I decided that I wanted to write the story as a book (for now), a task that has become increasingly overwhelming. As stated above, the early chapters are covering the pilot (first episode) story that I've done so many times already.
But I've realized this is a blessing in disguise.
The key differences between writing a script and a book is a) past tense for books instead of present tense for scripts and b) MUCH MORE DETAILS.
A script isn't about how much you can stuff in but rather how much you can condense into an hour and half. With a book, you don't have those limitations, you have to put everything under the microscope. One of the things I've decided to go deeper into for the book version, is the antagonist of Westfall.
His name is Dustin Kennedy. And I really care about him.
You see, this girl Colleen knows my stories inside and out, which is quite a task. There is over 500 pages of Westfall scripts she has read as well as the other movies linked to the stories. Plus hours of conversation about the parts of the story I've yet to be able to write.
But she hated Dustin. I understood why, I designed him to be hard to like in the state he is in. But when you design a character, you see their childhood. If you are writing with the sense of realism that I write with, a character is never just a bad guy, he is conditioned to respond to the world that way. To some extent.
I saw Dustin as a boy who was neglected by his father that was obsessed with saving the world. I designed him to learn to survive on his own and keep everything he felt locked deeply away inside of himself.
He is based off my brother, who shares the same name. He is one of the most intellectual people I've ever met, but some of the darkness in the world brought him places that broke him in ways. Life is all about where we take that brokenness.
For Dustin, my character, he just put it away. He found his validation in the world. By the time he was in high school, he made himself worthwhile by dating the most sought after girl in school and reigning on top of his schools popularity hierarchy.
He makes sense to me. I could see his downfall and everything that led to his distrust in people and his clash against my protagonists. It's all unfortunate circumstances that he chooses to respond negatively to.
My challenge isn't to get people to not like him, it's the opposite. I want people to see who he really is. I want people to love him and for their hearts to break as they watch him make the choices he does.
His fall should be beautiful but tragic. Or I'm not succeeding as a writer.
The movies that have always perplexed me were the ones where you didn't know who to root for. It's a wonderfully conflicting thing.
Obviously, if my protagonists are displaying selflessness and love and all of those great qualities, it is going to be easier to root for them. But what if you can see the reasoning behind why the antagonist isn't full of love and why he's chosen selfishness? Would you still hate them and want them to fail?
I think we should reflect on this in real life. We see so many people around us and many are quick to say, that person is a bad kid. That dude isn't a good guy or good girl. She's trouble.
And sometimes trouble does follow them, but how often do we try and understand the story behind why they are the way that they are.
The Bible says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
That means that these people are not our enemies. The forces behind why they have been deceived and why they have been broken are to blame.
But how often do we truly view people like that? Do we see a man alone and hateful and realize that we could be like that as well?
I do realize that we make choices, good and bad, that determine a lot of these things. And many bitter people have chosen selfishness and are reaping the benefits.
But on the other hand, are we abandoning people into the 'bad guy' category like everyone else has in their life? Maybe all it takes is someone willing to tell them I UNDERSTAND.
Christ loves us and we experience the joy and peace and other fruits that come with living with Him. But others don't understand this, they've been conditioned / chosen to reject that it can help them.
That's one of the main causes for depression, is feeling like no one understands you and that you are alone in the way that you feel. Isolation from others soon follows.
In Dustin's case, it was a mental isolation. He closed himself off to thinking anyone could understand the way he thought and the way that he was.
We must open our minds up to see that the enemy seeks to "steal, kill and destroy" and that so many have fallen victim to that. They've been lied to and beaten down.
Jesus calls us to "...love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
We are called to love the antagonists. It is our job to be like Christ. "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
It is important to surround yourself with other like-minded Christ seeking individuals to encourage and build you up. But it is also important that we bring salvation to those who need it. We're not supposed to live in Christian cliques separate from the world, we are called to bring the good news to those who need it the most - not those who have already heard it. Part of that is going to require understanding those who come against you. Not just telling them that they're wrong, but to understand the forces and circumstances that have made them that way so that the deceptions can be broken.
Remember, Paul killed Christians before he was turned around and fought beside them. No one is too bad or too far gone for Love to bring them back. It's easy for us to love the people that are nice to us, but are we praying for those that hate us and doing good to those who curse us?
Love your enemies. Maybe... just maybe... we might be able to save the antagonist.
I'm going to wrap this up with a quote from The Westfall Stories that sums up what the story is truly about:
"The stories told here were created for one purpose:
to inspire a necessary change.
To be that voice that reminds you the world is worth fighting for.
For some - worth dying for.
We may never escape this drama or the pains of life...
But if we can find a way to explain it,
tell the story of the kids that made it through...
if we can light the candle and carry the torch,
those stranded helplessly in the dark will follow after the light.
By creating that hope -
maybe we can change everything.
Maybe the bad kids can make the world a better place.
To me, that's a purpose worth living for...
a purpose worth dying for."
In the words of Tiny Tim, "God Bless us, everyone!"
No comments:
Post a Comment