Unclear on MC Tendency

questions
#1

I’m having a bit of difficulty finding a way to illustrate my MC’s “Unwilling” tendency in my story. My MC has made an amazing scientific discovery that he wants to share with the world, but meets with a lot of interference and many complications along the way. Since he WANTS to overcome these obstacles in order to accomplish his goal, I can’t see how to make him Unwilling at the same time. Ultimately he fails (chooses not) to share the discovery with the world because he realizes the world isn’t ready… but this Tendency question still perplexes me.

How do you demonstrate Unwilling when your character wants to solve the story’s problems? He’s a Do-er in a Decision story.

Edit: His desire to “help society” with his discovery may be tied with his Response of Help to the Symptom of Hinder. He sees humanity being held back in many ways that his discovery would solve.

#2

I have no idea of the context of your Overall Story, but let’s say a key plot point was a group of investors making a decision which project to back, with your MC’s project being one of them.

You can imagine your MC, who is a go-getter Type A personality, building bigger and better demonstrations of what it is his project can do and how it’s better than any of the others. The more he senses reticence on their part, he turns to flashier and more grandiose demonstrations, until he flat out blows everyone away…

…but they still decide to go with someone else. Why?

Because this is the world of angel investing where you’re better off schmoozing and manipulating and generally showing what a great personality you are that people want to be with, rather than having an actual viable product. They want charisma, not results.

In this case, your MC was Unwilling to be what he needed to be in order to effect a positive decision. Perhaps someone counseled him earlier on it, and he disregarded their suggestion as silly and a waste of time.

That would be one way to do it.

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#3

Hi Rod,
Some ideas might be that he sees the interference and complications as annoyances, stuff that is just getting in his way, and he tries to sidestep rather than deal with them. Then he gets dragged along unwillingly having to deal with them. Not sure if those ideas will work in your story, but maybe they will get you thinking.

That said, I’m wondering if clearly thinking about the MC throughline and OS throughline as separate stories could help. Can you clearly distinguish the MC’s personal issues from the overall story problems? When you mention his desire about helping humanity overcome all the things holding it back, is that related to his personal issues?

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#4

Thanks @jhull and @mlucas. Those suggestions are definitely helpful.

For my MC, really it’s everyone else’s Decisions (and even some of his own) that make him feel painted into a corner. @mlucas, yes, his desire about helping society does come from his personal issues, but since the story is all about his discovery, it ties to the OS as well.

Certain other characters find out about his discovery and want to exploit it (or own it) for their own benefit. A nosy reporter (and my MC’s love interest) finds out about the discovery and wants to win a Pulitzer by writing the story of the century about it (OS Goal of Obtaining). The government learns about it through the news article, and feels it is too dangerous to be left in public hands, and so they want to suppress it. However, the government officials and agents of certain law enforcement agencies are all frenzied and going about things in a haphazard way (OS/MC problem of Uncontrolled).

The MC’s father is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation who wants to exploit the MC’s discovery for profit.

The public also know about it, and society itself becomes frenzied and out of control. The discovery is just that good, that EVERYONE wants it.

Meanwhile, the MC is using his new discovery to create the life he always wanted, with no limits. He starts going overboard (MC problem of Uncontrolled) in nearly every aspect of his life. Because he knows if he wants something, ANYTHING, he can have it.

I’d mention what the discovery actually is, but that’s the commercial “secret sauce” that will make this story (a screenplay) an attractive offering to potential studios/producers. (I’m an aspiring screenwriter).

It’s a Change/Stop/Do-er/Logical Decision/Optionlock/Failure/Good story with MC/OS Problem of Uncontrolled and MC Unique ability of Openness and a Critical Flaw of Denial, OS Goal of Obtaining.

That should be enough info to recreate the storyform in Dramatica, if that might clear things up a bit.

I guess my confusion stemmed from the idea that he definitely wants to help society, but doesn’t want to jump through everyone’s (and his own) hoops to get there.

#5

It’s almost as if he’s unwilling to compromise his beliefs about what his invention should be used for, how humanity should use it (i.e., like he does), and how they should have access to it.

After all, being painted into a corner is only a problem if you’re unwililng to mess up the painted floor…or your own shoes.

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#6

@mdeatherage, thanks. That helps quite a bit. I guess I get too hung up on Dramatica’s definition of tendency… that an Unwilling MC is unwilling to (paraphrasing) participate in the effort to achieve the goal. The whole story is about my MC’s discovery, so of course he’s willing to participate on some level. In the beginning, he truly does want to share his discovery with the world. it’s just that everyone else wants the idea for themselves, with ulterior motives like greed, wanting the story of the century, wanting to keep it out of the hands of the public, etc.

