Reviving Relationships with Dinner and a Movie

As a functional process, I’ve done the following when dealing with the RS.

What direction(s) does the *RS(s) move in my story?

  • together (boy gets girl)
  • apart (boy loses girl)
  • together-apart-together (boy gets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl) (boy gets wrong girl; boy loses wrong girl; boy gets right girl) (boy gets right girl; boy loses right girl; boy gets wrong girl)
  • apart-together-apart (boy is alone; boy gets girl; boy loses girl)
  • together-together-together (us vs. the world)
  • apart-apart-apart (not in a million years)

*more than one relationship could be part of the RST

What adjective or phrase best describes the RS status?

  • hanging on by a thread
  • bliss
  • settling for less
  • et cetera

What’s the nature of the relationship?

  • familial
  • love
  • teacher/student
  • et cetera

What’s the intensity of the relationship?

  • slow and steady
  • roller coaster ride
  • low heat
  • et cetera

A change in the status, nature, direction or intensity of the RS can be accomplished by a believable beat. When reasonable, a double duty beat can push the MC (OS, IC) in the direction that I want, and – for example – a consequence of the MC (OS, IC) beat could push the RS in the direction along its path.

It is useful to create a snapshot of my RS at various points in the story (keyframing as Jim says) then try to believably manipulate these categories into that direction. This can be accomplished through a gradual shift during a long sequence or a hard beat that happens within a scene.

For me, calling the RS a character is useful only because it forces me to remember that the relationship should have characteristics that are definable, measurable, alterable, and so on.

I have no doubt that my terminology will evolve and this process might become more automatic, but this is what I currently use.

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