Power of Conscience characters know instinctively if something is wrong, unjust, unfair, improper, corrupt or out of line.  Their judgment and response is swift and immutable. They are propelled forward by personal outrage and moral indignation, usually on another’s behalf.

These characters believe they are their brother’s keeper.  They feel responsible for the greater good and for doing good.  They wrestle with how far they should go in seeking justice and fairness for others, in exposing corruption and injustice or in standing up against evil or wrong-doing.   They worry about with what is the higher duty and what exactly is required of them in response.

The answer, in a drama, is everything this character holds dear. Over the course of a drama these characters are drawn further and further down the path of righteousness.  They are compelled to do one small thing, then another and another until, in the end, they have sacrificed their personal concerns, their safety, their security, their family, their fortunes or often their lives.

They can be a force for good or evil in a story.  In their Dark Side these characters believe the ends justify the means (evil behavior for a good or moral purpose).  At their worst they can become rigid, accusatory, sanctimonious, judgmental and hypocritical.

On the comedy side, Power of Conscience characters are often pious hypocrites who are exposed in a comedic way or respectable establishment types who get a humorous comeuppance. Or, they can be straight-laced or uptight individuals who need to relax, be more spontaneous and have more fun.

Character Examples

Film examples include:  Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich; Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List; Queen Elizabeth in The Queen; Norma Rae in Norma Rae; Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons; Jeffrey Wigand in The Insider and Frank Galvin in The Verdict.

Horatio Caine in CSI: Miami; Dwight Schrute inThe Office; Bree Van De Kamp in Desperate Housewives; Charlotte York inSex and the City and Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons are great television examples.  See the Power of Conscience blog posts for more examples.

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Power of Conscience eBook

The Power of Conscience Character Type eBook explains how these characters are alike and how each character is made individually distinct.  It will help you develop unique, original, evocative and authentic characters that fully explore all the contradictions, reversals and surprises of a fully formed human being.

Discover the Power of Conscience character’s specific goals, unique emotional obstacles and very distinct responses and reactions to any opportunity, challenge or threat.  Create this character’s Immediate Tactics, Long-term Orientation and Strategic Approach in a way that is recognizably “true” at every step of the story and during every moment of screen time. The audience will instantaneously recognize and relate to your character because your character is complex, three-dimensional and “feels real.”

This eBook is thorough analysis of the Power of Conscience Character Type in his or her many guises and roles as a protagonist or a member of a larger ensemble.  It is packed with numerous examples from film, television and even real life! Examples from scores of scenes and dozens of quotes from film and television characters clearly illustrate this character’s motivations and psychological dynamics in a story.

Comprehensive Analysis

The Power of Conscience Character Type eBook illustrates exactly how to create and differentiate this character based on his or her:

(1.) World View (beliefs about how the world works) What are the essential core beliefs that motivate a Power of Conscience character’s ordinary actions?

(2.) Role or Function (position in the story or role in the ensemble) What do the other players look to a Power of Conscience character to do or provide in the story?

(3.) Values in Conflict (competing values that push the character to extremes) What opposing choices or goals establish the Power of Conscience character’s moral code? What is this character willing to fight, sacrifice or die for? And why?

(4.) Story Questions (emotional journey in the story) What personal issues, dilemmas and internal conflicts does a Power of Conscience character wrestle with over the course of the story? What does this character ask of him or her self? What is this character’s Leap of Faith in an emotionally satisfying story?

(5.) Story Paradox (emotional dilemma) What is the duality or the contradiction at the heart of a Power of Conscience character’s story struggle? How is the character’s internal conflict expressed in actions.

(6.) Life Lessons (how to complete the emotional journey) What must a Power of Conscience character learn over the course of the story to make a clear, satisfying personal transformation? What actions lead to this character’s emotional salvation?

(7.) Dark Side (this character as a predator or villain) What happens when a Power of Conscience character’s actions are driven entirely by fear? How might or how does the story end in tragedy?

(8.) Leadership Style (what defines and qualifies this character as a leader) How does a Power of Conscience character convince others to follow? How does this character act to take charge and command?

(9.) Film Examples (the Power of Conscience character as a protagonist)

(10.) Television Examples (the Power of Conscience character as central to an ensemble)

(11.) Real Life Examples (historical Power of Conscience figures on the world stage)

Decorum is the Highest Duty

The Queen, written by Peter Morgan, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen, is a pitch perfect Power of Conscience character study.

Anyone interested in writing complex, interesting characters that are fully formed three-dimensional human beings must see this film. The Queen is a masterful example of character development.

The film takes place in August 1997, in the days after Diana (divorced from Prince Charles), dies as the result of a car crash in Paris.  At the same time, Tony Blair settles into his new position as Labor Prime Minister.  Blair makes a stirring and immensely popular speech in tribute to Diana, no longer the Princess of Wales but forever “The People’s Princess.”

The Queen and Royal Family, at Balmoral Castle for the summer, opt to maintain royal protocol and mourn in seclusion.  They are publicly silent about Diana’s death. Many people felt Queen Elizabeth acted in a cold and disconnected manner immediately after Diana’s death. They saw her as a villain in Diana’s story.  But there are two sides to every story.  And…

Every antagonist is the hero of his or her own story.