So I think your assessment is dead on. He’s unwilling to compromise his ideals. Ultimately that’s why he decides to “destroy” what he has instead of sharing it. The media, the business world, the government, and the citizenry themselves just aren’t ready to handle it responsibly. That’s what creates the worldwide frenzy that gets him painted into that corner by the end of the story. So he decides, nope, not gonna do it.

So I suppose, in a way, he grows into his Unwillingness over the course of the story.

#7

That would seem to mesh with the last part of the definition of “tendency” in the Dramatica Dictionary:

Willing Main Characters force the plot forward. Unwilling Main Characters are dragged along by circumstances beyond their control.

#8

Ahh, yes. Thank you once again. I had forgotten that part of the definition. I guess I can look at it as though my MC ultimately WANTS to be willing, but that desire gets sapped out of him by the time it’s all said and done.

The whole story is inspired by the idea of “blind science.” Several times throughout history, mankind has created things it should have thought twice about, in my opinion. The atomic bomb is the example I always use. My story was inspired by my realization of that, and one of Ian Malcom’s (Jeff Goldblum) lines in Jurassic Park. I can’t remember the exact line but basically he states that these investors and scientists were so worried about whether they COULD create a dinosaur, they didn’t stop to ask if they SHOULD.

My MC asks himself that question, and eventually answers himself. No, he shouldn’t.

#9

Did you notice your question made it onto Jim’s NarrativeFirst.com blog? You’re famous! :slight_smile:

http://narrativefirst.com/blog/2016/08/the-tendency-of-a-main-character-to-drive-a-story

#10

I don’t want to get too far into Dramatica concepts in which I am not fluent, but in the theory, this seems to tie into the Do-er vs. Be-er decision. If everyone else is trying to reach the OS goals of “obtaining,” then the tendency of “unwilling,” as I understand it, means that your MC has to be dragged into taking actions to pursue his goal rather than his preferred method of solving the problem internally.

It’s easy to perceive a scientist as a “Be-er,” with so much of the work focused on theory and thought. That’s like the very definition of internal problem solving! It’s also easy to imagine him as reluctant to leave that behind to “waste time” stopping other people from being stupid.

As a nerd-type myself, though, I would encourage you to work quite hard on the way he ultimately reaches the “fail” story completion by destroying the technology. You don’t want it to end up on one of those internet lists of “this movie’s problem could be solved if he just sat down and recreated the formulas.” Or “Destroying it doesn’t solve the problem at all as he could reinvent it as long as he’s alive. The bad guys could even kidnap him and force him to do it. Or threaten his family, etc.” The idea of that knowledge can be destroyed is always a bit of a weak ending to me, so you have an opportunity to avoid that problem entirely with creative storytelling! :slight_smile:[quote=“mlucas, post:9, topic:709”]
Did you notice your question made it onto Jim’s NarrativeFirst.com blog?
[/quote]

That’s how I noticed it and came to reply!

#11

Well, that’s really cool… I’m honored. I’m also glad to know that my particular problem is a common one amongst Dramatica users. Now I don’t feel so alone, lol.

#12

Well, this is where I get confused a bit as well. See, my MC is a Do-er in a Decision story. Dramatica says that in a story where Decisions force Actions, a Do-er is uncomfortable (Unwilling)… but at times I find it difficult to see why a Do-er would be uncomfortable having to act… unless it’s just the idea that he is being forced to act because of decisions, rather than CHOOSING to act of his own free will.

In fact, I was so confused about this a month or two ago, that I posed a question about it here on the forum. I’m still not so sure I understand it fully. Why is a character who prefers to act so uncomfortable when a decision forces him to do so? Wouldn’t he be more uncomfortable being forced to make a decision?

Edit: Maybe I’ll revive that old thread and see if I can gain more clarity on this issue.

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#13

When I think of this question [CAUTION: NOT DRAMATICA EXPERT], I think of the old cliché where the hero is pointing a gun at two people, but only one of them is really the villain and the other is innocent.

In my mind [SEE CAUTION], the Be-er struggles with which one to shoot. The Do-er wants to shoot them both.

#14

Hi Rod, you might be overthinking now (I certainly tend to do that often with Dramatica too :slight_smile: ) … it seemed like you “got it” in some of your earlier posts, so maybe see if you can recapture that feeling.

Also, I have one idea that might help. Quoting from Tendency in the Dramatica dictionary (bolding mine):

Not all Main Characters are well suited to solve the problem in their story. They may possess the crucial element essential to the solution yet not possess experience in using the tools needed to bring it into play. … But if a Do-er is placed in a Decision story or a Be-er is drawn into an Action story, the Main Character will be very Unwilling to participate in the quest at all for the tools he must use are not in his area of experience. Willing Main Characters force the plot forward. Unwilling Main Characters are dragged along by circumstances beyond their control.

