Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Drawing a Diagram

Drawing a Diagram

At this point the complexity of developing a good story line really begins to expand. If a writer were to analyze it he/she might chart them together on a piece of paper. I will use the Real Steel example.

1. Synopsis of Story: A Down and out fighter, who fights robots, is on the skids and reaches the bottom of his profession. At his point he winds up with custody of his son for the summer. He is forced to examine his past and decide what's really important…. His dissipated lifestyle or the love, respect and esteem of his Son.

2. Sketch of Central Character: A reprobate in his late forties leading a dissipated life in an exciting world of fighting robots. He is an ex boxer who has compromised everything in order to gratify his selfish needs and maintain his self esteem. He hustles, deceives, cons, lies and finds no behavior too despicable if it will get him the money to pursue his dream of being a top tier Robot Fighting manager and promoter.

3. CC’s Wants Needs and Desires: Wants to be at the top tier of the Robot Fighting world. He desires the love of his girlfriend and needs the support shop she runs in the repair of fighting robots. He needs money to support his professional addiction and is constantly scheming ways to get it.

4. Life Changing Event: His wife dies and he winds up with his Son for the summer. When his son arrives the CC must reassess his values. He sees in his son a mirror image of himself as a younger man. They share the same devotion to the sport of Robot fighting. The event forces him to choose between the love, esteem and respect in their father son relationship or continue in his traditional character and behaviors. The CC has totally compromised any values he might of had. His son however, still has a sense of innocence, decency and fair play. A conflict between the two begins to develop over principle and the question of the ends justifying the means.

At this point in the writing process we begin to see the synergism between the components of a good story. It isn’t just one thing or an array of things but the synergism that is taking place between the parts. Using a diagrammatic technique such as shown above is a good way to see if the thread of the story has the components that will lead to success.