) – NORENE SMILEY
TYPE OF CHARACTER SUBTEXT:
Subject Identity:
Scrap – orphan/embodiment of The Trouble curse destined to destroy the world
Ruby & Bardo Hoagg – Guardians//shape shifters
Agrippa Chafe – community do-gooder/power-hungry mastermind
B. Ironic Character:
Scrap – small defenceless child who is danger to mankind
Ruby & Bardo – protectors who could be seen as jailers
Agrippa – warm and cuddly mother figure who is evil to the core
C. Expressing Internal State:
Scrap – unaware that she is destined to create chaos and the end of things
Ruby & Bardo – secret keepers of Scrap’s identity, tasked with protecting the world from her
Agrippa – is secretly the real power behind how the Outside operates
WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO COVER UP? and HOW WILL THEY COVER THAT SUBTEXT?
Scrap – hiding changes she knows are welling up inside her from Ruby & Bardo by distracting and lying to them
– afraid to tell them about signs of weaknesses in the Keep. She is in fear of what is happening to her and covers by acting out
– abandonment issues she is unaware of
– later in story she lies to new friends to hide that she is causing bad luck everywhere
Ruby & Bardo – hiding Scrap’s true identity by lying to Scrap, hiding evidence, misdirections
Agrippa – hiding what powers the Outside’s massive machines by intimidation, threats and dirty deeds
– hiding that she is the ultimate power of the city by never breaking face she shows the public
WHAT I LEARNED DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT: subtext can help resolve character development challenges
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Subtext 3 Character – WN
Larry: Surface: Cool. Successful salesman. Married to a beautiful sweet wife.
Hiding: wound about immigration to US as a child – didn’t speak English or know any American culture (e.g. TV). Doesn’t deserve his wife. Insecure – over reacts; jealous.
Ashamed of immigrant parents, blue collar. Over-compensates with struggle to succeed in business. Likes wife’s parents better.
Hiding: He caused accidental death of his wife. Set up fake alibi.
Ed: Surface: Detective for local police dept. Married. Normal guy. Doesn’t believe Larry’s alibi.
Hiding: In love with Kristen (Larry’s wife) since high school.
Illegally watches her with police surveillance equipment. He knows there was no one else at Larry’s house when Kristen died, but can’t tell because of how he knows. Obsessed with proving Larry’s guilt.
Hiding quiet desperation. Source unknown. Deeply insecure. Over-compensates with bravado cop behavior.
Kristen: Surface: sweet school teacher. Loves Larry and is faithful. Friendly.
Hiding: She’s afraid of Ed. Has seen him watching but doesn’t tell Larry.
Woman cop: surface: good cop
Hiding: She knows Ed is a creep. Doesn’t have any concrete evidence against him. Thinks he’s nuts to pursue Larry for the death of his wife. Pretends to cooperate with the investigation.
Ed’s wife: Surface: waitress. Knows Ed is crazy about Kristen and thinks it’s awful.
Hiding: Married Ed for financial security and health insurance. Doesn’t really like him, but pretends. This is getting more and more difficult.
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Constance Barr
Love Dance (Rom-Com)
Mastering Subtext Assignment #3 Character subtext
What I learned from doing this exercise is it clarified & added aspects to what I already had.
Subtext for Daisy Duncan
Character Surface: Daisy appears to be a confident, self-assured and capable woman. This is how nearly everyone perceives her. But to her BFF, Kate, and her sister, P.T, they know better.
Character Subtext: Under that confident façade, Daisy struggles with self-doubt and feeling not good enough and undeserving. She wants to have what her parents had in their marriage, a true partnership of soulmates.
How her subtext shows up in the story:
She tries a myriad of dates and venues to find her soulmate with disastrous results. Then she vows to stop trying but breaks her promise to herself and P.T. by sleeping with Buck. She keeps it a secret from all but Kate and really gives up when Buck leaves.
Subtext for Buck Wright
Character Surface: On the outside, Buck is an easy-going, fun-loving guy.
Character Subtext: But, underneath, similar to Daisy, he doesn’t believe he in entitled to another great love in his life. Since he was driving the car when the accident occurred that took her life.
How his subtext shows up in the story:
He has resisted getting involved in a serious relationship until he meets Daisy. After the first time they have dynamite sex, he gets scared and takes off leaving only a cursory note, “Sorry”.
Subtext for Frank Monroe
Character Surface: Most folks think Frank is a Casanova, ladies’ man, even at nearly 80 and a bit of a character.
Character Subtext: While he does have a great sense of humor and loves to have fun, he is also trying to compensate for the loss of his great love, Rose, his beloved wife and mother of his girls. He feels cheated that they did not have more time together before the cancer took her.
