Week 1 Day 1: Character Traits – GOOD WILL HUNTING

[Nora B Anderson]

OK, I don’t believe I have any Breakthroughs on this first go, first day of first week. I think I have 3 insights, but I think the Element of Surprise to bring to each character helps my characters become more “real,” i.e., believable…
Insight 1) these 3 characters have an accent, and at first they seem stereotypical (blue-collar Chuckie has a strong accent, Skylar’s English, and Will is Boston blue-collar like Chuckie) but Will’s accent is weaker as he does mental acrobatics around the Preppy Bully character – not equating accent with IQ, but it’s a surprise to the Harvard characters, even so.
Insight 2) Will appreciates Skylar’s defense of Chuckie, that she is not a stereotype herself, siding with her Harvard classmates, that she is not a snob.
Insight 3) These characters are staking their territory – the town, the school, the bar, who was there first, who is really the interloper, townies vs. school, education vs. brain power…
That’s all I have for tonight.

[karl gromelski]

I found WILL to be the most well-drawn character of the 3.
Will’s Traits include:
He’s quiet, reserved, shy. When he enters the bar, he observes and acts like a wallflower.
But he’s also loyal and hates bullies.
Will shows himself to be an intellectual – a genius with a photographic memory.
But he not only remembers and learns from books, he uses critical thinking to make assessments.
Most of all – Will is a “cutter” (borrowed from Breaking Away). He’s a local in a college town and is proud to be a working man. Never backs down from a fight. Never afraid to resort to violence to solve a dispute.
He seems to have a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove his worth to anyone.

His buddy CHUCKIE is less defined.
He’s more of a “clown” who’s playful and unashamed to embarrass himself even in public spaces.
He’s more of a risk-taker, willing to put himself out there to win a date with a college girl (a trophy?)
He’s also a townie/ local – and unashamed to be who he is.

SKYLAR is the least well-drawn of the three.
She’s just a typical college girl – but you can tell that she doesn’t care for the Harvard elitist behavior.
Where Will is attracted to confrontations – she doesn’t seem to care them.
She seems nice – as well as open and friendly.
She tries to stand up for herself – but maybe is a bit too timid.

One “breakthrough” that I’ve had from watching this and the Devil Wears Prada is how the scene pivots on a trigger.
In Devil Wears Prada – it’s the word “stuff”
In this scene, it’s when the Hah-Vahd boy starts to belittle Chuckie with the “between recess and 3rd period) comment.
This is when Will steps in to take up for his friend and out-quote the elitist from textbooks.
The tone and purpose of the scene changes from a pick-up scene at a bar to an intellectual fight between locals and college boys.

The DRAMA starts as a standard pick-up scene that takes place at a bar – but turns into a battle of the wits between the educated and uneducated.

My contention is that Will & friends picked this Harvard bar to prove to themselves that they belong anywhere in Boston. As locals, they help build and grow this economy – this is “their town” and they venture to a college bar because they know that most wouldn’t. They probably feel the world closing in on them as they grow up – and feel resentful that their town is producing the next generation of rich elitists – that they will never be part of. It’s probably their way of trying to prove to themselves that they’re not afraid to go anywhere – they won’t back down from a challenge.

[Judith Watson]

Great scene. The scene set-up is, locals, not college educated go to a bar where the elitist Harvard students hang out. They don’t fit in, you can tell by their clothes, but Chuckie decides to try to pick up a Harvard Girl. She’s friendly, nice, but a bully Harvard student steps in to show Chuckie he doesn’t belong; the scene’s trigger. Harvard runs down Chuckie, and his friend, Will comes to his rescue, being a loyal friend. He’s smart too. Will puts Harvard in his place by showing he’s as knowageable as the Harvard student in History. The irony of the scene is that Will has learned and understands more about History from reading books than Harvard. Will is smart, but he also has a chip on his shoulder when he invites Harvard to go outside and fight.

