All stories are about a hero pursuing a physical goal. In weak stories, that’s all the hero does. In better stories, the physical goal is actually a path towards helping the hero achieve an emotional goal.
In some stories, the hero knows their emotional dream but have no idea how to achieve it. In “Star Wars,” Luke’s emotional dream is to have an adventure, but he has no idea how to do it.
When a hero has an emotional dream but no clear physical goal, the villain needs to give the hero a physical goal to achieve. Then by achieving this physical goal, the hero can achieve the emotional dream.
In “Star Wars,” Luke suddenly finds himself trying to bring R2D2 to Princess Leia’s planet. Only later does he realize to save Princess Leia, he must destroy the Death Star and keep it from killing Princess Leia. Achieving the physical goal also achieves the emotional dream at the same time.
In other stories, the hero has a physical goal, but are completely unaware of their hidden emotional need. In “Soul,” the hero’s physical goal is to become a professional jazz musician. However, his hidden emotional need is to learn to appreciate every aspect of life.
In “Soul,” the hero dreams of becoming a professional jazz musician. Yet when he finally achieves that physical goal, he’s shocked to realize it’s not enough.
That’s when the hero realizes he may have wanted to become a professional jazz musician, but what he really needed was to learn to appreciate life and not pursue jazz so much that he ignores the small things in life that make living so enjoyable.
Pursuit of a physical goal must always lead to achieving an emotional dream. If the hero has no clear physical goal in the beginning, then achieving the physical goal often achieves the emotional dream at the same time.
If the hero has a clear physical goal in the beginning, then achieving the physical goal is the catalyst for finally achieving the emotional dream.
In your own screenplay, decide if your hero has a clear physical goal in the beginning or not. Then make sure whatever physical goal your hero finally achieves can also help him or her achieve an emotional dream as well.
