Getting to know your characters.

[StephieM]

I think one of the most important things to do before writing a script is "getting to know your character or characters". It's very easy to tell through someone's dialogue and actions wether they have taken the time to smooth through this process or not. I'm just curious as to how some of you create your character and how much time you allow yourself to spend breaking them down.

I spend about a week on my characters. I go through thier whole history from birth all the way up until the time the script takes place. I think about thier likes and dislikes, thier favorite things, where they like to hang out, ect. From that I think about thier attitude, thier POV, and of course thier dramatic need. Then when I am writing my script I think of an actor or actress who will best fit this role (not because I want them to play the part) but because it's easier for me to visualize the character as a real person. I think about the actors' voice patterns, the way they move, how they act, ect. ect. ect.

Does anyone else do this, or am I alone here? :)

Steph

[scripter1]

Every time I get any type of idea, any thing actually, I write it down in my scripts notebook. I keep a running list of character names, dialog, scenes, actions, etc.

When I'm ready to start on a new concept I usually come up with a character name right away. They just kind of pop in my mind and I know they are right.
Then I do a character bio sheet.
One of the older books I have has a list of thirty questions to ask about the character. Covers everything from background to political views to how they feel about their mom.
I answer each question creating as much detail as I can.
Then I go through and pull out what I need for my story.

I too think of actors/actresses so I can visualize the film.

I seem to do all right with my protags but my antags always seem to come up a little short. I'm really focusing hard on seeing the story through their eyes, almost writing a whole other script from the antags POV.

It's a great exercise for getting their motivation down and making sure it works.

[Joe Calabrese]

Okay. Here's where everyone thinks I'm a nut (if you haven't already.)

I really don't think a lot about my character's backstory, the life he/she had before the movie started. I used to write character sheets a long time ago, (back when writing was first invented) but rarely do it now.

Sure, I'll spend a day or a week on a character and think about the type of person he/she is, personality traits, but that's about it. I don't care where they were born, favorite color or food. I just wing it as a write the script.

My rational for this you ask?

Part of me thinks...

1. I don't have the time to do all that when I only give myself a month or so to go from inception to first draft.

2. Why bother thinking up all that life when so little ends up in the script. After all, what is Luke Skywalkers favorite color or his grades in school? Lucas may know but it aint in the script so who cares. Not I.

3. I just like to discover the character as the story progresses. I had one character that I thought I had all figured out until the third act came and he turned me on my ear and ended up being a better villian that the protagonist's mentor.

4. I usualy only write stuff that's more plot driven, so my characters are pretty shallow to begin with.

Call me crazy.

[nganok]

One of my favorite subjects. I have the fortunate opportunity to be in management right now where I come in contact with over 500 people a week and I manage about 20 of them. I have a endless amount of characters all day long that come in and out of my business weekly. I sit and talk to people all the time, finding out their life history, likes, dislikes etc. I can usually take real people and formulate characters. I've started a dry erase board in the room I wriht in that spells out each character's traits. I guess working with so many diverse people makes it easy to see the human condition and draw from it to form workable characters.

[scripter1]

or grocery store is a great place to study character and get ideas.
Just sit down in a busy place for an hour or so and keep notes.
Listen to the way people talk and all their little quirks.

I understand what you are saying Joe, full character bios can be too detailed and most of it doesn't get used.
I've found though that as I jot down stuff like favorite color etc that it opens up room for my mind to create more significant details.
It's a writing exercise that warms up my brain.
Just something that works for me.
And I like having those little details on hand just in case the script
ends up needing them.

[sspunisher]

Honestly i think every character should have a brief background, but no more than necessary. Personally, I start with the brief bio of sorts, then go into the story. When I get to that one point in the story where I need to make a decision about the character's background, I go back and add it to the characterr bio.

If you're like me, you might have a character that might just be there for a minor role, but then you get to this part in your storyline and realize his role can be a lot bigger than you originally thought.

If you already have crafted his background, then of course, you're not going to let a background (that you created in the first place), interfere with the story. So you'll end up going back and redoing it, thus wasting time.

I think even after the story is completed, you should leave as much of the characters background open ended. Not to say that a sequel to the story might one day be requested, since that "window of opportunity" is rather small, but the way I see it, no sense in closing that window completely.

