“Character development”

In the screenwriting task I’m teaching, a student noted how they some times avoid spending time on character development because it’s such “hard work.” Here’s my response:

It can not only be hard work, it can also be a bit frightening. In interacting with our characters, especially at the beginning of their emergence into our consciousness, we’re reaching out into what can feel like nothing much more than vapor. It’s a real act of trust to believe that they exist, they are out there, they have their own personal histories, and most importantly, they are waiting to share their lives with us.

Also much of what we do with screenplays is plot-oriented and tied to the story’s structure — again a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie. Then we have to make this jump from the left-side of our brain (the more logical, linear, sequential aspect) to the right-side (sensations, impressions, Getstalt realm). So it is like working two different muscles.

But then once you make that plunge into the world of the characters, you can use both sides of the brain because if a character ‘says’ something or reveals a fact about their past, then it’s easy to follow-up with a logical question — what led to that, or after that happened, what did you do. But I’m always most interested in the feelings that emerge in those sessions with characters. And stray images. Often those can be key to unlocking the core essence of a character.

So yes, hard work. But it may only be that way in the beginning of your ‘relationship’ with your characters, as you warm up to them… and they warm up to you.

And there’s this: Readers get turned on by great characters. In part because I’m sure they read so many, many characters who are flat, stereotypical, confused, and just all-around crap, so when some great ones show up in a script, it can absolutely make the script come alive.

But it’s also important to remember that these characters will be inhabited by actors. And if readers love great characters, actors love them even more. It’s what they do, take words off a printed page and bring them to life.

So two motivations here: First, our characters do exist and want to share themselves with us; second if we do the work and get to know our characters deeply and truly, then they can emerge on the printed page in such a way to enliven a reader’s experience of the script — and an actor’s passion for the part.

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