How his subtext shows up in the story:
He overcompensates for the loss of his wife, Rose, by having random sex with a host of ladies at YACC. He thinks of Rose often and kisses her photo.
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THE 88 (drama, story takes place during The Great Depression, 1930)
ALICE (lead protagonist)
Character Surface: Alice, a 17 year old piano prodigy controlled by her strict Catholic mother and her church. She has never questioned her fate to play the Lord’s music. She is earnest, God fearing and devoted to her family.
Character Subtext: Alice risks her faith in order to support her poor family, so when she gets a job playing piano for an underground lesbian band, she keeps it a secret. The deeper she goes into this underground world, and as her talent and passion for jazz grows, the more guilt ridden she becomes. The angel on one shoulder, the devil on the other.
BUD (Alice’s mentor)
Character Surface: Bud is the owner of the music shop, where Alice learns to play Jazz piano. He is a kind and soulful aging black man in 1930 and has managed to keep his business afloat. This is a source of pride but is tempered by his place in society. He takes Alice under his wing.
Character Subtext: Bud, an orphan, survived on the streets playing the harmonica for tips. He almost made it in the burgeoning jazz scene, but according to his mentor, Duke Ellington, he was not quite good enough. He feels like a failure and hides that he knows “The Duke”.
RENEE (Alice’s mom)
Character Surface: Renee, a strict Catholic, devoted wife to a low-life, abusive husband and fiercely protective mother of four, living in poverty.
Character Subtext: Renee overcompensates for a deep belief she is a bad and worthless person. She was abused as a child and married an abusive husband. Her religion is her lifeline. If she had to choose God or her children, she’d choose God.
What I learned during this lesson is that this is a great tool to develop all characters important to your story. Creating character subtext can also lead to finding new story layers.
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This reply was modified 4 years ago by Clea Montville-Wood.
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This reply was modified 4 years ago by
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What I learned doing this assignment is how the subtext of all my characters play into each other’s character and overall plot lines. Lots of lying and deceit going on.
TITLE: SHARDS
GENRE: THRILLER
Protagonist: SARAH COLE at twenty-six-years-old
Subtext Identity: The victim
Character Surface: She is a highly talented art and pottery restoration expert who suffered a serious accident in childhood which left her with amnesia and little memory of her life before the age of six.
Character Subtext: She uses alcohol to dull the pain of recurring nightmares in which she feels responsible for the death of her father in the Arizona desert twenty years ago.
Co-Protagonist: SARAH COLE at six-years-old
Subtext Identity: Happy kid
Character Surface: Frightened that she will be separated from her father if she has to go to school.
Character Subtext: She has a wild streak and often does things which are opposite her father’s wishes and instructions.
Antagonist: JAMES MARCH
Subtext Identity: The Manipulator and Con
Character Surface: He is being a nice guy in offering to help Sarah to regain her memory, albeit he plans to write a book and make money about her case.
Character Subtext: He will lie and manipulate Sarah’s memory to cover the fact that he murdered her father twenty years ago and needs to find a lost Spanish Treasure, the location of which is buried someplace in Sarah’s memory.
Red Herring #1: JOHNNY BENALLY
Subtext Identity: The Reluctant Spy
Character Surface: He is a Navajo wrangler who will accompany Sarah and March as they travel into remote desert where March will use hypnosis to help Sarah remember tragic events of her childhood.
Character Subtext: He is a Navajo Nation police officer who was ordered by the Police Chief to work undercover on Sarah’s cold case – and keep an eye on March who is suspected of murder. Johnny is torn between tradition and the modern world, in conflict because his grandfather, the current Shaman, wants Johnny to follow in his footsteps and become tribe Shaman.
Red Herring #2: THE SHAMAN
Subtext Identity: The Respected Wise Wizard
Character Surface: He is a spiritual leader who can do no wrong and is always right.
Character Subtext: He is hiding the fact he saved Sarah’s life twenty years ago in order to protect the location of a sacred cave. He has lived a lie for twenty years and must set things right with the Spirit world, Sarah, March and Johnny.
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Character Subtext
Character 1
Surface: Protagonist is a confident, gregarious entertainer who’s quite talented, but risks losing it all by living to the extreme in terms of his behavior.
Subtext: success is not warranted, as his brother should have lived to achieve heights.
Subtext: feels abandoned by his idol and mentor brother, who never came home like he promised, therefore seeks female relationships outside of marriage.
Subtext: deep-seated anger, denies existence of his brother when asked about his family.
Character 2
Surface: Protagonist’s Spouse dutifully follows him through ups and downs, despite being neglected.
Subtext: Covers knowledge of his fathering a child with someone else, during their marriage.
Subtext: In their marriage, Protagonist has been substituted for her abusive father, who was also a career military man and alcoholic.