[Boo_Radley]

I don't put a lot of thought into my characters before going in. I might have some general thumbnail of the person...sometimes (but rarely) I'll have a precise personality I want to imbed into a character...but for the most part, I work out the beats of my story, what I want to happen, and just start writing.

Sooner or later, however, the character just grows on his/her own. Granted, a lot of times I'll have to go back earlier in the script after learning the character has a certain personality trait that would make them do something different than what I made them do, but I think that's a good thing. Leads to a lot of rewriting (lol) but all that does is improve the script.

I'm also with Joe on fabricating complex backstories/histories. I don't think it really matters where they went to school, what their father did for a living or who their first lay was. Unless it has something to do with the story and needs to be made mention of, I don't see a point in it.

[Chesher Cat]

Wow, I'm impressed with how hard everybody works.

When it comes to creating characters I don't do any of the work. I make them do it. If they're not talking, telling me who they are and what they want to say...well, they just don't make it into the script.

Joe, if your characters are so shallow, why haven't you had a big spec sale? :)

[dpaterso]

A character is defined by his or her actions.

In the bus station washroom, Jane finds a briefcase containing a million dollars in unmarked bills. What does she do next? Her decision will tell me more about her than any amount of character bio detail could possibly tell me.

Harry's uncaring boss tells him to clear his desk, the company's letting him go. Harry opens his drawer and stares at his paper knife. What does he do next? Do I really give a damn about anything that came before this pivotal moment in Harry's life?

Whenever I need a new character I pick a stereotype from the list and start writing. As I write, I sprinkle personal quirks that help to mask the stereotype and make the character unique -- as will the character's own decisions throughout the story. Initialization cycle: 5 seconds. Growth cycle: until the story ends.

Each to their own, whatever works for you is the right method, but as you may guess, I am an advocate of getting on with the darn story and stop delaying (whoops, I almost said "wasting time") over things that just don't matter.

-Derek
Derek's Web Page - stories, screenplays, novels, insanity. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57/scripts.htm)

[StephieM]

Sometimes I do feel like it's "wasting" a lot of time but in the end I have more confidence when I begin the script. I think a character's early life is important to get into, because where a person grew up, who his/her parents are, what they did for a living, how they raised him/her, has a lot of bearing on who that person is today. As for thier favorites, I don't go into much detail, just the things that may work in the script. Like Joe said, favorite color and what not don't interest me. Favorite animal, favorite drink, favorite music, those things can be used in a script. For example: If my character's favorite animal is a cat...does the character have a cat? Why doesn't he/she like dogs? Was there a bad experience? Maybe his/her significant other has a dog. Maybe she/he hates the dog and it's creating a gap in thier relationship....you get the drift. It gets the mind juggling, sifting through the possibilities.

Steph

[Joe Calabrese]

Joe, if your characters are so shallow, why haven't you had a big spec sale? :) I'm trying/working on that ellusive "big" sale, but I was kinda joking a bit. Even though action (or genre) type heroes have very little character depth and/or backstory as opposed to Gosford Park type characters, I try and put enough life into them to atleast make them unique, interesting and worthy of having their story told.

Even the movie Average Joe, didn't have an "average" Joe in it. No one wants to watch your next door neighbor for two hours. Every character in a movie must be just slightly or more over the top of what we consider "normal." Normal is boring.

[Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse]

Plenty of books and internet sites tell writers that they have to write the life history of their characters before they can start the screenplay.
This goes against some of the core principles of writing good writing, which can be a mistake.
The more that you write about the empirical events that have occured to a character in the pre-script (before the current setting) it is true that you then develop an understanding of the character.
yet paradoxically you enclose that character, you build a wall around them.
see it like this -
audiences want to be WITH the characters, they want to feel what they feel, as they feel it.
the more and more you write a backstory, the more and more bricks you build around the character, and block the audience off.
lets take Tiny Tim for an example.
lots of stuff happens to him, but who actually feels a link to him?
John McClane - lots of stuff again, and yes, all exciting - but when do we feel that the characters dangers are the same as our personal fears/dangers that exist in our life?
my point -
the less past detail of the characters you give to the audience - the more they enforce their own lives into the characters.
One of the greatest and yet most overlooked laws behind writing is that your audience has already made the decision to feel something in this film (or whatever). they are already lying on your bed so to speak, and are willing to fill in the blanks and 'pleasure themselves'.
eg - Van Sant's Elephant. if he had included all sorts of dialogue and expositions about the killer's past then, yes, they would be well rounded, but the film would have lost its power to strike fear into college student's hearts, because they put their lives into the characters - and that makes it so very personal.
It can sometimes come down to trust. Don't enclose the character - trust the audience to be there, and make out of the character what they are willing to put in themselves.

