Screenwriting

Does The Protagonist Need A Character Arc? - Shannan E. Johnson

Film Courage: Does the protagonist always need a character arc?

Writer/Instructor and Script Consultant Shannan E. Johnson (The Professional Pen): In my opinion yes but it doesn’t have to be a big one. For example, this is TV so it’s a little different. TV the arc can be like this big. It doesn’t really have to go anywhere. If we think about HOUSE, the biggest thing for him is he is like a curmudgeon kind of guy (he’s grumpy). I don’t need to see him become joyful by the end of the series. But there may be something else in him that is going to change tiny-bit-by-tiny-bit-by-tiny-bit as the series goes.

Whereas if you look at a show like SCANDAL Olivia Pope starts with a white hat. But the end of the series she’s got a black hat. But you get all of that time to see her grow.

What I say to people is most of the time your protagonist is moving not because they just have an external goal but because the internal goal is what really needs to be fixed. As they are going along their journey…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).

 

CONNECT WITH SHANNAN E. JOHNSON 

Awriterforyourwriter.com 

Facebook.com/TheProfessionalPen 

Twitter

Instagram.com/theprofessionalpen 

LinkedIn

 

About Shannan:

After grad school I became a junior creative executive at NBCUniversal at the Syfy Channel. I was there for the rebrand. Remember Sci Fi? Yeah, not really. Anywho, it was my job to help writers and producers take their ideas from pitch to production. I co-exec’d on Alphas, Being Human, Haven, Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, and more Syfy dramedies. This is how I honed my skill in all stages of the screenwriting process…(read more here).

 

Like this video? Please subscribe to our Youtube channel. Or love this video and want more? You can show additional support via our Youtube sponsor tab or through Patreon.


Advertisement – contains affiliate links:

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Authors

  [Watch the video interview on Youtube here] No matter what type of movie it is, it needs to have an opening that grabs you. ...

Business of Film

  [Watch the video interview on Youtube here] Film Courage: Shane, by the time you’d finished what the fifth grade you’d already had a hundred...

Authors

The Mentor, Shape Shifter and more.

Screenwriting

Every character thinks they are the center of the story.

© Copyright 2009-2024 - Film Courage, LLC - All rights reserved.

Exit mobile version