Tools of the STORYTELLER

NEED/SPINE/OBJECTIVE/INTENTION/VERB

The terms need, spine, objective, intention, and verb are sometimes used interchangeably.

I think of the spine as the character's super-objective or through-line for the script. It is what the character wants out of life, his overwhelming preoccupation, his driving need.

The objective is what the character wants or needs in a particular scene. It can also be called a through-line, goal, preoccupation, driving need, or agenda.

The intention or verb is what the character is doing to get what he wants- his ammunition, his tactics, his strategies. For example, if he wants the other character to comfort him, he might first invite or ask for that comfort; if that doesn't work, he might beg for it; if that doesn't work he might demand it; if that doesn't work he might accuse the other person of not caring enough to comfort him; if doesn't work he may try begging again, or cajoling, seducing, even whining.

The following rough sketch suggests how these elements relate to each other:

VERBS CREATE CHARACTERIZATIONS

A few observations about choosing objectives and intentions:

1. People don't always do the right thing to get what they want. A friend of mine described her sister as a person who more than anything wants respect, but who in every personal and professional interaction falls into flirting- a behavior that creates the exact opposite effect from the one she wants because it makes people think of her as insubstantial.
2. The objective (through-line) is not the plot. Just because a certain thing happens, that doesn’t mean the character wanted it to happen. For example, in real life, we frequently want to make things better. But, mostly fifty percent of our efforts to make things better end up making them worse.
3. People may want something it is unreasonable to expect that they can get, or even that they know they can’t have. (No need to give examples of this, we’ve all seen plenty.)
4. They may want something that if they got it would actually make them unhappy.
5. They may want something even though they already have it. For example, a character can continue to need an apology even after the other character has uttered the sentence, “I’m sorry”.

The objective is a tool of concentration; it’s not the plot or event that we want the audience to get; if a character comes in to ask a simple favor and in the course of the scene is made to feel guilty for his request, it has never been his objective to feel guilty. His objective is to get the favor.

An objective that can function as a through-line is one that is true before the scene starts, remains true throughout the scene and is still true after the scene ends.

Above all, the thing to remember is that the objective is subtext. It’s not anything the audience needs to know to follow the plot. It clarifies the emotional events- and thus the plot- but it does not need to service the plot. It is a tool, a way for the actors to engage with each other. When the actors are engaged, they are free to play the moment. And when they play the moment, the words and the events come to life.

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