Character 3
Surface: New Mentor in the business, who tries to keep Protagonist on the straight and narrow, through the acceptance of God and the things he can’t control.
Subtext: Mentor not who he seems to be (imposter)
Subtext: Mentor Hides his true motivation for wanting to help Protagonist (can’t say)
What I learned is: how fun it is to play with character subtext, which helps deliver more meaning to the story line and helps to flesh out their own profile.
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Dad is a womanizer and he loves it. He believes it’s a part of being a man. But he feels guilty for traveling so much due to his job so he lets the kids have their way even if they go against their mom- he’s a conformist. Especially with Chloë because he is aware that she knows about his infidelity. He doesn’t want to be the bad guy or accept the truth that he’s at fault for hurting the family unit or the dysfunctional relationships within the family unit.
Chloë has a secret, is angry at her mom for not doing anything about it, so she takes out her frustration at her dad on her family by lying and manipulating to get his attention and/or affection.
Kasey appears to be nonchalant about how the family unit functions but she is actually angry at all family members for not dealing with the slow, rising destruction of the family unit. She hides her vengeful desires by comforting and/or problem solving. In a way, she takes on the role as the mother.
What I learned from this assignment is to dig deeper into why my characters have a purpose in each other’s lives and the tragic event that happens at the end is a life lesson on how to function as a real family.
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Character Subtext – Day #3
What I learned from this assignment is the subtext is in my head a lot of the time but just not on the page. So there’s a lot of work still to be done.
The subtext beneath the surface on Top Three Characters:
Crista Banks:
A young exuberant chef-des-cuisine wins top chef in a TV cooking competition with the help of her best friend, sous chef Vicky. The two friends stage a fight to get the producers attention, promising to share their future chef-ing successes with each other. But when Crista lands her own TV show she grabs onto the celebrity and doesn’t think twice about leaving Vicky behind.
John Livingston:
John does everything possible to help Crista craft her own successful TV show, always ensuring there will be something in it for him. On set it is no secret John’s a womanizer who not only chases Crista’s close friend Trish, he also romances Vicky for his own personal gain.
Jeb Green:
Jeff Bridges requests that Jeb meet with celebrity Crista Banks to discuss her school food program proposal. Jeb calls friends at NYPD and investigates her, wants to know her true agenda. Once he learns who Crista Banks really is, he meets with her but conceals their childhood friendship. She is completely unaware she was his fourth grade crush. Both have changed their surnames and so this remains Jeb’s secret. Jeb also knows about her past, her life in the projects which gives him an edge. As the relationship fires up romantically Crista admits she never wants kids of her own, while Jeb is hiding the fact he’s the solo parent of twin boys.
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What I learned from this lesson is that applying subtextual layers to my characters helped me to learn new things about my characters that I had not previously considered, or that were hidden to me.
FLICKER
CHARACTER SURFACE: Handicapped by his inability to breathe fire, he desperately wants to learn, believing that doing so will earn him the respect and acceptance he craves from his father, King Paladin.
CHARACTER SUBTEXT: He is conflicted. He longs to go on adventures, but he is also fearful of the outside world; something he would never dare share with his family and peers, thinking it would make him look weak in their eyes.
FIREBRAND
CHARACTER SURFACE: King Paladin’s brother and Summerfjord Kingdom’s sole wizard. He is capable, both through counsel and magic, of affecting great change in others, for good or ill, as he sees fit.
CHARACTER SUBTEXT: He secretly harbors a deep wound from his childhood – his own personal handicap – which hinders his abilities as a wizard, such as casting spells that don’t work. He must learn to put his bitterness aside and to become a wounded healer.
FLINT
CHARACTER SURFACE: Firebrand’s seemingly loyal and obedient assistant, always at his master’s side.
CHARACTER SUBTEXT: Inwardly, he is twisted by jealousy and hate. He secretly desires to steal Summerfjord Kingdom for himself and to destroy Paladin, Firebrand, and Flicker by his evil and nefarious designs.
KING PALADIN
CHARACTER SURFACE: Outwardly rules Summerfjord Kingdom and his family with an iron fist to ensure discipline and obedience.
CHARACTER SUBTEXT: He has a big heart and is deeply concerned for his family’s well-being. He’s incredibly proud of Flicker, his only son, and wants only the best for him, but his arrogance as a leader hinders him from expressing that pride openly.
