Main Character’s Unique ability • [Variation] • the quality that makes The Main Character uniquely qualified to solve the story’s problem • Just as a requirement defines the specific nature of things needed to achieve a particular goal, Unique Ability defines the specific quality needed to meet the requirement. Unique Ability is another way in which the Main Character is identified as the intersecting point between the Subjective and Objective stories as it is only he who ultimately has what it takes to meet the test of the requirement and thereby achieve the goal. The Unique Ability need not be anything extraordinary but must be the one crucial quality required that is shared by no one else. Frequently, the Unique Ability is in keeping with the Main Character’s position or profession, however it can be much more interesting to assign an incongruous Unique Ability. In either approach, it is essential to illustrate the existence of the Unique Ability in the Main Character several times throughout the story, even if it is not employed until the climax. In this way, it becomes integrated into the nature of the Main Character and does not seem conveniently tacked on when it is ultimately needed. Also, the Unique Ability can be extremely mundane. The key is that the ability does not have to be unique by nature, but just possessed uniquely in that specific story by the Main Character. Clever storytelling may arrange the climax of the story so that some completely ordinary and insignificant Unique Ability makes the difference in the outcome of a cosmic struggle.

Main Character’s Solution • [Element] • what is needed to truly satisfy The Main Character’s drive; the solution to the Main Character’s problems • The Solution Element is the “flip side” of the Problem Element. In a story, the focus may be on the Problem Element (“The Main Character should not be this way”) or the focus may be on the Solution Element (“The Main Character should be this way”). If the Main Character should not be a certain way, we say it is a “Stop” story as he must stop being a certain way. If the Main Character should be a certain way, we say it is a “Start” story as he must start being a certain way. So in a sense the Problem Element is not by itself the cause of the story’s problem, but works in conjunction with the Solution Element to create an imbalance between two traits that need to be balanced. The choice to present one as a negative trait defines it as the Problem Element and its positive partner becomes the Solution Element.

Main Character Problem • [Element] • source of The Main Character’s drive; the source of the Main Character’s problems • In every Main Character there exists some inequity that is driving him. If the Main Character Changes something in himself at the leap of faith, it is this item, his Problem, which he changes by exchanging it for his Solution. If the Main Character is Steadfast, though, he holds onto his problem, deepening his resolve to keep the same motivations through the end of the story as he had when he began the story.

Main Character’s Issue • [Variation] • the Main Character’s personal thematic focus, topic, or value standard • A Main Character’s Issue captures the essence of what that character will represent in the story. The nature of the things he does, intends to do, and what he means to the passionate argument of the story are all linked in this appreciation.

Main Character’s Focus • [Element] • where The Main Character believes the problem to be; where the Main Character’s attention is focused • When a Main Character is at odds with his surroundings, a problem exists between himself and his environment. The actual nature of this gap between Main Character and environment is described by the Problem Element. The nature of what is required to restore balance is described by the Solution Element. This is the Objective view of the problem. The Main Character, however, is not privy to that view and must work from the Subjective view instead. From the Subjective view, the problem does not appear to be between the Main Character and the Environment but wholly in one or the other. Sometimes a Main Character is a “Do-er” type and will perceive and first try to solve the problem in the environment. Other times a Main Character is a “Be-er” who will first try to solve the problem by adapting to the environment. A “Do-er” focuses the problem in the environment; a “Be-er” focuses the problem in himself. The Focus Element describes the nature of how the problem appears to the Main Character when he places it wholly in one area or the other.

Main Character Domain • [Domain] • the realm of the Main Character’s personal journey and growth • Everything the Main Character does and represents that primarily relates to him alone, as opposed to specific relationships he has with other characters, can be said to be part of the Main Character Domain. There are four different perspectives in the structure of any story represented by the combination of each of the four Classes with each of the four Domains– the Objective Story Domain, the Subjective Story Domain, the Obstacle Character Domain, and the Main Character Domain. The Main Character Domain describes in the broadest single term what the Main Character represents and the area in which the Main Character operates within the story.

Main Character’s Direction • [Element] • The response of the Main Character to his apparent problems • A Main Character can never be sure if what he believes to be the source of his problem really is the source of his problem. Regardless, based on his apparent problems he will determine a potential solution or Direction which he hopes will work as a solution. The dramatic unit that describes what a Main Character holds as the path to a solution is the Main Character Direction.

Main Character’s Critical Flaw • [Variation] • the quality that undermines the Main Character’s efforts • To balance the Main Character’s extraordinary status conveyed by his Unique Ability, he must also be shown to be especially vulnerable in one area as well. This vulnerability is called his Critical Flaw. The Main Character’s Critical Flaw is his Achilles heel that prevents him from being too one-sided. Just as with Unique Ability, the Critical Flaw can be quite mundane as long as it can threaten him with failure from an unprotectable direction. The specific Critical Flaw must be unique to the Main Character in the story. However, the more common the Critical Flaw is to the audience, the more it will identify with the Main Character’s predicament. In Start stories, the Critical Flaw inhibits the Main Character from using his Unique Ability. In Stop stories, the Critical Flaw undoes work done by the Unique Ability after the fact. Only when the Main Character learns to either Start or Stop as required by the story can the Critical Flaw be avoided, allowing his Unique Ability to solve the problem.

Main Character’s Concern • [Type] • The issue or issues held in greatest importance by the Main Character’ • The Main Character Concern describes the kinds of things the Main Character is striving to attain or maintain. This could be in terms of concrete or abstract things, depending partly on the Main Character’s Domain and partly on the twist the author wants to put on that Domain.

Main Character’s Benchmark • [Type] • the standard by which the degree of the Main Character’s growth is indicated • the way of telling how much the Main Character is dealing with the issues at stake for himself in the story is by choosing an item in the story and using it as a measuring stick. This can be subtle or obvious, illustrated perhaps by the number of empty beer cans next to an alcoholic’s bed, the severity of a facial tick, or the amount of perfume a character puts on. However it is illustrated, it needs to be there to give both the audience and the Main Character some way of judging how deep his concern is and how far along in the story he is.