The part about having to use “tools” that he isn’t used to using was already covered by Jim’s post.

For the part about how Willing MCs force the plot forward, remember that your story moves relentlessly towards a terrible decision that your MC must make about his invention. That is your ‘plot’ in a nutshell. But he’s not Willing because he doesn’t want to make that terrible decision, he wants to live in a world where he can just Do things better and everything will be okay.

Inside the story, if you asked your MC, he might very well say he was Willing – because from his perspective he thinks he needs to Do whatever it takes to make his invention work for humanity. The Tendency is from the author’s perspective, it’s saying that the MC is uncomfortable moving the plot towards a resolution. Instead he ends up getting “dragged” towards that resolution (because of what other characters do, stuff related to OS Catalyst, etc.).

Also [and here’s my own CAUTION NOT EXPERT], I don’t think Unwilling Tendency is saying he’s not willing to pursue the Story Goal. I think it’s just saying he’s not well equipped to solve the story’s problems the way that is needed, i.e. to bring about the Solution. He’s Unwilling in terms of how to pursue, not necessarily in terms of what to pursue. He can try pursuing the Story Goal, thinking he needs to respond to Avoidance with Pursuit (or Hinder with Help when dealing with his personal issues, which are separate), Do-ing all the while. But as an author you’ve put him in a story where not only is the Response in the wrong direction, even the approach he prefers to tackle problems is wrong.

It might be easiest not to worry about Tendency until the point where you can look at some amount of your first draft and say “ah, I get how his Do-er approach makes him Unwilling now”. Or possibly “geez, I still don’t see Unwilling here, no matter which way I look at it” – at that point you might realize the storyform needs tweaking (maybe it’s an Action story after all, or maybe the MC Throughline is actually Mind or Psychology!).

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#15

@mdeatherage and @mlucas, I really appreciate your input.

I think I’m clearer on it now. I do tend to get hung up on Dramatica’s definitions at times. (See my other related thread about Do-er vs. Be-er and the Story Driver.) Tendency is a separate (but again, closely related) area where I wasn’t seeing things clearly.

My MC’s Problem is Uncontrolled, by the way, rather than Avoidance/Pursuit. In fact, he shares this problem with the OS and the RS, which is why his final decision to Control wraps up 3 out of the 4 throughlines at once (at least that’s how I have it structured). The IC is present at the finale and sees that the MC is about to retake control, and so the IC’s Solution of Consider is wrapped up just before that final decision by the MC. With all the building blocks in place, it makes for a powerful ending where I can cut to black and end the story just moments after the MC fully realizes his Unwillingness to sacrifice his original vision, and takes Control out of everyone else’s hands.

Everyone in the story has been trying to avoid Becoming something (Consequence of Becoming) they don’t want to be. The reporter doesn’t want to become the reporter who “almost” had a Pulitzer winning story. The father doesn’t want to become a washed-up corporate executive who is out of profitable ideas. The public doesn’t want to NOT become something better through my MC’s discovery, which they’ve been clamoring for ever since they learned of its existence, etc…

But the MC’s decision forces that reality on everyone, and he becomes whole for the first time in his life. Or perhaps I should say, he finally realizes that he was whole all along.

It’s definitely a decision story. All throughout, my MC is definitely dragged along and forced into taking action because of decisions that get made along the way. Nobody likes being told what to do, even when it’s what they were going to do anyway.

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#16

Sounds great!

Sorry, by Avoidance/Pursuit I was talking about what he sees the problem as, as an objective character in the OS Throughline, and how he responds to it (Symptom & Response). Similarly, for his personal issues (MC Throughline) he would see the problem as Hinder and respond with Help. Dramatica says he doesn’t focus on Uncontrolled as the problem until the end, which seems to fit well with your finale.

#17

Ok, I’m a bit confused. I wasn’t aware you could find “what the MC sees the problem as” in Dramatica. Where do I find this info? My MC’s Symptom is Hinder and his Response is Help.

Is there some layer of information about Avoid/Pursue that I’m missing somewhere?

Edit, never mind, lol… You’re talking about the OS Symptom and Response. Man, it’s early. I must not be fully awake yet!

Wow, I don’t know what I was thinking (or not thinking) when I wrote the above… Of course my MC (in the OS) is focused on Avoidance, treating it with Pursuit. How could I forget this? I think I woke up on another planet today. Either that or I’ve been focusing a bit too deeply on my MC’s internal workings for the past few days and needed a wake-up call to bring me back to objectivity.

Thanks, Mike! :slight_smile: