characters and characterization

[Randall_Oelerich]

Curious how you all develop your characters / characterization, most importantly the hero/protagonist. Do you stick to Jungian archetypes as in various screenwriting books on developing characters? Do you mix archetypes? Evolve your protagonist's archetype? Use software such as Character Writer? Pick and choose traits from people-watching? Do you strategically pick your hero/heroine strengths and flaws to relate to story theme, arc, goal? What techniques do you use?

 

[Jordan Scott Price]

What a beefy, well-worded question. I love it.

Do you stick to Jungian archetypes as in various screenwriting books on developing characters?

I tend to do this for the supporting characters more than the main, not necessarily by choice at first but because I've already spent so much time developing the main character(s) that they are fleshed out and thick, I fear the supporting roles will end up with the same voice as the protagonist. Perhaps not the best way to go about it...

I've made a switch to spending even more time with the main characters lately, though, and actually using Meyers-Briggs personality types to define the character down to the slightest detail. A lot of time is allocated to writing their biographies before I even think of how I want to the script to play out. I've found that birth order study - the science of how personalities are developed based on the order and context in which they were born - is tremendously helpful, especially in domestic scripts.

Use software such as Character Writer? Pick and choose traits from people-watching?

I've never used that software. It seems like cheating for some reason...maybe I should check it out, though.

If I hear or see something that is just interesting to me, I write it down. Then, when I need to build characters, I use it as a reference and a library. It helps, especially with eye-patching or when trying to bring realism to a scene that could EASILY fall from tear-jerking drama to camp. I've transcribed several major events that I've witnessed: Car accidents; my dog dying; eulogies, and people's behavior at funerals in general; divorce; friends dying; heart-felt goodbyes. I've also watched hundreds of shows like The First 48 or Notorious to see real responses to parents or families being told their son/daughter's body has been found, and vice versa, e.g. There are happier things that I've recorded, but I've found scenes of joy are tons easier to write without the necessity of a real-life transcription catalog.

I took this job aptitude test back in high school, and it labeled me an "Examiner." Fitting. It's great for screenwriting because you really do have to cast a net and collect characters.

Do you strategically pick your hero/heroine strengths and flaws to relate to story theme, arc, goal? What techniques do you use?

Typically, when I think of a story idea, the next thing that comes to mind is - who is the main character and what does he/she want? It can take me months or years to answer that question. Some are still unanswered.

This is something I'm still working on mastering. A story "Idea" can be so vast that 100 movies could be made from its premise, but picking a character and their Achilles' Heel is difficult.

With the current script I'm writing, I try to identify what the most dramatic, cinematic, and stakes-raising incidents would be in that certain "Idea" setting. I'm working on a time-travel sci-fi, but not to venture 1,000 years forward or backward, but to manipulate time, so that we're left with the question of what part of the film is the inciting incident and what part is the end. Sound familiar? It is a cliche, but I'm working it constantly to emerge from that cliche with something fresh by building a main character and crystallizing his personality type, and then I will work on his goals. In doing this, I jot down what great stories could emerge from stressing his personality's strengths and weaknesses.

You could truly make 100 movies with that story premise - and they're probably are over 100 movies with that idea - but it's the character(s) that will sell it. I find it to be a lot more believable to come up with the protagonist - though often more difficult - if you know the premise, rather than trying to lay the groundwork of a plot and then squeeze square characters into round holes. This, I believe, is how a lot of Hollywood bullsh*t is made. They think of a story "Idea" that will attract ticket-buyers and then force into it characters that can ONLY take the form of a cliche, often because the premise itself is not that original - a nebulous word because no story premise IS original.


I have no idea if that answered anything you asked; it's easy for me to ramble about writing. But I love it, love the question. This could be a great thread.

 

[Batutta]

All character comes from point of view. Figure out a character's point of view, and that will inform the rest of your decisions...I think too many beginning writers focus on the external and never drill down to the core of a character and figure out what's their point of view, how is it in opposition to the other characters? These are the most important questions. Conflict comes from two or more characters with opposing points of view trying to resolve a dilemma. The rest is just window dressing.

 

[10s]

my 2 cents:

Randall, for me, each hero character seems to be a side of myself I project onto the page. I can't help it. The hero is actually a slice of myself that becomes it's own self. This makes sense because I'm the one creating this character, they're my children, so they reflect things I resonant with and things I completely miss; they use the same filter that I use to see the world. Obviously this is a challenge for me to overcome and I imagine everyone else. Jungian-MBTI archetypes are helpful, as are astrology, family systems theory, abnormal psychology, etc, anything that attempts to make sense and structure our understanding of the variety of human behavior. Dickens used real people who lived within a few blocks of his home as character models. I'm sure he took liberties to embellish and color these characters into caricatures that served the story best. While I find many of these things fun, IMO they are merely vehicles for the important interior symbols and events of greatest impact.

I tend to think that what really matters most is the internal conflict caused by a character's flaws. These flaws must be overcome in order to obtain the goal. IMO, this is the most important part of a character because a story is really for us, the audience, and what we need; that's one reason we consume movies. The other parts of a character are important because they help deliever us, the audience, to this central point of the hero story. This is where the moral heroic message resides. This is why we watch and participate in the story. When we, the audience identify with the hero in a manner in which we become one with the hero on the screen, we spend a moment outside of ourselves and this moment is transcendent; our empathy and hope for the hero to heal their flaws and reach the goal renews us because we step outside of ourselves and into another person for a small moment. It puts our ego/self in check and connects us with another. This makes us feel alive and helps us realize for a moment the universal greatness of our humanity and potential. All things serve the story, and the story serves us.

 

[memento515]

The secret recipe

The secret recipe

Start with a "type", then add a contradiction. The type makes them understandable, the contradiction makes them memorable and believable:

Forrest Gump: mentally challenged guy who travels the world and is wise
Juno: smart-ass independent girl who gets pregnant
Jules: hitman who quotes the bible
Spiderman: superhero with everyday college-kid problems

etc etc...