[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn’s Character Journeys

What I learned… I don’t have everything worked out but this gave me a good start and also made me think about both main characters and where they are and how they’re reacting and taking action. It helps to actually map it out for smaller characters too, and makes it easier to remember that everyone can have a journey, even if it’s just three beats.

[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn’s Character Depth

What I learned – I’m still working out who the other characters are but I did the exercise with two and learned a little more about them. Breaking up character depth into smaller chunks is an easy way to brainstorm multiple levels for each character and to keep them focused both inward and outward.

Willa – protagonist

• Motivation – her pregnancy is part of an experiment and she wants it to stop. She wants to escape.
• Wound – her own toddler died in a car accident, it was her fault and her marriage eventually broke up because of it
• Dilemma – she’s forced to do the one thing she said she’d never do again
• Dilemma – can she trust herself to look after her new baby while still trying to escape from Swindon
• Layers – she suffers from deep self-loathing but she is also a fighter

Swindon – antagonist/villain/monster

• Motivation – solve the problem of declining population. Out to prove himself.
• Secret identity – He’s doing God’s work by bringing these children into the world
• Wound – He was many times passed over for promotion. Feels he was persecuted because of his religious beliefs (but really he’s a psychopath)
• Secret – he’s figured out a way to speed up gestation. One woman can have many, multiple births.
• Hidden agenda – he keeps the women drugged to keep them docile

• This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by  Dawn Johnston.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by  Dawn Johnston.

[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn’s Right Characters

I did this assignment with the two main characters (I’ll do it with the others once I have more of a plot) and I was able to enhance them with secrets, and goals and resentments that directly come from the hook – and now they are even more opposed to each other because of it, and more solidified in their own stances. They each have a good reason to feel the way they do, and to take actions according to their beliefs.

What I learned is that this is a great way to efficiently check to see if your characters have motivations and conflicts that come from the hook, and if not, it’s easy to then brainstorm those changes. Doing it this way means the conflicts that arise throughout the story will have a direct and meaningful impact on the characters.

[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn’s great hook

The process worked really well to pick apart my ideas and expose weaknesses. I particularly liked the exchanging components one but used them all to hammer at my concepts. They all tackle brainstorming in a different way, and forced me to see my concepts from multiple angles. From that, one or two are emerging as more intriguing to me and I’ll continue to work on them over the next few days.

[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn’s Guidelines for Arrival

What I learned doing this assignment… The covid content doesn’t feel realistic now. For example, no wardrobe and makeup? I doubt that’s the case for even the smallest budget movie. However, the exercise is useful for thinking about what to change to keep a budget down.

Assignment 1

The idea I’ve chosen can be done as a contained story.

It can be pitched in a logline but it might not be quite unique enough yet.

Assignment 2

TITLE: ARRIVAL

AS THEY DID IT:

A. People: University students and staff, populated military camp, gawkers, politicians around the world, hospital personnel

B. Stunts: Explosion with the aliens, can’t really think of others

C. Extras: University campus, party goers (at the end), military personnel

D. Wardrobe: Military uniforms, hazmat suits

E. Hair and Make Up: Minimal, at the party

F. Kids and Animals: Daughter at various ages

COVID GUIDELINE VERSION:

A. People: Take out teaching scenes, reduce military, take out hospital scenes

B. Stunts: explosion off-screen or show just the effects

C. Extras: rewrite party scene to eliminate extras, take out military extras and just shoot speaking roles

D. Wardrobe: not realistic to change

E. Hair and Make Up: party scene gone so no issues.

F. Kids and Animals: no change, the daughter is instrumental to the plot

[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn Johnston

I agree to the terms of this release form.

GROUP RELEASE FORM

As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.

2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.

I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.

3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.

4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.

5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.

6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

[Dawn Johnston]

Hi all, looking forward to this class and to meeting other writers.

1. Name: Dawn

2. How many scripts you’ve written? 10 or 12 features and pilots, plus a few shorts.

3. What you hope to get out of the class? I’ve already written a contained sci fi script and I’m on the second draft of another but Hal always brings so much value with his insights so my goal is to fill in some of the gaps of what I’ve learned myself.

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? My first real job was teaching English in Istanbul many years ago.