Nique

[Joe Calabrese]

Why doesn't he/she like dogs? Was there a bad experience? Maybe his/her significant other has a dog. Maybe she/he hates the dog and it's creating a gap in their relationship....you get the drift. It gets the mind juggling, sifting through the possibilities. StephSometimes it's good to let the viewer or reader wonder and ask those nagging questions you posed.

Like the briefcase in Pulp fiction, you never find out what it is and it leaves you wondering long after the film is over.

Or in Romeo and Juliet, we know very little about Juliet, including the way she looks. Shakespeare left it up to the reader to decide bases on their own likes and dislikes what "a great beauty of 16" is.

Or in Escape from Alcatraz (a post I referenced a few weeks ago regarding dialog), when a convict, rather than going into a monologue of how bad his childhood was and what would explain to the audience why he became a criminal, he simply said his childhood was "short."

It's good to leave things up to the imagination sometimes. Not every "t" needs to be crossed or "i" dotted.

[maestrowork]

Sometimes you work backwards. You start with the story, your characters, and how they move through the story. Then you fill in the blanks for them (in rewrites) to add characterization and make the characters seem more real.

For example, Indiana Jones is afraid of snakes. Why? We're not so sure. But it doesn't matter. Indy knows. Spielberg probably does, too. But the audience don't have to. Also, I wonder if they KNEW Indy was afraid of snakes way in advance (because of the snake pit scene), or did they add that in later. It doesn't matter if Indy is afraid of snakes, in the grand scheme of things... but it makes it SO MUCH more interesting (a hero who otherwise is fearless has a phobia), especially during the snake pit scene.

Still, do we need to know Indy's backstory? No. Not in the context of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Save it for "The Indiana Jones Chronicles."

[IWrite]

the less past detail of the characters you give to the audience - the more they enforce their own lives into the characters.
Nique - there's a huge difference between you as a writer knowing that your character flunked 3rd grade and choosing to share that information with the audience.

You can give your character the trait of being an underachiever, and for some writer's that may be enough to build from. But for others having concrete examples of the character underachieving and how that underachievement has led him to the life he has when the script begins, can give you things to draw upon in your writing - whether you bring in the backstory or not.

This is one of those areas where there's no right way. There are many ways into character.

But if you are prone to get criticism of your character's being sterotypical or weak - giving character's a backstory may be something you want to consider trying. It's really not about what their favorite color was as it is about how your character functions in the world.

[Joe Calabrese]

Actually I know this story.

Indy 3, Last Crusade, explained why he was afraid of snakes (fell in a pit of them on a circus train when he was young) but for the sake of only citing Raiders, we didn't know that then.

In 1977, when Speilberg wanted to do a Bond film after CETK and sitting on the beach in Hawaii with Lucas (after he too was resting from SW: A New Hope), Lucas said you don't want to do that, I got a hero film for you.

Lucas already had the character in place but he was too infallable, so Spielberg suggested him to have a fatal flaw to make him more human and add comic relief. It was Spielberg who in reality had a fear of them and thus was put into the script during those initial talks.

[StephieM]

It's good to leave things up to the imagination sometimes. Not every "t" needs to be crossed or "i" dotted.

I agree with you Joe. There has got to be some sort of mystery in the midst of it all. But then again, how do we know Quentin Tarantino didn't know what was in that briefcase when writing "Pulp Fiction", or Shakespeare didn't know what Juliet looked like, or that the writer of "Escape from Alcatrez" didn't know anything about his character's childhood.

I believe in discovering your character you can best choose what is essential and what is best left up to the imagination.