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ScreenwritingU – Lesson #3 – Character Subtext – © Evelyn Petros (4/16/21)
Désirée
Character Surface: Self-identity issues and fear of abandonment caused by the early loss of Désirée’s birth parents, and the false belief, instilled by her foster father, Michel, that Désirée’s birth parents never came back to look for her when she was found wandering on the road without them, result in Désirée acting out the role of the sweet, dutiful and compliant woman that antebellum Louisiana French Creole plantation society demands of her. Fearful that she will face a loss of love and rejection by her foster parents and husband, Armand, if she reveals her true feelings, her hatred of slavery, and her ambition for a musical career, she keeps up this facade until the last straw.
Character Subtext: Underneath, Désirée longs for a musical career, becoming proficient on the pianoforte, and reveals her hatred of slavery by secretly teaching her husband’s teenaged slave boy, Négrillon, to read and write, while making arrangements for him to escape. Finally, after an unforgiveable act against the boy by Armand, she finds the courage to defy her sadistic husband and flee with her child, realizing she is much better off raising her biracial son without him, and exercising her wish for a career by teaching piano lessons and managing her aging foster parents’ plantation.
Armand
Character Surface: Armand, the brash young heir of L’Abri plantation is a charming Byronesque figure, who values his lineage and high status in the French Creole plantation society of antebellum Louisiana. He knows his father is keeping some secret from him, but doesn’t know what it is. Gradually, he suspects the truth, but won’t accept it, and blames his wife when their baby is born black. Committing a violent act makes him lose everything he holds dear, but causes him remorse and changes him for the better, though it can’t save his marriage.
Character Subtext: Armand’s losses as a child–his mother’s death, the loss of the family’s château and vineyard, and his father’s uprooting him from his idyllic Paris childhood to a neglected Louisiana plantation, wound and cause him to become a demanding bully, always needing to be in control of the people and situations in his life. He hides gambling debts and adultery from his wife, and does not know that he is committing incest with his mulatto half-sister until his overseer informs him.
Louis
Character Surface: This kind, loving widower and overindulgent father tries to do the best for his son, Armand, after the death of the boy’s mother in Paris. After their move to his Louisiana plantation, unlike his demanding son, he treats their slaves with civility and compassion.
Character Subtext: Louis hides several important secrets from his son, Armand, including the boy’s mother’s African heritage, and his fathering of a daughter with his housekeeper, thinking that this will protect the boy from harsh realities, but when the truth is revealed, the destruction of Armand’s marriage ensues, which ultimately also leads to Louis’ own death.
What I learned from this lesson: Even secondary and minor characters can have subtexts which will make their scenes more interesting! I gave one of my secondary characters, a busybody neighbor, subtexts that add much needed comic relief to my dramatic story.
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Character Subtext
The Unborn Witness –
Claire – Ironic Character – internal state – she feels unloved and unwanted because she is adopted and feels that she cannot find love. She rejects everyone around her. she is insecure and over compensates by being mean and rejecting people who want to help her. On the surface she seems to be competent and an accomplished boxer.
Stan – His subtext is identity – he is a detective and now campaigning as State District Attorney and very confident that women like him. In reality he is a con, a criminal, a domestic violence abuser and murderer, chronic liar and cheater.
Martin – a detective and comes across as a wimp and good friend to Stan – he is hiding being gay, his love for Fran, and covers up by being over polite and loving, by letting Stan get away with things until he has proof that Stan is the killer and then he confronts him…and dies as a result.
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Sylvia Krawczyk’s CHARACTER SUBTEXT
L3 Lesson 3– DEFINING CHARACTER SUBTEXT
What I learned doing this assignment is…
This is interesting. I think I will play with this some more to gain more insight and depth. This is my start on this exercise.
Character: Elsie
Character Surface: Daughter, Loving, Positive
Character Subtext: Knows something is different about herself; being polite
How the character subtext might show up in the story:
She knows she’s kidnapped but doesn’t know what to do about it. Her main cover-up is being polite.
Character: Judith
Character Surface: “Mother”; Aunt; Snarky
Character Subtext: Withholding the fact that she’s the kidnapper
How the character subtext might show up in the story:
She holds jealousy and resentment towards her sister and has kidnapped her sister’s daughter to raise as her own. Her main cover-up is being sarcastic and snarky.
Character: Magda
Character Surface: Daughter; Mean
Character Subtext: Jealous of Elsie=insecurity; Controlling
How the character subtext might show up in the story:
She knows there is something odd about herself and Elsie’s relationship but doesn’t know what it is. She is mean because she can’t control the situation.
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DARK INTENT – Character Subtext
A. NARIAH NILSSON
1. Character surface: Brilliant, highly skilled undercover special agent,who takes risks and is self-centered and confident.
2. Character Subtext: Emotionally insecure and wounded. She cravesfamily and human connection, and fears the dark.
B. EMERSON BLACK
1. Character Surface: Gregarious and generous author and inventor. 2. Character Subtext: Greedy, selfish capitalist who hates his family,but needs family and connection.