[Sherry Miller]

Traits:
Will is a genius. We learn that from a previous scene where he solves a math problem that stumps everyone but him. Love his takedown of an elitist smug Harvard guy, Will’s coy, listens, is observant. In a bar, he watches as Chuckie. his close friend, flirts with some girls. He’s getting a kick out of it. Digging deeper…he’actually being very protective of his friend..
Chuckie wants to fit in. Think he’s faking an accent. Is he? When he flirts with the two girls? He wants to impress especially because they’re Harvard girls. He’s funny, jokes around, twists his light lying into more jokes, tries to be cool. “Cool” is mentioned. He understands, expects Will to watch over him.
Skyler – amused, smiles, aggitated when hero Harvard guy rides in as if trying to save her from the peasants.
Breakthroughs: I see this especially in Will. He’s protective, has a deep bonding friendship with Chuckie. Facial expressions show his feelings as he smirks at Harvard guy. Mr. Harvard, I noticed, after 3 viewings, is wearing a button-down collar shirt and a V-neck sweater. Typical smug rich student. He half-smiles at the girls, then begins a spiel trying to prove how smart he is. Showing he fits in more than Chuckie does. Even asks why these guys chose this bar, one where they don’t belong. Will flashes a smile at the gals, buts in at the right time. Doesn’t pause when he talks. And even mentions a page # catching the Harvard guy in a plagarism when he spewed a memorized page from a book. That was a wow! It’s verbal combat and tells us so much about Will. He’s having fun arguing. One wonders why he seems to lack ambition. Why doesn’t he want to be more than a janitor? Will is obviously middle class. His clothes are casual. Shows disdain for an elitist by words he uses. Questions why anyone’s Mommy and Daddy would pay big bucks for an education when one can learn from a library book. Implying…if you are smart, which you’re not. So thrilled with the punch line: My boy’s wicked smart. I want to strive for those punch lines.
The wicked smart part made me rethink a rewrite of Chapter 3 in my novel “Without Whimsey.” Frustrated, because my character, Mattie, must move quickly from point A to B and C. It slows, making it possibly a bit boring. Although, we feel her panic because she might be caught. Exhausted, Mattie’s lying on the grass. She wakes up, a dream swirling in her head. She hears her brother’s voice so far-off. Whimsey, is that you? But when her eyes flip open…well… Reality hits. Prior, she had just slipped off a keel boat and almost drowned. She’s wet and shivering from the Illinois River. I have her wandering from field to field, through a forest, afraid of things one at a time, with action starting and stopping. She’s afraid of every odd sound. Still…Is someone chasing her? Without her guide, she’s lost. After this lesson, I will dig deeper. Pay attention to her emotions. And traits. Frightened and missing her brother, she might try to turn back. I’ll edit out a field to cross, let her feel more emotion. After all, she’s 13 and completely alone for the first time. Things are unfamiliar. So…she’s frightened by odd sounds. And remembers she must find a Compass Plant to help point the way. She clings tighter to her “mojo bag” which seems so magic, gives her strength to go on. I’ll work on her finding her “brave,” in this chapter. And show how she becomes more decisive, determined. She needs a continuing even more threatening obstacle in her way which makes her choose to go on. I’ll work on it.

[Rebecca Sukle]

Rebecca’s Character Traits

What I learned from rewriting a scene to show character traits is to set up a scene of that allows certain character traits to be seen through dialogue, traits like wisdom, compassion, idealism, and new values. My changes showed character growth and moved it a notch forward on the arc of change.

Insights and breakthroughs: A financially underprivileged genius, confident in his self-education, exposes a pompous Harvard student who plagiarizes insightful thoughts. Will, a quiet observer with a photographic memory, is triggered when the faker belittles his friend. This scene provides an opportunity for Will to demonstrate through dialog his genius and critical thinking skills. Kind of an oxymoron genius janitor.

• This reply was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by  Rebecca Sukle.