Steph

[Joe Calabrese]

If you want to write a 100 page fictional biography for your character before writing the script and it works for you in developing a script to be as good as it possibly can be, rich with depth and characterizations, then good for you. Keep on truckin'.

I just wanted to point out the obvious that you don't need to include all of it in the script and be careful not to. Sometimes, especially new writers, tend to get so caught up in the details that they forget the story. They may think it's so cool that they thought of a character who is afraid of snakes that they feel forced to explain why as to have it make sense to the viewer. They want to make everything fit in a nice neat box.

Shakespeare didn't put a description for Juliet because ultimately a man was going to play the role, Tarantino didn't explain because he wanted to mess with your head and think some big revelation was to happen, which never did and Eastwood's no existent speech in Atcatraz was just damn good writing.

[IWrite]

If you want to write a 100 page fictional biography for your character before writing the script and it works for you in developing a script to be as good as it possibly can be, rich with depth and characterizations, then good for you. Keep on truckin'.
I don't see anybody here suggesting writing 100 page bios. But having a sense of your character's background is helpful for many writers. Not sure if it was your intention - but the quote I pulled comes off as snide, and kinda holier than thou "go ahead waste your time" to those who approach character in that way.

When I did a lot of consulting - weak characterizations were one of the more common problems I came across. One exercise I'd do was present a fictional situation that had nothing to do with the script - I'd place their character in that situation and have the writer tell me what the character would do. Those writer's who had done character biographies were much more likely to know how their character would react in the situation I gave them than those who didn't. If you can't say how a character would react in any and every situation you place that character in - that character is not developed enough.

[Joe Calabrese]

My intentions were not as such and I apologize if it comes across that way. I only meant that do what ever works for you. Something I say all the time here.

[IWrite]

My intentions were not as such and I apologize if it comes across that way. I only meant that do what ever works for you. Something I say all the time here.
I didn't think those were your intentions, as I have noticed that you, like myself are always quick to point out that the creative process is an individual thing and there is no one right way. But in this particular case - it did come across as somewhat condescending.

[dpaterso]

One exercise I'd do was present a fictional situation that had nothing to do with the script - I'd place their character in that situation and have the writer tell me what the character would do. Those writer's who had done character biographies were much more likely to know how their character would react in the situation I gave them than those who didn't.Velly interesting, tho' I'm surprised you got some poor results (?) along with the good. I would have looked you straight in the eye, made something up on the spot, and you would have been none the wiser (fingers crossed, insert grin here, and no offense intended). Unless the character is Dirty Harry or similar extreme nutjob type, he or she is likely to react just as I would react. In this respect I guess there's a lot of me in my characters, at least from a predictability/logic viewpoint.

-Derek
Derek's Web Page - stories, screenplays, novels, insanity. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57/scripts.htm)

[StephieM]

he or she is likely to react just as I would react. In this respect I guess there's a lot of me in my characters, at least from a predictability/logic viewpoint.

I think that's where a lot of the problems come in. Not that you do it, I think your characters are well formed. But in new screenwriters, they tend to put too much of themselves into a character, resulting in unoriginal characters that talks like them, walks like them, and reacts like them.

When I "form" my characters, they become real people. People with a past, present, and perhaps a future, people with thier own minds, thoughts, responses. In return I feel closer to my characters, like I've known them for a lifetime. In a way they become the writer of the story, they tell me what they are going to say and what they are going to do in a certain situation.

But like some of you said, everyone has their own way. I can certainly see how many of you choose to let your characters grow through the story. I don't see any problems with that as long as you see the character for who he/she is and not yourself.

I don't think anyone needs 100 pages to figure out their character. One or two pages is about all I write. I don't go into any kind of detail of which school they attended when they were six, or every single friend they had all the way up into highschool, or what kind of car they drove when they were 16. I usaully start out with my small list of questions, decide what is important and what isn't, then if need be I go into a little more detail about the things I find might add to my script.

Here is the list of my questions..

Character Synopsis
Name:
Discription:
Attitude:

Belief in God

Dramatic Need:

Change:


FAVORITES
Food:
Animal:
Place:
Book:
Movie:
Music:
Hobby:
Drink:
Best friend:
Where does the character see himself/herself 10 years
from now?


