The Defining Moment

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Aimed at both the head and the heart, this book explores the most memorable characters across screen, stage, and page, focusing on pivotal moments that shape their identities. These defining moments create a clear boundary of before and after, essential for character existence and transformation. Writers, actors, and storytellers will find a powerful tool to develop, write, or portray characters, potentially gaining deeper self-awareness. The book includes an introduction to the concept of defining moments as a strategy for understanding character formation, along with numerous examples from film, television, theater, and literature that showcase their prevalence and power. It delves into various types of defining moments—birth, death, discovery, decision, injury, and healing—and examines how writers and actors utilize these moments in their most impactful work. Insights into the roles of directors, editors, cinematographers, and composers in dramatizing these moments are also provided. Practical exercises are included for discovering the defining moments of characters, benefiting documentarians and journalists seeking truth, as well as those bringing true stories to life. Personal anecdotes from the authors illustrate the diversity of defining moments, helping readers uncover their own. This book promises to transform how storytellers understand their characters and themselves.