Screenwriting : Writing Characters by Gloria Katch

I reckon you start with conflict, then write a scene with dialogue expressing the conflict; then, you derive characters from that, which leads on to plot. If you start with plot, you in effect slot characters into the plot, rather than deriving plot from conflict between the characters.

Hello Gloria :) What I do is write bios for the main and supporting characters. This is after I've roughly outlined the script, so I kinda know what type of traits/history a character needs that would impact their personality, dialogue, and decision-making to advance the story. For example, in THE THING ABOUT LOVE, it's about a guy who believes in this great big world of eight billion people, there is the one for each of us. This is a Rom/Com too, by the way. :) In order to avoid him being just some kind of whack job, how'd he get to be that way that the audience sympathizes with him? This is important, because my writing partner and I have him make what some would consider "questionable decisions" for the sake of his misguided sense of love. So, one of the things we developed in his bio was that his parents were in a loveless marriage; they fought all the time, and it pained him to see that. He was actually a "save-the-marriage" baby, and his parents ended up sending him to stay with his aunt in Michigan's Upper Peninsula for the summer. So, growing up, he sees this loveless marriage, sees his parents miserable and fighting all the time, despite the vows they'd taken, it breaks his heart, and he concludes there must be more to life and love than misery. So he overcompensates by conceiving this mystical, magical perception of what love can be. And I have found that in writing these character bios, it really helps flesh out not only the characters, but elements of the story as well. Elements I may not have thought up for the script if not for fleshing out these characters. There are also several websites that provide a guide for character bios that questions like "What does your character think is the worst thing that could happen to them?" All this stuff I think helps create deeply-developed characters and fully-realized scenes. I hope this proves helpful. :)

I actually develop my characters as the story goes along. Always making changes in the attitudes, goals, backgrounds etc.

I write people I know. I have done this for many years...characters in my books tend to be real characters that I know, I just change their names and run with it. Has worked well for me...but I know a lot of people throughout my life, so that always helps. Needless to say, I incorporate their speech, traits and mannerisms. Makes it easy to keep track of the characters also... Hope this helps...

I recommend starting with character. Really get to know who you're writing about. Not just the protagonist, but the supporting characters as well. I've found that the more I know about them, the easier writing scenes goes...and sometimes unexpected things happen in the story because I feel that the characters would take it in that direction.

I use an empathy matrix to understand who they are (ask if anyone wants an example). Once I understand who they are, I will understand why they act the way they do. I will also look at what is making them act (jealousy, suffering or dissatisfaction). This will also shape them.

If you are starting with plot then I would ask what is motivating my character to go through this journey. To me character motivation is the foundation. So if your plot is " bank heist" then what is motivating the robber- is it greed or desperation? why is he greedy or desperate? What brought him to that circumstance (backstory)? Then you can add the details in based on the motivation- what are his/her flaws, strengths, quirks. How do those traits influence the character. There are templates for character profiles that might also help you organize your ideas.

When I outline characters, I give them personalities, strengths, flaws, fears, goals (in life and the script), habits, hobbies, daily routines, relationships, things to lose, and dilemmas, Gloria Katch. I also give my characters breathing room to become who they need to be in the script. That's really important for writing incredible characters.

Maurice makes a great point; character growth is important or even the lack of character growth should be purposeful (in my opinion). To use my example of the bank heist - has the desperate morally confused family man turned into a hard-core criminal after crossing the line so many times, has the greedy villain seen the error of his ways, because he destroyed innocent lives with his actions, etc.? Have they overcome their fears or been consumed by them?

To me the story is everything. Why? Because people (characters) are mostly the same; it's what they do or what happens or what circumstances they find themselves in that make them interesting. For example, think about every birthing scene you've ever seen in a movie. Screams, a contorted face of a sweaty gal who is encouraged to push! Ho-hum. Babies have been being born since day 1...

BUT... make the woman giving birth to Satan's kid and audience reaction changes. What will the kid look like? Remember Rosemary's Baby? Nope. Unfortunately, we never get to really see it ... hence, for me, the movie was lousy. The ONE thing that made this movie interesting was getting a glimpse of the result of screwing the devil, right? Movies are visual, so why didn't we get to see the Devil's kid? I digress.

To me, stories are events that turn ordinary people into interesting people, so I always ask myself, what would my character DO or SAY if X happened? Close Encounters was a good film because Dreyfus acted like a real person ...example, the scene where he cautiously removes the gas mask in the truckful of people who are being removed. He's a skeptic, but not a fool. It takes him a while to evaluate and then act. That's believable. The story progresses, for me, with no interruption of, Oh, come on, now!

However, Dreyfus doesn't become a skeptic in the truck, he was a skeptic before that scene. The entire pre-leaving with aliens scenes prepares us for an ordinary person having the gonads to get into a spaceship and leaving earth for the rest of his earth-life. Good film making.

For me, characters drive the narrative, and watching them evolve and face challenges helps me uncover their unique traits and, ideally, their indivdual voices. To quote Beetlejuice (one of my favorite characters), I like to "turn on the juice and see what shakes loose..."

Several years ago I had an idea for a sword and sorcery novel. Despite liking the basic premise I tried writing it but just couldn't get excited about it and wasn't sure why. After several weeks work I suspected that the main character needed something new. Instead of a 20 year old male what if they were a 17 year old female? Never having been a 17 year old female the challenge of writing a character like that really got me going. Three years later I had a four novel series to show for it.

Challenge!

Challenge!

Challenge yourself.

Bill I love this, I’m glad you found a story to get excited about and such a great challenge.

RC I like the quote, it is the best feeling when the juices start flowing.

Jenean you are a right a good plot is very important and can be what makes it unique and gives the story that fresh spin.

Hi Gloria - I highly recommend Brian Herskowitz’s Stage 32 class on this very subject. It’s a great course that give you tools to create great characters and build them in your work. Here’s a link so you can check it out: https://www.stage32.com/classes/Developing-Memorable-Characters-and-Worl...