C. MOTHER REVEREND ASHANTI
1. Character Surface: A pious Catholic nun.
2. Character Subtext: A renegade missionary, thief and unwed mother.Giving our lead characters can open up the doors to vivid characters.
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Walter Francis White’s subtext comes from being a black man who can pass for white. There are times when the character goes undercover as a white man to investigate lynchings in the Deep South – his agenda ( and identity) is hidden from the whites. He covers this subtext by embracing his white outward appearance. Later, when speaking truth to power in Washington DC, his power to pass as white affords Walter a degree of respect he might not typically have. His wound comes from watching his childhood best friend lynched in his front yard.Walter’s son, Pidge, has an internal state (also passing for white/living in both worlds but not accepted by either) that he’s expressing in the story. Pidge doesn’t know what he is and this is a source of insecurity. When bullies mark his face up with white and black charcoal, his internal state is forced upon him physically while still not providing a meaningful answer to his confusion about his identity. Pidge covers the issue by lashing out at those around him: his father, in the army.Gladys ((Walter’s wife) presents as an ironic character subtext in that she is all in for fighting against lynching and for promoting African Americans as a member of the NAACP but is relegated to menial tasks in the organization because she’s a woman, not allowed to fight for a just cause on account of society in the 1930s. She covers the issue by being aloof but polite and resigned to her station in life as the wife of a great man during a celebration for Walter White and simply walking off and not engaging with Walter or guests. What I learned doing this assignment is that characters can be more meaningfully drawn by engaging subtextual techniques to establish deeper layers to each. Motivation, slights, contrasts, affirmations(or the lack thereof), personal/emotional wounds and more serve to deepen the experience an audience will perceive.
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1. Brainstorm the surface and subtext beneath the surface on a Character level for your top 3 characters.
2. Give us a sentence or two of how the character subtext might show up in your story.
Jule: (Lies)
Character
Surface: Jule is a misjudged engineer just trying to return to their work
Cracter
Subtext: Jule is a self-appointed general who massacred an entire village
as retribution for their perceived disloyaltyTheandro (Afraid to say)
Character
Surface: Theandro is someone who can send the criminal away to perform
restitution while keeping their sleazy lawyer at bay
Character
Subtext: Theandro is an angel who fought with vengeance instead of emotional
neutrality, and has paid the priceTwstr (Being polite)
Character
Surface: Twstr is a champion of the
unjustly accused who want to see justice prevail.
Character
Subtext: Twstr is a demon intent on inflicting more pain on humanity.3. What I learned doing this assignment is writing out character subtext in sentences this way (which is better than the way I have been doing) clarifies and can even amplify character traits, both of which makes it easier to have them say or do the surface thing and have the subtext thing the surface
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What I learned doing this assignment is that you can enrich your screenplays and give them true depth by utilizing character subtext. The foundation of a great screenplay is three-dimensional characters and you can’t achieve that without subtext that makes the characters more interesting, vibrant, and compelling.
Parish Road (Horror Feature)
Lisa – Character Surface: Tough, capable, unflappable. Subtext: Grieving and lost with her recent tragedies (professional and personal). She lost her lover/partner and a teen she was fond of and had known for years, in the space of a few minutes. She doesn’t know if she deserves to survive what she’s being put through.
Anne – On the surface she’s a jaded widow & survivor with a sense of humor and faded maternal instincts who wants to help Lisa live and escape. Subtext: She’s a crazed victim with a dark secret that led her to Parish Road. Her husband is alive and the two of them are planning to sacrifice Lisa to facilitate their own escape.
James – On the surface, James is a caring and patient boyfriend who will give Lisa time to come back to him from her losses. Subtext: He cannot relate to what she’s going through and he’s not connected to her fundamentally enough to help her through it. This is why he’s quickly left behind on her journey.
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DEANNE’S CHARACTER SUBTEXT
What I learned = examining a character’s subtext helps sharpen the focus of character actions and dialogue.
Step 1: Type of character subtext.
CORA: con
Surface layer = clueless target of emotional abuse
Subtext = shrewd observer who’s thinking “I’m on to you, but let’s have some fun with this.”
ANDREA: ironic
Surface layer = A warm and caring psychologist who only wants the best for her clients.
Subtext = A malignant narcissist with a guilty secret, driven to prove she’s perfect and better than anyone else at everything. She hates to see anyone else succeed at anything.
BELLE: criminal
Surface layer = cheerful trend-setting socialite and realtor
Subtext = shameless thief who steals for the thrill of it
Step 2: What are they trying to hide?
CORA: At first she’s hiding a feeling she’s helpless to stop her continuing bad luck. Then she’s covering up a con.