BACKGROUND HISTORY
Name of parents:
Parents' occupation:

Siblings:

Relationship of parents and siblings (good or bad):
Colleges attended:



Current History
Current Occupation:
Like or hate job:
Spouse or partner:
Relationship (good or bad):
Children:
Relationship (good or bad):
Pets:
Type of car:
Type of residence:
Most tramatic or unforgetable thing that happened in your character's
life thus far:


Some of these things might not help, some of them will. It just depends on the story and what it calls for.

Steph

[maestrowork]

Character sketches and backgrounds can be useful for some writers. I'm not one of them. I don't do character sketches. My characters speak to me (sometimes in my sleep, sometimes when I'm operating heavy machineries...) and tell me things I need to know, when I need to know.

Do I need to know if his favorite color is pink? Probably not. But there may come a time in the story that that piece of information is essential, or when I wonder out loud: "Hey, you, what's your favorite color?" My character would gladly tell me, maybe even follow with an anecdote or two. I can use that information or not.

Sometimes I'd write scene after scene of stuff and eventually decide to cut them because they have nothing to do with the story. But I'd allow myself to write them because they're sometimes important for me to know my characters. But I won't spend time deliberately making up "character sheets." But that's just my process.

Like Joe said, if it works for you, go for it.

[JustinoXXV]

" FAVORITES
Food:
Animal:
Place:
Book:
Movie:
Music:
Hobby:
Drink:
Best friend:
Where does the character see himself/herself 10 years
from now?


BACKGROUND HISTORY
Name of parents:
Parents' occupation:

Siblings:

Relationship of parents and siblings (good or bad):
Colleges attended:



Current History
Current Occupation:
Like or hate job:
Spouse or partner:
Relationship (good or bad):
Children:
Relationship (good or bad):
Pets:
Type of car:
Type of residence:
Most tramatic or unforgetable thing that happened in your character's
life thus far:"

While there is no one way to skin a cat (or to create outlines), I'd say in bogging down your time on details that are totally not necessary, and that would be boring to audiences and readers, maybe detrimental to your development process.

Focus on the things that are pertinent to the story you want to tell.

You sound like you're someone who likes to show and plan the characters entire lives. But few movies chronicle characters from birth to death. A movie about a 30 year old waitress needs to focus on her life at age 30, not on what might happen 10 years from now or what she did in high school.

Sometimes inciting incidents may happen years ago to affect characters, but that isn't going to be in every movie.

[IWrite]

Velly interesting, tho' I'm surprised you got some poor results (?) along with the good. I would have looked you straight in the eye, made something up on the spot, and you would have been none the wiser (fingers crossed, insert grin here, and no offense intended).
Well being that I had already read the scripts when I gave them the exercise, it was kinda difficult for them to get away with just telling me how they would personally react. I knew what the story was, and what the character was supposed to be. Besides once I dumped the protagonist in scenario A and the writer figured out what he/she would do - I'd dump the antagonist in the exact same scenario. If your protag and antag have the exact same reaction to events - you've got a problem. Also since my clients were paying me to help them become better writers - they were more interested in improving their characters then cheating to impress me.

[Boo_Radley]

I think a really good example of this whole "character backstory" thing is the Melvin Udall character from As Good as it Gets. In the film we're never told his backstory; how he came to be obsessive compulsive, where his little "we don't have no dogfood here, we don't WANT no dogfood here" comment came from, or anything else, really. There was even a sequence where he makes a comment about some folks grow up perfectly normal but end up screwed up anyway, but that's just hinting at a backstory and not coming right out and telling it.

Now, the screenwriter likely had a backstory all made out for the character. Or, he may not have; it could have been just a couple odd, bizarre things he threw in off the top of his head but which gave the viewer a bit of insight into Melvin's inner workings, regardless. Either way, whether he had a backstory or not, all it takes is a couple well-placed comments or actions to tell us all we need to know to show us deep down who and how the character really is.

[Enigma]

... Does anyone else do this, or am I alone here? :)

Steph

You are not alone!

[StephieM]

"While there is no one way to skin a cat (or to create outlines), I'd say in bogging down your time on details that are totally not necessary, and that would be boring to audiences and readers, maybe detrimental to your development process."

