Testing Lines

Everybody draws lines in the sand about what they will and won't do. It goes without saying that different people have different limits that they set for themselves. For example, one person might think that polygamy is perfectly natural, but another may find it a repugnant perversion.

What makes this interesting is that most subjects have a variable threshold. A classic example is that stealing is wrong, but stealing to feed your starving family is acceptable.

I love to test the lines of people. I ask them if they would do a particular action (like picking a fight with a chimpanzee), then I ask them more questions until they change their answer. (Would you fight a chp for a million dollars? What about ten thousand? What if the chimp picks a fight with you?)

When you test a person's lines, you may discovers the angles through which you can manipulate them, and that can be critical to moving the plot along.