Working on your characters

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  • Working on your characters

    I have lately heard everyone saying that I should write character biographies to give my characters dimension and make them real. The problem is that I don´t understand how you do it.

    Some people say that they put a lot of time working on their characters but how can it take like months to find answers out of the blue for a bunch of questions.

    I can understand looking for a flaw that the character must overcome in order to a achieve his goal, that´s practical. But all the other stuff that I should know but that wont show in the screenplay, where does it come from? Basically I want to know why it should take a couple of months to work on my characters. I´want to do it right.

  • #2
    Re: Working on your characters

    Spending a couple of months to work on a character's biography seems a little overboard to me. Writing these biographies is just one of the techniques some writers employ to help them understand their characters better. It depends on what works for you...

    But basically, you have to understand your characters well enough to know what they will say and what actions they will take at any given situation. And this usually boils down to the character's background, history, and what their values are.

    For example, use one of your real life close friends as an example (I'll call him Joe). If you picture an imaginary argument with Joe on a particular, controversial topic (war? politics?), where both of you have disagreeing views, I bet you know exactly what Joe's retorts are for your counter arguments. Or picture yourself and Joe in a particular situation - a car accident for example, you will probably know how Joe will react in that situation (Calm and controlled? Panic stricken? Angry?). One reaction is true to the character, another is probably out of character. Essentially, you have to know your characters on that kind of level. This would explain why many writers put attributes of people they know into their characters.

    Writing biographies is not a necessity, but it can help you if you need it. Maintaining consistency is an important thing in staying true to a character.

    The way I see it, it's all down to cause and effect. Real people have reasons for the things they do. Although they may not show you their reasons or tell you about it, it is there. And sometimes, they don't have to, as spectators of these people can sometimes guess or work it out - like when we see a young beautiful blonde marrying an elderly man who is nearing his death bed. Our immediate judgement is that the blonde is marrying the man for his money. Although there may be more to it than it seems. She may have genuine reasons for marrying this man. It all depends on what you choose to show your audiences. And that's the beauty of storytelling.

    Just my opinion

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    • #3
      Re: Working on your characters

      Originally posted by Jackson
      I have lately heard everyone saying that I should write character biographies to give my characters dimension and make them real. The problem is that I don´t understand how you do it.

      Some people say that they put a lot of time working on their characters but how can it take like months to find answers out of the blue for a bunch of questions.

      I can understand looking for a flaw that the character must overcome in order to a achieve his goal, that´s practical. But all the other stuff that I should know but that wont show in the screenplay, where does it come from? Basically I want to know why it should take a couple of months to work on my characters. I´want to do it right.

      A couple of generalizations in your post. The most bothersome being "everyone saying".

      Let me just say I do not write character biographies. I don't care what my character's favorite color is, or if they're divorced, or what kind of car they drive.

      BUT

      Thinking about your characters and giving them specific details is what makes them human, helps the audience identify with them, creates conflict between them, creates plot twists, creates comedy and makes them memorable.

      Details like:


      What is their health like? Do they have allergies? Smokers cough? Are they prone to psychosomatic illness?

      Do they have a mild handicap? Like being near-sighted, left-handed, color blind or dislexic?

      What compulsions do they have? Do they have to finish all the peas on their plate before they can start the mashed potatoes?

      What are their vices? Drinking White Russians? Lottery Tickets? Are they constantly distracted by sexual fantasies?

      Do they have any ticks? Whistling? Knuckle cracking? Humming?

      Superstitions or phobias?

      And how about the way they talk? Do they use ghetto slang, or are they constantly mis-using big words as they struggle to appear smart? Do they always have something to say, or are they constantly repeating things they've heard? Do they only tell the truth when they're angry?

      Do they say mother-f**ker or balderdash?

      Then there's the more philosophical private stuff:

      What do they think happens when they die?

      Are they the type of person who lives in the moment, smelling the roses but constantly a dollar short? Or do they postpone gratification, saving for some imaginary rainy day and missing out on life?

      Are they empowered by helping others, or by destroying them?

      I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

      The bad news is, if you can't think of stuff like this on your own, you're probably not a writer.

      Good news. If you work really hard for ten more years, maybe, just maybe you'll get there.
      Last edited by kintnerboy; 12-03-2005, 05:23 AM.

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      • #4
        Re: Working on your characters

        With character biography I mean getting to know your characters through answering questions about their personality, philisophy etc (like you did). Am I perhaps using the wrong word for this? I thought the answers to the questions you posted and similar are included in a character biography.

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        • #5
          Re: Working on your characters

          You're thinking about it like it's a homework assignment.

          I don't answer all the questions that I posted, they were just random ideas.

          I think about them whenever I'm writing a scene and get stuck.

          The Coen Bros are masters at this. Every one of their minor characters is quirky and memorable.

          Or, sometimes I'll see something bizarre in real life, like a woman who won't leave her house between 11 am and 2 pm because the midday sun is unflattering to her, and I'll think 'What an awesome character for a story'. And I'll write it down and use her in a story.

          Remember, this is supposed to be fun, too.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Working on your characters

            I think it is important to know your characters as well as you know any other aspect of your story.


            I personally have never found biographies to be helpful. Characters, like people, are different in their normal everyday life from who they are when they are dealing with conflict.

            People who go to war behave differently than they would at home and do things they would never have done at home. The conflict brings out unknown and undiscovered aspects of a person that a biography looking at the character in the normal world won't discover.

            IMHO the best way to learn about your character is to see them in action. Actions reveal much more than any bio will.

            That's why I outline.

            Outlining gives you the chance to see your "concept" for the characters in action and explore that "character concept" as well as the dramatic concept to figure out if the two are compatible and discover how to improve their ability to compliment and improve each other.


            My .02


            Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

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            • #7
              Re: Working on your characters

              I just listened to Michael Mann's commentary for Collateral last night and he spends maybe 65-70% of the time talking about characters and their backstories, how that manifiests itself throughout the story when someone is faced with a particular decision or put into a certain situation. A lot of what he and Tom Cruise came up with for the Vincent character did not even surface in the actual film, but we do glimpse small fractions of how this person came to be who he is today.

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              • #8
                Re: Working on your characters

                Does anyone have an example of an outline? I'm trying to get a handle on how much detail is in it.

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                • #9
                  Re: Working on your characters

                  Originally posted by Emerger
                  Does anyone have an example of an outline? I'm trying to get a handle on how much detail is in it.
                  http://www.scriptsales.com/StepOutline.html

                  or:

                  http://www.dartmouth.edu/~shortflm/d...p_outline.html

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                  • #10
                    Re: Working on your characters

                    It is incredibly important to know your character inside and out. I usually don't write out full biographies (that's a little unnecessary) But maybe a little survey for your main players. I usually draw my characters too, to get a grasp on what they look like - What they look like does help IMO. I know not everyone can draw - so I might reccommend looking through magazines or something and cutting out people who'd fit role. Just for aid.
                    Joan: What does the "T" stand for?
                    Jack: Trustworthy.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Working on your characters

                      I write concept-driven comedies. I don't need to know everything about a character to get started, but I do need a feel for the character, and I need to know the things that will show up in a screenplay: Age range, gender, level of education, personal style and manner of speech (neat? sloppy? irreverent? polite? jokester?) major wants and needs, a few distinctive personaliity traits and habits, a character flaw, and how it will arc.

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