ANDREA: She’s hiding involvement in a long-ago lethal event, the fact she isn’t the perfect, caring, trustworthy person she pretends to be, and that she’s gaslighting Cora.
BELLE: She’s hiding the fact she has no empathy for other people and is blackmailing Trudy to get her assistance in gaslighting Cora.
Step 3: How do they cover that subtext?
CORA: pretends to be clueless to what Andrea and Belle are doing, while diverting attention to other things
ANDREA: disguises her malevolence with a show of caring concern weighted with the authority of her professional knowledge.
BELLE: does things behind people’s backs and lies to their face
Sentences on how character subtexts show up:
CORA: after Cora discovers what Andrea has been doing, she continues to act clueless while laying the groundwork for a con designed to take down Andrea.
ANDREA: In order to keep her imperfections and guilt hidden, Andrea has been gaslighting Cora (her Achilles heel) for years. However, changing circumstances threaten to expose Andrea’s secrets, so she plots to get rid of Cora while pretending to be looking out for Cora’s best interests.
BELLE: Recognizing her therapist, Andrea, as a comrade in criminal behavior, Belle is delighted to help skewer Cora by assisting in the gaslighting because it might give her opportunities to steal stuff. Belle does not comprehend that Andrea’s motives might be based on something more than material greed and the thrill of stealing stuff.
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Sandra’s Character Subtext
What I learned doing this assignment is to examine each lead characters inner world and secrets (wound, secret identity, hidden agenda, and secret relationships) to determine their subtext.
Lucy
Character Surface: Ph.D. student, wife, daughter, sister, maybe soon to be mother. Wound – doesn’t know who her father is.
Character Subtext: Ironic – she analyzes data as a researcher, however jumps to conclusions in human relationships.
Professor Clark
Character Surface: University professor and researcher.
Character Subtext: Ironic – sabotages Lucy’s research, attempted to kill the research assistant and make it look like a suicide, previously killed a student.
Research Assistant
Character Surface: University student and research assistant.
Character Subtext: Ironic – undercover informant.
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Lesson 3 – Character Subtext
JESSE:
Character surface: While complaining about his current situation of working at menial low paying jobs, he over compensates by boasting about his filmmaking career. He confidently proclaims he is making a great film about haunted Niagara.
Character subtext: He is hiding an insecurity and wound. He is emotionally devastated. A former film project he was developing collapsed. He lost his money, his self-esteem, and was separated from the woman he loves. By making the film about Niagara he hopes to earn money, restore his self-worth and get back to the woman.
MILT:
Character surface: He is an imposing picture of a successful and confidence businessman. He runs a profitable sports equipment business and is on holiday in Niagara with his wife, Harper.
Character subtext: He is hiding a secret identity. He is actually a gangster, a member of the South Carolina Dixie Mafia. He is in Niagara to hide out from a rival faction of the Dixie Mafia who want to kill him.
He also has a hidden agenda. He plans to smuggle a large shipment of cocaine into Niagara.
HARPER:
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Character surface: She is the vibrant and sociable wife of Milt. She is Milt’s constant companion as they enjoy the high-end shops, restaurants, and casinos of Niagara.
Character subtext: She is hiding a secret identity. She is not Milt’s wife, but is his bodyguard, and a deadly sharpshooter.
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Applying Character Subtext Lesson 3
Dave’s Crime Thriller “Nightfall” 5/2/21
What I learned doing this assignment is… My story holds up to scrutiny.
Small time crook KEVIN CONLIN’S life is an escalating series of bad choices. In the end he will choose to do one great thing for the woman he loves and their unborn child though it costs him his life.
As a high-priced call girl, SHERRY JONES wanted a high class lifestyle with no thought of love. In the end she will find that life though it will be without Kevin, the man she loves.
Special Agent DOCKERY personifies the best the FBI has to offer but when things get personal his pursuit of Kevin sends him toward a violent resolution.
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Assignment 3 – Character Subtext for 28 Days & 7 minutes
Character #1 = Ted Ryko (lead), 21, cyclist, record-holder, photographer
Surface = effervescent, confident, adventurous, strong, self-assured
What the character is trying to hide (below the surface) =
Guilt because he is running away from his staid religious parents and the strong cultural responsibilities of taking on the farm (as he was expected to do) and hence, insecurity and fear of failure because he wants to ‘make it on his own’ believing that doing so will earn him the respect and acceptance he craves from his father. When WW1 breaks out and he is accused of being aspy his identity is further challenged.How the character deals with the issue = out of sight, out of mind (he is geographically remote from his parents, the farm, and hence the issue).
Character #2 = Thompson, 46, editor Northern Territory Times newspaper
Type of character (surface) = brash, intelligent, informed, big hearted
What the character is trying to hide (below surface) = his ‘failure’ to make the previous newspaper a success in Queensland, pain of death of a friend when they were together during a cyclone, injustice metered out to him in times past (?)
