Tag: Screenplay Tips

Characters are the life force that drive our stories forward, they are maybe the most important part of your script. And yes, I, personally, think good characters trump plot any day. I have read scripts where the plot was so-so, been there done that, but the writer had such engaging characters that I couldn’t put it down.

Now, how do we write memorable characters? I’ve got some tips for you that I use in my writing to really help form full fledged, dynamic characters. Let’s get started!

1. AVOID THE MARY SUES AND GARY STUS

This is number one because this drives me absolutely crazy. I do a lot of script coverage in my day to day life, and I guarantee you at least half the stories I read will feature a Mary Sue or Gary Stu. What does this term mean? Well, I touched on it a bit in my article on writing protagonists, but I’ll elaborate more here, because it is a plague that is affecting writers all over the world.

A Mary Sue or Gary Stu is a character who is boring. They do everything by the book, they are level headed, they are reasonable, and they are without flaw. They’re unrealistic. Most of the time I see this with protagonists, but I’ve also noticed it a ton with ‘love interest’ characters as well. So, be on the lookout for that in your own writing.

We are human beings, we have flaws. We have things that are annoying about ourselves, things that people cannot stand. We have fears, we have internal struggles, we are NOT perfect. If you want your characters to be memorable and true to life, you have to give them some sort of weakness.

Okay, so that’s easier said than done, so let me give you a tip on how to break your character out of this ‘Mr./Mrs. Perfection’ mold. Build up a backstory. Where did they grow up? What was their relationship with their parents like? Did they get bullied in school? Ask all these questions and a million more. Now, of course most of this won’t end up in your script, but it will help you fully realize the humanity of your character, which will in turn make them not boring. Just try it out, I promise it’s a game changer.

Let me give you an example of a character that could have easily been a Gary Stu, but instead is still captivating to watch. In the critically acclaimed comedy ‘Arrested Development’, we follow Michael Bluth as he tries to dig his family out of financial ruin. If you’re familiar with the series, you’ll know that the entire Bluth family is extremely quirky, out there, each one more strange than the last. However, Michael isn’t.

So why isn’t he a Gary Stu? While it’s incredibly easy to make your ‘voice of reason’ character boring, the writers of this show subvert our expectations by giving Michael some key character flaws that end up making him much more than just ‘the one normal guy in the bunch.’

Michael is condescending, he is a know it all, he doesn’t listen to others, he’s willing to go behind people’s backs. These are the things that elevate the character from someone who is just there to play off the funnier characters, into someone we actually enjoy watching.

So, I will reiterate my point one last time, perfect characters does not equal a perfect script.

2. USE INSPIRATION FROM REAL LIFE

Now that I’ve finished my lecture on crafting imperfect characters, why don’t we focus on where we can actually find inspiration for them. The answer is simple, your real life. This is a method writers have been using since the dawn of time, and we continue to use it today because it works!

Think about it, in the X amount of years you’ve been on this planet you have encountered a plethora of characters, you just didn’t know it! Do you have an aunt that ruins every holiday? Or a coworker who has idiosyncratic behaviors? Use them. You can even craft some Frankenstein-esque character, by pulling traits from multiple people you know. Perhaps I want to write a character who’s a CPA, based on my cousin who works in accounting. Now, I may sprinkle in some traits that my sister has that I think would really make this guy’s life as an accountant more interesting to read about. Maybe he’s an accountant who is absolutely terrible at budgeting in his personal life. Boom, right there we have something to work with and to grow off of.

Why does this work? Because it’s real. These are real sources you’re pulling inspiration from, and chances are whoever is reading your script will know someone just like your character and become that much more engaged with them.

My favorite part is that you can even use yourself! You’ve probably heard of the phrase ‘self insert’ where writers create a character that is essentially a representation of themselves and plug them into the story. Because no one can write a character based on you better than yourself, you’ll find that the character will naturally be full of life, have their own quirks, and well? Be memorable!

