100 Day Challenge – Fave Video of the Week

By Danny Manus

This blog is especially for my 100 Day Challenge Program participants, but also applies to everyone else as well.

My favorite video of the week and one of my favorites from the whole series thus far, is not just about YOU but also your CHARACTER. And it’s the video about Comebacks, Second Acts and Redemption.

This is what your character arcs are all about. Characters that fall from grace in some way that must fight their way back. The themes that cause our real-life comebacks, obstacles and redemptions, are the same universal themes that can (and should) be worked into your story to make your character more relatable and your story more universal – meaning sellable overseas.

The 7 steps laid out in the video to stage a comeback are incredibly relevant to what your characters should be doing. And quite frankly, what YOU should be doing personally as you try to break in and work in this business.

1. Refuse to Die – this is the attitude your characters must have, that inner motivation that no matter what happens – they will not die. It’s what makes them a hero. They accept disaster and then go from there. You need to have this attitude in your own life as well!
2. Decide to fight – it’s the acceptance of the adventure we talked about and managing their (and your) fears through the adventure. Regroup and plot and plot again. This is what your character should be doing – and also what you need to do every time you get a rejection letter.
3. Get Mad – this is one of the parts of the 5 stages of grief your character experiences that we talked about a few weeks ago. Use the emotion as fuel for your story and character.
4. Get Creative. Duh! Hello! This means don’t JUST have your character do what’s expected – get creative with it. Stay natural to your story, but find creative and visual ways for your character to do what they need to. And, get creative in how you’re breaking in and forging new relationships and promoting yourself and your work.
5. Focus on Results – know the character’s motivation and what the ultimate physical and emotional result for your character is. But also for you writers yourselves – know what YOUR end goal is. Is it to sell your script, is it to break in, is it to get hired for other work, is it just to finish a script and say you did it? Is it to make this a career or just to have a creative outlet?   Know your goal and focus on your results. Because if you focus on your process, it’s probably going to be very hard to see the end goal and succeed.
6. Take a chance. Take a risk. This goes for your characters too. Your characters are taking a path they may not know.
7. Enjoy the ride. Not only should your character enjoy the journey, or at least how they get out of it, but the audience must enjoy the ride. And while the journey of breaking into Hollywood is not always fun or enjoyable, if you don’t find the business an enjoyable ride – then you won’t be in it for very long.

And as the video says, look at every obstacle, setback, rejection, and constraint as an opportunity to show your character’s true colors, make a connection between them and the audience, show emotion, flesh out their arc, and really make a compelling character and story.

And for you as real live people, the same should apply. Look at all the setbacks and rejections you get and wear them as badges of honor, because you can’t get rejected unless you’re in the game. So as long as you’re getting rejections, you’re still IN it. Maybe not in the way or to the degree that you’d like yet – but much like your characters and their goals, you’re working towards it.  Good luck and keep writing!!