Your Characters Background: The Antagonist.

You might be wondering if you have been following this blog why I write about one subject and not follow a linear progression. From writing about me writing, to planning act one, to what I will talk about today: writing a character background.

The reason for this is simple. What I write about on the blog is what I am doing at that precise moment in time in the planning process of my script.

I am currently giving my antagonist (the bad guy!oooooo!) a background, still using the fantastic mapping software. The reason I'm doing this is to give my character a reason to do what he has done. To discover his motivation. Motivation is central to any story be it a script or a novel. Say for instance a novel starts with a grocer being murdered in his convenience store (a wee bit of the American lingo coming out me noo!). Here we have an INCITING INCIDENT (remember that one?) 

So who did it? We will say this character (who I'm making up right now,) called Billy. So Billy killed the grocer. Why did Billy do it? he wanted to steal the money from the till. But why? Does he have a drug habit? is he in a lot of debt? We will say debt. How did he get in debt? A loan-shark maybe? Did he lose his job? Maybe both? Why did he go to a lone-shark in the first place? To keep a roof over his head and feed his family? All of a sudden we have motivation with emotion attached. 

In the space of minutes I have created a background story for Billy, a guy who lost got paid off and couldn't find another job. Bills where due and the cupboards where empty. He was put on to a loan-shark who gave him the money but now the first payments due. If he fails to pay he knows the 'sharks heavies will soon sort him out! He needs money fast! He decides to rob Mr. Havant's grocery store. Tuesdays are always busy at Mr Havant's, there should be plenty of cash to cover his first payment in the till, maybe enough left over to buy junior a new pair of shoes. But when he holds up the joint Old Mr Havant does something Billy didn't expect. He fights back and Billy accidentally kills him in the tussle. 

You have the basis of a story by just working backwards from the Inciting Incident. And all by using Kipling's six honest serving-men...

I KEEP six honest serving-men

 (They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When 

 And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

 I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

 I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,

 For I am busy then,

As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,

 For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views; 

I know a person small—

She keeps ten million serving-men,

Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,

 From the second she opens her eyes—

One million Hows, two million Wheres,

And seven million Whys!

And it is this story maybe a hard nosed detective from the bronx has to uncover and piece together. But that journey will be reserved for Act 2. When i get to it!

 This is the way I'm doing it and it seems to suit my needs. Most books will tell you to do a character bio, going as deep as what school your character went to, what his pet dog was called. As far as I'm concerned, doing it that way is a load of utter bollox and a waste of precious time that could be spent actually planning something you can use and is helpful to get a feel of what the character is going through.

Just to point out, the script I'm planning is not about Billy killing a guy in a grocery store or about a hard nosed detective from the bronx!

This Blog was written while listening to In Rainbow by Radiohead.