Basic question - identifying characters
Posted: Jun 09, 2014 9:31 am
Hi All,
Apologies if this has been discussed numerous times in the past - I went through the messages and found a lot of great help and advice but I couldn't find an answer to fit my current conundrum...
I am developing a story for a novel and I'm having real problems identifying my various characters as I work through Dramatica. The rough outline is as follows:
A policeman, just the wrong side of middle age (we'll call him Jim), is pastured-out to a small 'retirement village' whose inhabitants are not all that they seem. He is introduced to the village and its residents by his Community Liaison (kind of an unofficial position akin to the head of the neighborhood watch - we'll call her Nicci) and we follow his first few days as he settles in, resentful of this new posting, feeling as if he has been forced into a kind of early retirement in this strange, sleepy village.
He makes a few attempts to escape, writing to his superiors, calling on favors etc. All of which fail and he is forced to make the best of his new situation, convinced that he will sleep his way through the remainder of his career - that is until one of the villagers is murdered.
Suspicion immediately falls on two potential suspects, one is known to be on vacation however Jim is forced to arrest the other suspect for his own good as some of the villagers begin making dire threats of retribution. It becomes obvious to Jim that the suspect he has in custody is innocent, which means he now has a murder to solve.
With Nicci's assistance he begins to investigate the murder. When the second suspect (we'll call him Luke) returns to the village (albeit in hiding from the other residents) Jim and Nicci track him down and he convinces them that he was abroad at the time of the murder.
As the investigation progresses Jim discovers that the murderer was the victim's own father - someone who, until that point, everyone had believed to be not of sound mind OR body. Jim arrests the murderer however he realizes that the father was simply a tool and had been manipulated into the murder by Luke all along - Luke had even sent the murder weapon to him disguised as an innocent keepsake.
With time running out Jim and Nicci pursue Luke, catching him just as he is about to leave the village and vanish for good.
So essentially it's a murder mystery story with a splash of detective work. My problem is that I cannot identify my Impact Character, nor even my antagonist. Is Luke the antagonist? Jim is trying to solve a murder that Luke arranged but Luke does not actively try to thwart Jim - indeed Luke is convinced that the murder will be solved and that the father will take the fall given his mental state. Or is that alone enough to make Luke the Antagonist?
Who then would be the Impact Character? Once the murder happens Jim's motives are fairly simple, stemming as they do from his duty as a policeman. If that is the case the only opposing view I can see would be that of Luke himself - Can Luke be both the Antagonist AND the Impact Character?
What role would I assign to the father? As the unwitting pawn who has been taken advantage of by Luke?
Once again, sorry if I am being vague and sorry if this has been covered a thousand times before but right now I am well and truly stuck so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
J
Apologies if this has been discussed numerous times in the past - I went through the messages and found a lot of great help and advice but I couldn't find an answer to fit my current conundrum...
I am developing a story for a novel and I'm having real problems identifying my various characters as I work through Dramatica. The rough outline is as follows:
A policeman, just the wrong side of middle age (we'll call him Jim), is pastured-out to a small 'retirement village' whose inhabitants are not all that they seem. He is introduced to the village and its residents by his Community Liaison (kind of an unofficial position akin to the head of the neighborhood watch - we'll call her Nicci) and we follow his first few days as he settles in, resentful of this new posting, feeling as if he has been forced into a kind of early retirement in this strange, sleepy village.
He makes a few attempts to escape, writing to his superiors, calling on favors etc. All of which fail and he is forced to make the best of his new situation, convinced that he will sleep his way through the remainder of his career - that is until one of the villagers is murdered.
Suspicion immediately falls on two potential suspects, one is known to be on vacation however Jim is forced to arrest the other suspect for his own good as some of the villagers begin making dire threats of retribution. It becomes obvious to Jim that the suspect he has in custody is innocent, which means he now has a murder to solve.
With Nicci's assistance he begins to investigate the murder. When the second suspect (we'll call him Luke) returns to the village (albeit in hiding from the other residents) Jim and Nicci track him down and he convinces them that he was abroad at the time of the murder.
As the investigation progresses Jim discovers that the murderer was the victim's own father - someone who, until that point, everyone had believed to be not of sound mind OR body. Jim arrests the murderer however he realizes that the father was simply a tool and had been manipulated into the murder by Luke all along - Luke had even sent the murder weapon to him disguised as an innocent keepsake.
With time running out Jim and Nicci pursue Luke, catching him just as he is about to leave the village and vanish for good.
So essentially it's a murder mystery story with a splash of detective work. My problem is that I cannot identify my Impact Character, nor even my antagonist. Is Luke the antagonist? Jim is trying to solve a murder that Luke arranged but Luke does not actively try to thwart Jim - indeed Luke is convinced that the murder will be solved and that the father will take the fall given his mental state. Or is that alone enough to make Luke the Antagonist?
Who then would be the Impact Character? Once the murder happens Jim's motives are fairly simple, stemming as they do from his duty as a policeman. If that is the case the only opposing view I can see would be that of Luke himself - Can Luke be both the Antagonist AND the Impact Character?
What role would I assign to the father? As the unwitting pawn who has been taken advantage of by Luke?
Once again, sorry if I am being vague and sorry if this has been covered a thousand times before but right now I am well and truly stuck so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
J