{"id":13095,"date":"2008-08-22T07:33:31","date_gmt":"2008-08-22T13:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/\/?p=584"},"modified":"2008-08-22T07:33:31","modified_gmt":"2008-08-22T13:33:31","slug":"loss-and-grief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/loss-and-grief\/","title":{"rendered":"Loss and Grief"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"grief-ETB

I’ll be working on a long-running drama. series\u00a0 Those kinds of shows (or any television show or feature film) have issues of loss and grief at their core.<\/p>\n

Whenever a character is disappointed, rejected, humiliated or spurned (or has a set-back of any kind), he or she experiences a loss.\u00a0 This could be a loss of self-esteem, pride, self-confidence or hope for the future.\u00a0 It could be the loss of a love interest, an opportunity, a job or a friendship.<\/p>\n

The question is, how does experiencing this loss reveal character?\u00a0 Is the character experiencing the full range of emotion?\u00a0 How does the character’s reaction provide plot and story opportunities?<\/p>\n

The loss and grief cycle includes these character revealing steps:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Shock: Paralysis “I can’t believe this is happening.”
\nHow do we see the character in shock?\u00a0 What does he or she do?
\n2.\u00a0 Denial: Disbelief “There must be some mistake.”
\nHow does the character actively deny the situation?\u00a0 What does he or she do that is contrary to the facts?
\n3. Anger: Outrage “I won’t stand for this.”\u00a0 “This isn’t right.”
\nHow does the character act out his or her anger.\u00a0 What action shows the character taking out his or anger on others?
\n4. Guilt\/Shame\/Blame:\u00a0 Fault\u00a0 “It’s all because of you.”\u00a0 “I never should have…”
\nWhat does the character do to shift the blame?\u00a0 How does the character blame him or her self?\u00a0 What does the character do as a result?
\n5. Acting Out:\u00a0 Rebellion “Screw it.”
\nWhat does the character do to rebel against or defy the situtation?\u00a0 What happens as a result?
\n6. Bargaining: Deal-making “I promise…”\u00a0 “If only you will let…”
\nHow does the character make deals or promises or beg for help?\u00a0 How do we seek this active desperation?
\n7.\u00a0 Depression: Realization\u00a0 “There is no way out.”\u00a0 “This is really happening.”
\nHow do we see the character come to grips with the reality of the situation?\u00a0 What doe the character do?
\n8. Testing: New Reality “Maybe I can survive this if I…”\u00a0 “Maybe I still could…”\u00a0 “What if I do this instead?
\nHow does the character test or try on new ways of being, acting or thinking?\u00a0 How does the character make the best of the situation, as bad as it is?
\n9.\u00a0 Acceptance: Forward “Even if the worst happens, I will be okay.”
\nHow does the character accept his or her fate, however dire?\u00a0 What leap of faith does the character make?\u00a0 How does the character make it okay for him or her self\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and\/or others?<\/p>\n

Show the character moving through the whole process of grief and anger.\u00a0 Create plot points that incorporate each step.\u00a0 Allow your character to fully experience and act on each step.\u00a0\u00a0 Create action (not just dialog) that reveal the character’s inner depths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whenever a character is disappointed, rejected, humiliated or spurned (or has a set-back of any kind), he or she experiences a loss. The question is, how does experiencing this loss reveal character? The loss and grief cycle includes these character revealing steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,78],"tags":[554,555,27,28,30,556,557,32,558,33,37,39,40,559,560,41],"class_list":["post-13095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-random-thoughts-pop-culture-political-movie-television-blog","category-writing-tips-tricks-advice-help-script-screenplay-screenwriting-blog","tag-advice","tag-depression","tag-emotional-toolbox","tag-etb","tag-film","tag-grief","tag-guilt","tag-laurie-hutzler","tag-loss","tag-movies","tag-screenwriting","tag-scripts","tag-scriptwriting","tag-self-help","tag-shame","tag-tv"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"ttshowcase_normal":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",125,94,false],"ttshowcase_small":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",75,56,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"Image Size 500x500":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",500,375,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-300x400.jpg",300,400,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-600x450.jpg",600,450,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Laurie Hutzler","author_link":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Whenever a character is disappointed, rejected, humiliated or spurned (or has a set-back of any kind), he or she experiences a loss. The question is, how does experiencing this loss reveal character? The loss and grief cycle includes these character revealing steps.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13095"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}