Events vs. Actions

In the context of story I often speak of EVENTS and ACTIONS.

In essence it’s a very simple and at the same time hugely important concept. Among many other things it can save you from the dreaded ‘passive protagonist’ syndrome.

Simply put, it’s about Action and Re-action. In the context of story however, this will make no sense whatsoever without establishing Point of View first. In other words: WHO witnesses the events and/or performs the actions?

If an action is a meaningful activity performed by a character, let’s look how we can define EVENTS in this context.

It can be:

• an incident or occurrence happening to the hero: e.g. The hero’s car runs out of fuel.
• an action by an other character impacting on the hero: e.g. The neighbour calls for help.
• dialogue by an other character directed to or heard by the hero: e.g.  “You’re fired”.
• a (sudden) memory, realization or revelation for by the hero: e.g. “He’s the guy who conned me…”

Summarising, we can say:

“An EVENT is a meaningful occurrence that is witnessed by or revealed to the hero.”

To make the distinction between EVENTS and ACTIONS, it is essential to first establish the POV.

Mostly this will (should) be the POV of the hero.

In a story that works, the number of Events and Actions will be roughly in balance. If your screenplay has an abundance of one and a lack of the other, it will suffer from:

1. an unmotivated hero (too many actions, not enough events); or
2. a passive hero (too many events, not enough related actions)

A step outline can help you in diagnosing your story with either condition.

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than you have fingers on your left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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