The information I collect on my character is just an inspiration process. In no way do I include every single detail of my characters life on to the script. It is for my knowledge only. If by chance I run across something that might further my character in the script, then yes, I will use it.

"Focus on the things that are pertinent to the story you want to tell."

"Character is the essential foundation of your screenplay. It is the heart and soul and nervous system of your story" Words by Syd Field.

"You sound like you're someone who likes to show and plan the characters entire lives. But few movies chronicle characters from birth to death. A movie about a 30 year old waitress needs to focus on her life at age 30, not on what might happen 10 years from now or what she did in high school."

The purpose of "creating my character" is not to wrap my story around his/her entire life, or just to waste time. It's important to me to know my character as a real person, so that later, when I begin writing my script I'm going to be confindent enough to write the actions and dialogue of my character. I could care less what my character did in highschool, but I do care what kind of family she/he is from. A person that grows up poor, having to scrounge up change to go get a gallon of milk, dodging bullets on their way home from school, is going to be a very different character from the person that grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. Knowing where they want to be in ten years, is just another way to define dramatic need. Maybe they want to get married, have kids, buy a house with a white picket fence, with a dog, but can't seem to make a relationship work. Or maybe they want to be promoted to a higher paying job, but their boss hates them, or the other way around. It just works for me, like what ever you do, works for you. :) But I wouldn't call it wasting my time. The amount of time I spend on my characters don't even compare to the amount of time I spend on my script.

"Sometimes inciting incidents may happen years ago to affect characters, but that isn't going to be in every movie."

Your right, not every movie shows this. But incidents that occur in a person's life holds great weight to the person he/she is today.

I'm not saying anyone is wrong if they don't sit down and spend a week on their characters. This is just what I do. If you'd rather let the characters come to life through your script, and it works, then that's wonderful. By all means do what is best for you. :Sun:

[Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse]

Nique - there's a huge difference between you as a writer knowing that your character flunked 3rd grade and choosing to share that information with the audience.

My point was that the audience does not need to know the backstory. I am not saying you shouldn't do it. I hope that clears up what I was saying.
I myself spent alot of time on my characters - they have to be multi-dimensional with cross-cutting ambitions that contradict each other - that is often where the best of conflicts come from (twisted loyalties etc).

Nique.

[Chesher Cat]

I'm trying/working on that ellusive "big" sale, but I was kinda joking a bit. Even though action (or genre) type heroes have very little character depth...

Yes, I was joking a bit as well and complimenting you at the same time. Since most tent pole movies have shallow characters you obviously don't write them or you would have had your seven figure deal in the bank.

As far as your ellusive "big" sale, I hope it is closer than you think. For you and me both. :)

[IWrite]

Since most tent pole movies have shallow characters you obviously don't write them or you would have had your seven figure deal in the bank.
The best action movies have characters with a certain amount of depth and complexity.

Lethal Weapon, Batman, Spiderman, The Bourne Identity - none of the protags in these flicks are shallow.

[dpaterso]

Here is the list of my questions..
Character Synopsis ...Steph, velly interesting, so much detail. Just for fun's sake, my "character bio" questions tend to go along the lines of,

Name: Steve Varley
Type: Clooney in Three Kings
No, really: Hurt loner looking for love and trust
Likes: Plump girls, Italian food, Tarantino
Hates: Irish, cats, spinach, Travolta
History: ex-Ranger, paramedic, reporter wife killed by IRA bomb
Phrase: "You can kiss my baby smooth butt."

Unfortunately by the time I've written these down, Varley has already broken a tense hostage situation (three gunmen critically wounded, all hostages safe), rescued a little girl from a fire (and gone back in to save her damn cat), argued with his ex-commanding officer who's now a police captain, and been ensnared and seduced by a plump Italian girl who cooks just like her mama but has murder on her mind. What I guess it boils down to is, if it doesn't appear in the script then it doesn't appear in Varley's bio (which, to be honest, is in my head and gets added to as the story grows). That doesn't hurt any because I'm not starting out with an empty white canvas, I'm starting out with a stereotype and sprinkling personal details to pull away from the stereotype and make Varley unique. And the story's off and running...