I do this sometimes when I’m stuck. Now, I don’t name my character Tyler Christiansen, and only write about how he ghostwrites scripts all day. What I do is borrow from parts of my life that are appropriate for the story. Say I have a character who is a young man working in an office. Well, I actually did work in an office for quite some time, I was an assistant! I can reflect back on that time, what did I feel, what did I dislike, what did I want, etc. And use my own experiences to help build a base for that character.

Make your job easier! Steal from real life! My only disclaimer is that if you do this, and the person you based a character off of recognizes themselves…be prepared for whatever reaction they may have.

3. THE BUS FIRE TEST

Now, is the fun part! So, you have a cast of characters, each one unique in their own way, some based on your friends and family, some from your own imagination, great! Ready to find out if they’re really that memorable? Do this exercise!

Your characters come across a school bus that is on fire! Oh no! What is THE VERY FIRST THING they decide to do?

You should be able to come up with an answer off the top of your head. For example, my office worker character from earlier (based on 19 year old Tyler) would probably panic, yell out a string of profanities, then scramble for his phone, nervously dropping it in the process, causing it to smash to bits.

Michael Bluth would probably try to be a hero and go in the bus himself to rescue the kids, against the advice of the professionals. In doing so, he’d immediately realize he bit off more than he could chew and probably end up injuring himself in the process.

A memorable cast of characters should all have some different type of reaction. And if you say “My character would go in, rescue the kids, and then alert the authorities, all without a scratch on them.” You have a Mary Sue. Back to the drawing board!

When reading a script we want a dynamic group of characters, too many of the same archetype can really bog down the story. So, if you’re unsure, use this exercise! It’s a life saver!

That’s all I have for you today, I hope you learned something new and are able to really elevate your characters! Good luck, and happy writing!

Star Wars has Luke Skywalker, Pirates of the Caribbean has Jack Sparrow, and John Wick has…Well, John Wick. Point is, a well written protagonist is crucial to a successful script. Keep in mind that this is the character that your audience will spend 90-100% of their time with, and they can truly make or break the story you’re trying to tell.

So, the question remains, how do you write a protagonist that helps, not hinders, your script? Well, today I’m going to go over a few tips that I personally use in my writing, as well as some mistakes you may not even know you’re making when creating your protagonist. Because, after all, a strong protagonist is the driving force behind your story, and not something that should be overlooked!

TIP #1: Opt for active, not passive, protagonists.

This is something I struggled with a lot when I first started writing. Many of my protagonists simply had the plot HAPPEN to them, instead of actively making choices that affected the story.

Now, that’s not to say your protagonist has to be in control every step of the way, absolutely not. Many great inciting incidents are things that our protagonists have no control over whatsoever. Let me use an example to better illustrate this point.

I assume you’re all, somewhat, familiar with the film franchise Harry Potter. If you’re not, stop reading this and hit up Wikipedia (or go binge watch all eight movies, whatever floats your boat.)

Harry starts out as a boy that is forced to live under the staircase of his evil aunt and uncle, it’s all very doom and gloom. Until one day, he discovers he’s a wizard! Plot twist! This is something Harry has no control over, this is a ‘passive’ event and it totally works.

But, the story would be pretty uneventful if Harry got to Hogwarts and just did whatever everyone told him to do. No, Harry CHOOSES to defy rules and snoop around this new magical world. And good thing he does! Or else the series would end up being incredibly, incredibly short.

Your protagonists need to be actively making decisions that will either make your audience applaud, or cringe (both are good)! This is not only what helps push your story forward, but keeps the person reading your script engaged. We want to see protagonists come out on top because they fought for it, not because it simply just happened. So, don’t be afraid to let your protagonists get into some trouble! It’ll make your script all that much more interesting.

Speaking of trouble, that brings me to my next point.

TIP #2: Perfection is not perfect.