How the character does this = drinks, supports the underdog, fights against corruption and injustice
Character #3 = Hoskins, 22, telegraph officer
Type of character (surface) = cheerful, sociable, caring, adventurous but restrained
What the character is trying to hide (below surface) = loneliness/boredom (?), jealous of Jack (due to his friendship with Ted)
How the character does this = befriends Ted to get excitement
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Harry’s Lesson 3 WORK
What I learned doing this assignment is: Although I had considered these traits before, I had not actually contrasted them with subtext. This is a great character development tool to learn!
Jon:
Character surface:, Spontaneous, impetuous, charming, easy-going.
Character Subtext: Appears over-confident but his subtext is wounded – untrusted by father as a kid, having to prove himself at every turn. Mother over-compensated and cleaned up after him. He craves approval.
How his character shows up: Messy and expects others to clean up/finish up for him. Reliant on and deferential to others but knows what he wants, just can’t force it. His spontaneity borders rashness. Often unprepared, relying on natural ability and charm.
Klaudia:
Character surface: Neat, deliberate, fastidious, workaholic, planner
Character Subtext: Mother died and father working all hours so had to care for her brother and couldn’t save him. Feels the need to over-care and control. Her balance is off.
How her character shows up: Control-freak. Her way is the only way. Not a team player but rises due to extraordinary diligence. Under the surface she wants to be cared for; to be taken care of and not to have to control every last detail. She has to learn to let others take command.
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I learned in doing this assignment, that I am more in tune with their subtext (what they are hiding or lying about, as opposed to their surface story.
I suppose the surface story is that these three women are cultivating a friendship while long hauling for a living. Fellow truckers are dying, and these independent women learn they have to trust each other more than they want and in the midst of realizing that there are a few reasons for them not to.
Surface: Lisa, the protagonist, is a neophyte trucker who is struggling to keep her job. Alone and lonely, she befriends two female truckers she hears on a CB, Rose and Tera.
Subtext: Lisa, unknowingly is crippled by fear in various areas of her life, but makes decisions and exhibits behavior that would suggest she is fearless, confident and kick ass.
She is hiding many things: A fear of failure and success
An opinion she expresses covertly is she wonders if she has
unconscious biasAni insecurity is her fear of not being good enough/worthy
An agenda that is hidden is her past in sleepwalking and doing some things in her sleep she’d like to keep secret (afraid to say)
A secret or wound she has is abandonment issues
She covers it up through bravado, tough talk, ignoring or blowing off her numerous fears as if they aren’t affecting the way she leads her life. After her ex turns up dead, she fears that her past may be responsible for his demise.
Surface: Rose is the “elder” of the three women. A single mother and divorced, she is no nonsense bs detector. Her side hustle is being a mentor, although she doesn’t currently have a trainee.
Subtext: Rose is a bit of a saboteur, in that she sabotages the opportunities of other truckers to get big loads so she can book them for herself. She is bit of an ironic character in that she is a mother, who is less than nurturing and empathetic when it comes to others. Her less than honorable behavior ties her to at least two of the murdered truckers.
Surface: Tera is a trucker who is all about making money, by any means necessary, legally. That wasn’t always the case for her.
Surface: Tera is an undercover trucker. Her friendship with Lisa is an outright lie. Her side hustle is that she is a detective who follows truckers to monitor their skills and log infractions. Her assignment to follow and monitor Lisa. She is hiding that fact, as well as the fact that before she was a trucker, she was a dope dealer and her past ties her to at least two of the dead truckers.
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Well, I hope a new formatting will make this transfer work better than the last two lessons.
LESSON 3, Character Subtext
What I learned doing this assignment is the interplay between plot, environment, and character subtext.
Maya
Character Surface: A spoiled, rich teenager Character Subtext: Angry, rebellious, feels unloved.
Character Subtext: Doesn’t know her destIny as the next Dreamweaver and savior of two worldsBlake
Character Surface: A rich man and father
Character Subtext: His job is secret as the Dreamweaver in charge of balancing dreams
and reality by traveling back and forth between worlds.Orenda
Character Surface: Maya’s grandmother, Blake’s mom, educated on Iroquois heritage Character
Character Subtext: Hides her secret of puttng Blake’s wife in a coma. Wants revenge for the murder of her husband and
She is investigatIng the organizatIon on Earth that wants to destroy her family.
She’s also overseeing the protecIton of Lysandra’s comatose body.Lysandra
Character Surface: Angry Dark Dreamer forced to be in charge of nightmares who wants Blake’s job and be able to live in
reality.
