Getting to know your characters.

StephieM · Jun 26, 2005

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 · Jun 26, 2005

My process.

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 · Jun 26, 2005

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 · Jun 26, 2005

Character development

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 · Jun 26, 2005

The mall

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 · Jun 26, 2005

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 · Jun 26, 2005

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 · Jun 26, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

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.

StephieM · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

Chesher Cat said:
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 · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

Stephanie76 said:
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. Steph

Sometimes 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 · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

Nique Zoolio said:
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 · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

Joe Calabrese said:
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 · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

Joe Calabrese said:
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 · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

Joe Calabrese said:
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 · Jun 27, 2005

IWrite said:
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.

StephieM · Jun 27, 2005

dpaterso said:
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 · Jun 27, 2005

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 · Jun 27, 2005

" 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.

Getting to know your characters.

StephieM

back in action!

scripter1

Article Queen

Joe Calabrese

nganok

Life is Just a Dream

scripter1

Article Queen

sspunisher

Boo_Radley

100% Death Proof

Chesher Cat

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

StephieM

back in action!

Joe Calabrese

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse

swooping after you

Joe Calabrese

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

IWrite

Joe Calabrese

StephieM

back in action!

Joe Calabrese

IWrite

Joe Calabrese

IWrite

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

StephieM

back in action!

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

JustinoXXV