The phenomenon of dilemmas has already taken hold in screenwriting instruction. But working with such continues to treat the process like a math problem that needs solving. What happens when we look deeper? Is there something else that's perhaps more important within such that we're not recognizing?
Dilemmas exist because of two extreme perspectives. Remember that the definition of extreme is simply two abstract concepts that are as different from each other as possible. In Story as Language, we ask ourselves what Universal Truth lives between these concepts? But though that Universal Truth exists in this space, it's only accessible. It requires a choice for its application.
We don't, as human beings, possess Universal Truths. Such is why they can come in our scripts as realizations or, in other words, transformations -- shifts in perspective. But this moment comes at the end of Act Two during your hero's Surrender moment. So, what about Act Three?
To apply this newly discovered Universal Truth in the final act, your hero must make an Ultimate Choice. But there's reluctance. Why? It's because making this Ultimate Choice, applying this Universal Truth, is really hard. Have you ever been angry with a partner or friend and known letting the disagreement go would be the more transformative course of action? Have you ever, despite knowing this, continued to be mad?
Universal Truths, like the laws of physics, don't exist to fulfill our ego. If followed by all, the world would likely be much more harmonious. You see, Universal Truths exist despite our egos and irregardless of whether followed by all or not. The moment of choosing the Universal Truth over either want or need is the most difficult thing your hero does in the whole of your story. Everything they've been through leads us to this moment of choice. It's the choice your hero dreads so much that they've repressed it. It's a choice exposed to them, no longer repressible, and Act Three is their path to making it or not.
As you write this week, ask yourself:
- What are the two extremes within which my hero is living? Use want and need to determine such. "My hero wants love, but they need self-discovery.
- In examining these two extremes, allow yourself to see the Universal Truth between them. "Part of love is loving oneself."
- What Ultimate Choice would your hero need to make to apply this Universal Truth? "My hero must choose themself at the end of my story, and give their lover the space to choose as well, risking losing their relationship."