You may have heard the term “Mary (or Gary) Sue.” used to describe a character. It is like poison to any writer’s ears. That means people think your protagonist is, for lack of a better term, boring! And no one wants that! Not you, not your audience, and not me, I don’t want thatt for you.

Many times we feel the need to write our protagonists as these amazing heroes who will do anything to help save the day, and everyone loves them because they’re just so great! And while that’s all fine and dandy, it ends up taking away the part of your protagonist that makes them so likable to the audience, their humanity.

Your protagonist is a human (or like, human-esque if you’re writing about talking dogs or something). Every human being has a flaw. There are things that we’re all bad at. You know those people in your life that seem so well put together, guess what? They’re not. And that’s alright! Even Superman can’t touch kryptonite!

Figure out what your character's weaknesses are and include it in your story. Let’s say you have some really righteous, do-gooder, crime stopping character, okay? How about he also has a crippling fear of heights? Maybe it stems from some untreated childhood trauma? And maybe, just maybe, you include a scene where he has to take a bad guy down while he’s on the rooftop of a fifty story building? What would that scene look like? How would he overcome that fear?

Another example, you have a hardened detective who’s been ten years sober from alcohol. Perfect! Now, you find a way to work that into the current case he’s taken on. Perhaps the stress has caused him to relapse? Uh-oh! Now he’s got to get back on the wagon, while still trying to solve the case.

What I’m trying to get at here is that struggle is good. It makes for a much more dynamic character, and allows the audience to relate to them even more.

One thing that really helps me with this, and character building as a whole, is fleshing out a character’s backstory. Now 95% of that will end up in your notebook, never to be read by another set of human eyes again, but it helps you really humanize the people you write, and understand where their motivations, fears, etc. are all coming from.

TIP #3: Give them an arc!

Now that we’ve learned to make active protagonists who aren’t one dimensional, what do we do with them? Send them on a life changing journey!

Your protagonist should not be the same person they were on page one as they are on page ninety. Having a protagonist grow throughout the course of your story is so essential when it comes to screenwriting.

Ask yourself, why does this character need to go on this adventure? What do they need to learn?

It can be a small change, or something drastic, there just has to be some shift in them before you type out ‘FADE TO BLACK’.

And the fun thing is, the change doesn’t even have to be a positive one! Your character can actually leave the story worse off than they started! That’s just as interesting.

Let me give two examples, one positive and one negative, of how a character has changed throughout the course of a script.

(Spoilers for ‘X’ and ‘Pearl’ ahead.)

I recently watched Ti West’s ‘X’, and its prequel ‘Pearl’. Both protagonists, played by Mia Goth, undergo a serious transformation by the time the end credits start to roll.

In X, we have Maxxine, a young woman who dreams of becoming a star, but is instead stuck acting in a low budget adult movie. By the end of the film, Maxxine, single handedly takes down the killers that have been knocking off her friends, and escapes to freedom as the sole survivor. Maxxine does a complete 180 from the sort of timid, ‘go with the flow’ girl we first meet, into a determined fighter who drives off to Hollywood in order to really take control of her destiny.

On the flip side, we have Pearl. The titular character has the same dream as Maxxine, to be a star. However, after one bad audition she loses it, going on a killing spree that results in the deaths of her loved ones. By the end of the movie, Pearl has come to terms with the fact she will never be a star, and will live out the rest of her days as nothing more than a farmer’s wife.

This is a great usage of how a protagonist can be changed for the worse. We were genuinely rooting for Pearl, as an audience we wanted her to achieve her dreams. So, it’s all that much more heartbreaking when she loses her drive and completely gives up (after chopping up human beings that is).

When you all start drafting up your stories, be sure to keep these tips in mind. Remember, your protagonist is your audience’s view into this world you’ve created, they are going to be stuck with this person for the duration of your script. So, it’s incredibly important they’re either someone we relate to, root for, or just plain like watching! The protagonist is the soul of your story.

I hope you all found these tips helpful, now go out and write some awesome protagonists! Happy writing!