Wednesday, February 24, 2010

TODAY'S NUGGET: "Doggie Breath" Conflict

Recently I was at my sister's house and sat on the floor.  I was sleepy and briefly closed my eyes.

I heard something and opened my eyes to smelly doggie breath in my face and a snout THISUNCOMFORTABLYCLOSE in my face.  Her dog had no idea what personal space is.

This image came to mind when I read a new logline today.  The story is about a wounded woman who must stand by her best friend during a big reunion while the best friend suffers a similar situation as the woman.

Can you see how uncomfortable this is? How this is really personal to the main character? It's in her face and she's got to solve it, or it won't go away.

I often see scripts where the character is able to keep the conflicts comfortably at arm's distance.  However, this is terribly boring.  Nothing is truly at stake for the lead.  It's got to be near and dear...uncomfortably so.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Conflict should arouse a reaction much like doggie breath in your face: It is extremely urgent that we solve the problem, and solve it NOW.

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