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Dramatica Tip of the Month
January, 2000

The Impact Character Resolve

The IMPACT CHARACTER (formerly known as the Obstacle Character) has a RESOLVE that is the inverse of the Main Character's. When the Main Character is a Change character, the Impact Character will remain STEADFAST (such as the Ghosts in "A Christmas Carol," Viola De Lesseps in "Shakespeare in Love," and the steadfast Impact of Ricky Fitts in "American Beauty"). When the Main Character remains Steadfast, the Impact Character will CHANGE (such as Sam Gerard in "The Fugitive," Blanche Hudson in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?," and Raymond Shaw in "The Manchurian Candidate.") It is not important whether it's the steadfastness of one character that forces the change in the other, or the change in one that supports the steadfastness of the other. What is important is that the inverse relationship between the Main Charater's Resolve and the Impact Character's Resolve provides a key point of reference for an audience's understanding of your story's meaning.