Hi there to all novice screenwriters! Important question: How well do you know your characters? If you don’t know your characters, your screenplay will fail, sorry! Here’s why? So often I read screenplays with a really clever idea/premise that immediately have my attention. Hmm—let’s see where this is going… But then, about halfway into the script, the pace begins to sag, the character development stalls, and the plot grows oh so boring, repetitive and totally predictable. Oh no! What a total let down! Why? Because the promise of the opening is not fulfilled! The reason for this is simple: your (underdeveloped) characters have no story to tell let alone sustain it to the end! Bottom line: Characters drive plot. Not the other way round. Creating multi-layered and complex characters – especially a strong protagonist - is critical for developing a solid story. Characters make for compelling drama and conflict. No conflict, no drama, no story. No matter how good your premise, set-up, format and structure are. Give me compelling, memorable characters. If not, I won’t really care about your characters. I’ll simply switch off the lights and go to sleep. How can I help your characters to stay alive and keep me awake?
Screenwriting : Is your Script Lacking in Character Development? by Catalina Lowe
Other topics in Screenwriting:
Check out Trending Discussions
Register / Log In
1 person likes this
I agree.
1 person likes this
This is key! People tell me they get stuck 1/3 of the way into the story, and I tell them its because they do not know their characters well enough. :)
3 people like this
thank you for the pro tip, Catalina. for educational purposes, please show us your scripts to read and study.
1 person likes this
You need to understand what your characters will do when you throw them into the scenes that will move your story along. You need to know how smart they are, and in what ways, you need to know their interests, their motivations, their personality, ability to handle pressure, and obviously their needs and desires. And, you need to build them with the traits they'll need to accomplish what you put in front of them in your story. Perhaps most importantly, you need to build in weaknesses and ghosts to make your characters interesting enough so the audience will want to go along for the ride and see what happens. Yep, gotsta know your people, or it all falls flat.
2 people like this
One thing saves the middle of any story ... (well lots of things, but one more than anything else): having a moral component to the hero/heroine. This is the holy grail for the middle. This is where ALL the drama or comedy of a story originates and this is what drives the relationships in the middle. Why do middles fail? Because they don't have this. Unless they are situations and not stories, then you better have a great high concept and puzzle/predicament/problem driving the middle. In stories however, it's the moral component... I'm sure almost no one will agree... but that's my 2 cents :) (here's a freebee you might want to check out http://bit.ly/1HT4Xme).
Thanks very much to all of you who have contributed to the discussion with these most valuable tips - it's GREAT! Writing a compelling screenplay that grabs and holds the reader to the end, is a bitch. Let's help each other to run this challenging marathon to the finish line - without collapsing halfway!!! (-: Keep writing!
1 person likes this
This is not original by any means, but I like to give my main characters an interview by a hypothetical all-knowing being. The interviewer will ask tough questions about the characters motives and actions from the main scenes throughout the story. The main benefit is forcing myself to sharpen the characters goals - if he/she can't articulate and justify it (compared to an alternate path), then it's not strong enough. Secondly, it really helps create the voice of the character and ultimately solidifies the bond I have with them.
1 person likes this
Well when it comes to narrative feature storytelling, this is the basic secret sauce I was taught to keep in mind while writing way back in film school. Question: what makes a good story well told? Answer: a good story well told consists of a strong, central protagonist whom the audience can sympathize with (does not have to be likeable necessarily) who wants something very badly, and there are obstacles in their way to getting what they want. If the protagonist does not get what they want, there will be dire consequences in the end. The stakes must be high enough to make the protagonist spring into action to pursue the thing they are after, and at the end they either succeed in getting what they want, or fail. Easy to remember, difficult to put into practice.