Alright, I'm continuing my read-through of Luca Aimeri's _Manuale di Sceneggiatura Cinematografica_ (Screenwriting Manual). The "formal" part, the one explaining how to lay out pages, use tabs, and all that jazz, is interesting, sure, but for my current purposes, it's not what **captivates** me the most. I find Part 4, titled _"It's the story of someone to whom something happens that terribly complicates their life,"_ much more fruitful. The title pretty much says it all. But let's go step by step, because there's a lot to unpack here. ### From Idea to Character: The True Engine of Narration A few weeks ago, on the blog, I was reflecting on how an idea for a story is born ([Anatomy of an Idea - When a Question Becomes a Story](BLOG/2025/05/Anatomy%20of%20an%20Idea%20-%20When%20a%20Question%20Becomes%20a%20Story.md)). But, to paraphrase the old adage, _an idea is nothing without characters_. Because, yes, the true and irreplaceable core of a story is precisely that: the character. This holds true for every type of story, even those Aimeri defines as "adventure stories" (storie di peripezie): the real lifeblood, the stuff that keeps us glued to the pages or the screen, flows from the characters. ### Adventures or Characters? The Two Sides of the Same Narrative Coin Hold on, wait a minute! What do you mean by "adventure stories"? Okay, simplifying **greatly** and taking a broad-stroke approach to all the nuances, Aimeri suggests dividing stories into two macro-categories: - **Adventure stories** (also _plot-driven stories_ or _action plots_). - **Character stories** (also _character-driven stories_ or _plots of the mind_). The first category, _adventure stories_, groups those narratives whose strength lies mainly in the plot itself, in the chain of events. These are the stories where we're thrilled to see protagonists face incredible obstacles; we're consumed by curiosity to find out how they'll manage; we root for them to triumph even in the most desperate and seemingly hopeless situations. In the second category, _character stories_, we can instead include all those tales where the character themselves, with their inner world and journey, constitutes the dramatic core. As readers or viewers, we're not so much (or not only) interested in _how_ a character will resolve a critical situation. We're more concerned with trying to understand their soul, feeling the weight of their internal dilemmas, **and** discovering whether the events that overwhelm them will change their true nature or if, on the contrary, they'll remain true to themselves and their ideals until the end. ### Us, Them, the Story: The Power of Identification But, as I've already said, this is a broad-stroke division. Because, in reality, we readers are truly interested in only one, **incredibly** powerful thing: being drawn into the world of the story. In fact, I'd say more: **becoming the protagonists** of that story ourselves. Living an adventure in the shoes of a hero (or an anti-hero, it matters little). Daydreaming **about** one of the infinite possible lives **that are not our own**. Cinema, theater, radio, novels, comics, TV series: they are all magical portals we use to transform ourselves, even if only for a little while, into those characters. We identify with them. We suffer with them and for them. We rejoice in their triumphs. For a few moments, _we are them_, and in doing so, we give them a spark of that reality that, being fictional creatures, wouldn't inherently belong to them. Action stories and more reflective ones, beach reads and great literary classics, romantic comedies and the grittiest thrillers: all works of fiction, without exception, revolve around characters. In some, the emphasis is on their _doing_, on how they act and react to events. In others, the focus is more on their inner _being_, on their psychological evolutions. But they are always, inevitably, stories **about** characters. ### The Fundamental Equation: Characters + Action = Story **A word of caution, though.** If it's true that every story is a story **of** characters, it's equally true that every story is also, to a certain extent, a story of adventures. Something _must happen_ to the characters, and they will react to this something in a certain way. They cannot remain motionless; **to do so would mean** the death of the narration itself. Last time, talking about ideas and conflicts, we established that: > there is no story without conflict, just as there is no conflict without a story within it. Today, after these reflections on the character, I feel like adding another piece **to the puzzle**. Conflict is not enough. This conflict needs to generate **action** (which can be internal, like a realization, or external, like an escape or a fight, or both). Action, therefore, stands as an equally fundamental element **for building** a story that works. So, I can venture to add a new rule to my personal, **ever-evolving** writer's toolkit: **There is no story without characters, and there are no compelling characters without meaningful actions.** I'd say that's enough for today. See you around. 👋