Stephen Fears’ brilliant film looks at the story from what was the commonly supposed antagonist’s point of view.  We see behind the stiff royal veneer and into the heart of the complex human being that is Queen Elizabeth.

In the film, the Queen has her own emotional journey during the tragic events that ended Diana’s life.  She wrestles mightily with her own internal values.  Queen Elizabeth makes a personal leap at the end of the story that requires as much strength and courage as any epic physical battle.

Her action in making that leap defines what it is to be a good leader.  In what must have felt like a moment of personal defeat, Queen Elizabeth emerges publicly triumphant, her reign is secure.

General writing note:  It is a great exercise to look at how your story might play out from the antagonist’s point of view.  What is his or her emotional journey?  If it is just a one-note descent into evil, your antagonist is a cardboard cutout rather than a real human being.  With what competing internal values does your antagonist wrestle?

Great Characters Wrestle with Competing Values.

Power of Conscience characters function as the voice of moral authority in a story. That clearly is how the character of Queen Elizabeth sees her role in the world.  The Queen says repeatedly that dignity, reserve, proper conduct and devotion to duty define the good example that exemplifies her moral authority as a leader.

Her restrained actions in all things are perfectly in sync with her philosophy.  Her formality, insistence on protocol, and proper conservative dress physically define who she is and what she represents.

When Diana dies, Queen Elizabeth’s subjects require something more from her.  They need emotional solace, personal connection and a sense of shared grief.  Tony Blair suggests that to be a good leader, in this particular moment, Elizabeth must reach out in a way that is the antithesis of how she sees her role and how she defines her own good example and leadership.  His advice flies in the face of everything the Queen believes is right.  He suggests that her definition of her duty and what is proper must now give way to the actual needs of her subjects.

Her choice, as presented, is will she serve royal protocol or truly serve her subjects?  What is the higher duty?  Blair believes the survival of the monarchy is at stake.  Her own survival as a leader is at stake as well.

Great Characters Have Mixed Motives.

When Queen Elizabeth returns to Buckingham Palace at Blair’s very insistent recommendation, she sees the angry notes left on the flowers at the palace gates.  We watch her begin to comprehend how out of touch she is with the sentiments of her people.  We also see the potential reservoir of good will she can tap, when the little girl offers the bouquet of flowers.  After Queen Elizabeth offers to place the bouquet at the gate, her people finally show their respect, by bowing and curtsying as she passes.

Queen Elizabeth sees that she has no moral authority if her subjects dislike and resent her.  She cannot be any kind of a leader if her people abandon her emotionally.  Against every instinct that was born and bred in her, against all her past experience and against all the advice given to her by both her husband and mother, Queen Elizabeth makes the speech that she must make to reconnect with her subjects.

Is her leap also an act of personal survival?  Absolutely.  People rarely have singular motivations in the choices they make.  Most motives are mixed.  Queen Elizabeth’s choice isn’t any less courageous and requires no less strength for being mixed.

Her action is also a classic paradox of great storytelling.  In what Queen Elizabeth views as a moment of personal defeat is, in fact, a moment of public triumph.  She gives her subjects what they truly and deeply need in a time of trouble and turmoil.  Her action is the definition of good leadership.  She emerges triumphant and we can’t help but love and respect her for it.

General writing note:  Actions that spring from motives that are purely noble don’t contain the shades of gray that depict both the shadow and light in every human being.  Actions that spring from mixed motivations are much more fascinating to watch.  A bit of shadow often makes the light more clearly visible.

A Character’s Greatest Strength Is His or Her Greatest Weakness.

Queen Elizabeth’s sense of decorum, dignity, reserve, devotion to duty and her sure sense of what is right and proper are her greatest strengths  as a monarch.  These great Power of Conscience qualities helped her lead her people though good times and bad.

In this moment of crisis, however, she relies on  these strengths to a fault.  These very traits cause her trouble.   In the extreme situation of Diana’s death, these traits make her appear as if she is cold, lacking in human care or feeling.  It seems she isrigid and inflexible and is simply substituting stiff and stuffy standards of protocol for genuine human connection.

Diana’s death creates the crisis that forces Queen Elizabeth to surrender all those qualities that had been her salvation in the past.  The public response Tony Blair suggests would make her feel exposed, open and vulnerable.  The crisis demands she surrender all her strongest defenses and high standards of protocol.  By allowing herself to be more open, and therefore more vulnerable, she emerges stronger than ever.

Find the Character’s Vulnerability

General writing note:  Find ways to turn a character’s best qualities against him or her.  Explore the dark or troublesome side of your character’s strengths. Discover ways to create a crisis situation that force your character to sacrifice or surrender those qualities.

Make your character take some significant action that makes the character feel open, exposed and vulnerable.  Turn that openness and vulnerability into the character’s ultimate salvation.

For more information on how to create the internal dynamic tensions that make characters complex and fascinating order the Character Map eBook.