From Motivation To Obsession

I’m on the back half of the second act on my comedy and I’m picking up speed (or at least time spent ) on the script. I take it with me on my lunch hour. I think about it in the shower. My wife thinks I live in front of the computer.

So, I’m on a roll but I’m thinking, “Yeah, my protag has some motivation. He’s gotten a whiff of the ten million dollars and wants to save the town. And he’s been insulted by the bad guy. And he’s trying to woo the pretty girl and all that other stuff. And, and, and.

But he’s not obsessed with it. It’s not eating at his soul. He really needs to get to that *This Time It’s Personal* stage”.

Standard operating procedure, put your protag in a bad spot, then make it worse. So I’m thinking what’s about the worst thing that I can do to him (and it still has to be funny)?

Pissing on an electric fence. That should get his attention. And being tricked into it by the baddie, that’s even better. Now he’s not just motivated, he’s obsessed with revenge.

But how do I get him to piss on an electric fence?

Realistically?

I hate those movies that have a good scene but in the back of my mind I’m thinking “He’d never let himself be put into this position in the first place”. The scene works but you have to have a reason FOR the scene. That’s the tricky part.

So, I’m kicking around ideas all day, all night and nothing really works. But about three this morning, when I have to make that trip to the bathroom, it hits me. Perfect. All the pieces come together. My protag will WANT to piss on this fence (not realizing, of course, that it’s electrified). But instead of being satisfied about finally coming up with the idea, I lay awake for the next couple of hours working out all of the details in my head.

And now I’m struggling to stay awake at the day job.

So my question is this. Is my protagonist obsessed or am I?