Well being that I had already read the scripts when I gave them the exercise, it was kinda difficult for them to get away with just telling me how they would personally react. I knew what the story was, and what the character was supposed to be. Besides once I dumped the protagonist in scenario A and the writer figured out what he/she would do - I'd dump the antagonist in the exact same scenario. If your protag and antag have the exact same reaction to events - you've got a problem. Also since my clients were paying me to help them become better writers - they were more interested in improving their characters then cheating to impress me.No worries there, I have an evil side which I can draw upon (and which sometimes worries me... am I really capable of doing these terrible things?). And, it wouldn't have been about cheating to impress you -- it would have been about having confidence in my ability to generate ideas and required details on the spot, which to me is no different than sitting down six months previously and generating ideas in advance on a sheet of paper. The thought process is exactly the same, and with adrenelin flowing in a live situation, and knowing the completed story better than I did when I started writing it, the ideas would probably be better anyway.

Here's a thought: when Shane Black wrote Lethal Weapon, had he already noted in Riggs' character bio (assuming he had one -- we know nothing of Riggs except he was ex-Special Forces) that Riggs' wife had been killed by the crazy South Africans in Lethal Weapon II? Or did Shane just make that up as he wrote Lethal Weapon II because the story required it?

-Derek
Derek's Web Page - stories, screenplays, novels, insanity. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57/scripts.htm)

[StephieM]

Dp,

I like your questions list, it's very short and to the point but yet at the same time it reveals a lot about your character. Unfortunately for me, I'm a very indepth person, the longer my list the better. :)

Steph

[IWrite]

The thought process is exactly the same, and with adrenelin flowing in a live situation, and knowing the completed story better than I did when I started writing it, the ideas would probably be better anyway.
Actually Dpat the thought process is not the same. Because the exercise removes the character from the story and forces them to make a choice or take an action in situation that is far removed from the world of their story. It's also not a writing exercise, it's more a thinking exercise. And you'd be surprised at how it can make you approach your character in a different way.

As for Shane Black - I have no idea if he knew the details of how Rigg's wife died or not - my guess is he probably didn't know the details until. But I wouldn't be surprised if he knew how Riggs was effected by the death in some detail. Because that's what character backgrounds should lead you to knowing - not just what they experience -but the impact the experiences have on them.

And if you can come up with a specific action, reaction, etc. - i.e. he went through the house and destroyed everything in it with a baseball bat - rather than just "he was devestated" by the death of his wife - it gives you a clearer picture of who your character is.

[Joe Calabrese]

I think its safe to assume that although everyone does it differently, we all think about our characters, their lives, what they would do if..., etc...

The differences between us are that some of us write it down for reference (again I was joking about a 100 page bio) and others, like me and Dpat keep most or all of that info in our head and even stop to think about it while writing.

When I am writing a script and I come to a scene with a decision for my character(s), I always stop and think of what my character would, should or even go against what we would like him to do, based on how I see him/her in my head.

Just as if I, in reality, came across a situation, like finding a wallet in the street, I would stop and think for a split second about what I should versus what I want to do. I would be lying to myself if I didn't say I would like to keep it, but my own character of honesty prevents me from acting it out that way, but there is still the thought and personal struggle (conflict) that comes into play.

I do the same when writing. I stop and think about the character's decisions (just like real life) rather than go by what a bio or predisposed notion of what he should do dictates.

Sometimes, we are not the sum of our experiences, but grow and change as each day (and new experience) falls upon us. Just because my favorite food is Lasagna, doesn't mean I won't try other foods. And favorite foods may change if something better comes along or something bad happens. I used to love asparagus, but I got sick once after eating them (I know it wasn't from them but the flu) and threw up green stuff for hours. Now, whenever I see them, I can't help but think about that experience. It's no longer my favorite veggie.

Does that make sense?

[IWrite]

Sometimes, we are not the sum of our experiences, but grow and change as each day (and new experience) falls upon us. Just because my favorite food is Lasagna, doesn't mean I won't try other foods. And favorite foods may change if something better comes along or something bad happens. I used to love asparagus, but I got sick once after eating them (I know it wasn't from them but the flu) and threw up green stuff for hours. Now, whenever I see them, I can't help but think about that experience. It's no longer my favorite veggie.

Does that make sense?

