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WHERE IS THE HEAT?
Fuel and Stoke the Dramatic Fire
Ideally, your protagonist will have both a primary positive and corresponding negative goal. It is this +/– polarity that will generate dramatic tension or “heat” to keep the story engine running. Heat is also generated by the friction of your main character's need to seek his/her potential destiny (+) while simultaneously not succumbing to his/her potential fate (–). According to UCLA film professor, Howard Suber:
You seek your destiny; you succumb to your fate. Destiny originates within the self; fate comes from outside. Fate is the force that lies beyond individual will and control; it pushes you from behind. Destiny is the attracting force in front of you that acts like a magnet and ...
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