Character Subtext: Her amnesia covers the fact that she’s Blake’s wife in a coma and knows secrets he’s told her that will
affect the survival of the whole family. -
Lesson 3 Assignment – Applying Character Subtext
What I learned doing this assignment is that the more your characters have a rich and
layered subtext, the better your story will affect the reader / audience.
1. Brainstorm the surface and subtext beneath the surface on a Character level for
your top 3 characters.a. Takeshi is a fierce loyalist to the Emperor and wants revenge for the death of this father at the hands of the Allied forces.
But after killing multiple Allied soldiers, he does not feel fulfilled and as slowly learning the senselessness of a hopeless war.
b. Yoshi’s always been a pacifist and a realist, he understands that every Japanese solider must do their part but doesn’t want
the be a part of anymore killing. Yoshi’s father was a drunken gambler who cheated the wrong person and was killed in an
argument. He did nothing but bring shame to Yoshi and their family’s name. Deep down, Yoshi would like to just once be
considered a hero and restore his family’s honor.
c. Hasu has a close relationship with his parents and God. He’s also a pacifist but understands that every Japanese soldier is
expected to killed at least ten of the enemy. He is learning to be a skilled tailor like his father to one day take over the family
shop but deep down he’d rather become a Catholic priest.
2. Give us a sentence or two of how the character subtext might show up in your story.
• Character Surface: Takeshi, the fierce loyalist to the Emperor and a skilled soldier.
• Character Subtext: When Yoshi is brutally killed in the story climax, Takeshi makes the decision to run away from the
senseless battle and find an Allied boat to surrender.
• Character Surface: Yoshi, the pacifist who wants nothing more than to stop fighting tries throughout the story to convince
Takeshi of the senselessness of continuing to fight a war they have no hope of winning.
• Character Subtext: When Yoshi is brutally killed in the story climax, he becomes to hero, Takeshi finally makes the decision
to run away from the senseless battle.
• Character Surface: Hasu, the pacifist who is dutifully serving in the infantry to keep his family’s honor and serve the
Emperor, doesn’t want to kill anyone.
• Character Subtext: The senselessness and brutality of war takes its toll on Hasu, and he begins to loss all hope that
he’ll ever live to see his parents again. He’s brutally killed in the lead up to the story climax after Takeshi fails to protect him as
he promised he would.
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This reply was modified 5 months ago by David Wetzel.
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This reply was modified 5 months ago by David Wetzel.
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This reply was modified 5 months ago by
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Lesson 3: Applying Character Subtext:
The protagonist, Elizabeth is embarrassed to share her out of school athletic activities with the boys in her Civics class, but gets braver as a rough-neck, teammate/classmate brags about their achievements. With support she gets braver and more determined to participate in athletics and her desire to play at the University someday, although they didn’t have varsity sports for girls yet. The boys make it clear that girls can play but women shouldn’t, it’s not lady-like.When she tries out and makes the new varsity volleyball program at the University, she feels guilty about leaving all the work for Grams at the Truck Stop diner, feeling like she may have caused Grams’ heart attack. She goes to college knowing her dad used his truck for collateral for a college loan and worrying about it.
The social construct at the time did not support women at school so she has to get the nerve up to confront a professor for down grading her due to absences, she confronts the football team for taking away their scheduled time for the weight room between 12:00 am and 6:00 am. She finally challenges the football team to a volleyball game to raise money for uniforms and warm-ups. And finally, when the college says there’s no money to send them to the National tournament in Princeton that they qualified for, she makes her stand in front of the crowd at the pep rally. Elizabeth matures to be a leader in character and skill on the team.
I learned I have included some subtext for the football boyfriend who is pursuing a medical career, but not as a doctor, as a nurse that most men would never have considered until Title IX promoted it. I expanded the subtext for the roommate who moved out to the sorority house then returned to help Elizabeth to dress up fancy girlie for the date at Homecoming and found her calling of being a designer/party planner/dress designer. Her roommate leaves the sorority dissatisfied with them to return to the dorms as a roommate to Elizabeth that the sorority sisters felt was scandalous.
The biggest change was to include how the football players were won over to understand girls were as committed to their sport as the football team, so when the football players put on a pep rally in support of the volleyball team to go to Nationals, they were in full support of women’s athletics. The University President and Athletic Directors got creative to find a way to get plane tickets and housing for the team with the New Jersians for Nebraska homes for the week. It took fathers, families, male athletes and other women to stand up and to support the new women’s athletics in 1975 in order for the university to fully support women’s sports. They realize the women wouldn’t quit after one year, that they are here to stay, and the University could be part of the new programs that make a real impact in the world. They just didn’t realize it would take 50 years to build a quality program that would bring in more than 92,000 fans to the football field for a volleyball women’s game.
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