Yes and No. Human beings both grow and change, and at same time we are shaped by our past experiences. But we're not discussing human beings, we're discussing fictional characters - who must rely solely on a writer's imagination to shape them - I think your comparison is a little weak. Character backgrounds are a tool used for fleshing out character - not a way of making them stagnant.

Weak characterizations is the problem I come across most often both as a consultant and a development exec. Scripts often have more than one weakness - but character problems are part of that mix almost all the time.

I think one of the hardest if not the hardest thing to do is to create multi-dimensional, truly compelling characters that grow and change during the course of your story. Not just characters that aren't weak - characters that are original and memorable.

In all the pages that have been posted on the critique board on this site I would say that maybe a total of 3 or 4 of the characters really grabbed my attention. As for the rest, even those excerpts that were well written did not have characters that really jumped out at me.

[Joe Calabrese]

I think one of the hardest if not the hardest thing to do is to create multi-dimensional, truly compelling characters that grow and change during the course of your story. Not just characters that aren't weak - characters that are original and memorable.Good point Iwrite and I agree completely. You can have the most exciting and original story in the world, but if the reader doesn't care or feel attached to the characters, then they won't get sucked into the story. They will feel like an outsider, watching these events transpire through a window. They won't see the story through the eyes of the people experiencing those events. That is the only true way to get a reader involved and attached to the story-- through the characters.

What I wanted to convey with my last post though is not to be so rigid with your character, let them grow if the scene dictates it, let them go against the norm if it will add depth to them. Let them surprise you.

I suspect many new writers are too rigid in creating and deploying their characters, not giving them that chance to grow. They may have done such a good job creating the character's bio, they refuse to let go if something better comes along. I also feel that many new writers go with audience expectations and sterotypes too much. If you are writing an action film, your hero doesn't need to be an Indy type or if a comedy, Jim Carey isn't the only actor in town. Think outside the box. Then there are they writers who want to write "real" characters and go completely against any sterotype. As I said in an earlier post. No one wants to watch your neighbor for two hours (enless he's an interesting fellow.) There's a fine balance with everything in life, including creating great characters.

[Fin!]

I'd like to give my 2 cents. Having taken screenwriting classes in college I used to do the whole character bio forms and things. As of right now I think they're pretty pointless. Your character can only exist in your story. You can't substitute Travis Bickle for Captain Jack Sparrow. The greatness of those 2 characters is totally lost. What I'm getting at, is, write characters that react to your story. Start with a blank character put them in a situation that requires a very strong decision whether or it be physical or emotional and then go with it.

And I really don't recommend picturing a specific actor when you write a character. I mean actors all basically play themselves anyway. So if you're picturing Tom Hanks in a role you pretty much just eliminated Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Because they are all very different actors.

Sometimes I do have thoughts of other characters from movies in the back of my mind but never actors. Thinking of specific actors will handicap you.

These are just my opinions.

[StephieM]

"And I really don't recommend picturing a specific actor when you write a character. I mean actors all basically play themselves anyway. So if you're picturing Tom Hanks in a role you pretty much just eliminated Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Because they are all very different actors."

"Sometimes I do have thoughts of other characters from movies in the back of my mind but never actors. Thinking of specific actors will handicap you."

I have to disagree with you. Picturing an actor could be a very useful tool. Like you said, actors basically play themselves. If your picturing Tom Hanks, you want your character to be like Tom Hanks, not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. If you watch a series of movies with the same actor you will notice an actor brings a lot of himself to the screen, he has a certain speech pattern, and specific mannerisms. I'm not saying make your character exactly in the image of another character played by that actor. I'm saying use the recipe but add your own ingredients. Knowing how your character walks and talks can add spice to your dialogue and actions, and bring a realistic view to your character.

Everyone is different. What works for some might not works for others.

Your two cents is however appreciated. Thanks. :)

Steph

[Kiva Wolfe]

Outline and backstory all you want, but I don't think a writer can really know their characters until they actually meet them. Find that place in your head where you and your characters can interact. Begin by introducing yourself. Let the characters ask questions and then tell you about themselves. They might offer advice on the next scene or bit of dialogue. Be open to imput from the ranks, but always bear in mind that you are in control of the story, not your characters. Ultimately, it's more about Getting the Audience to Know and Relate to Your Characters.