Structure aside, how do you develop dialog, characters?

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  • Structure aside, how do you develop dialog, characters?

    Care to swap secrets & tips?


  • #2
    I like to present the characters internal flaws on page one, then throw out the inciting incident within the next few pages. This way there's plenty of time for the audience to get acquainted with him in ACT 1. No screwing around showing the antagonist first, or some other schmuck who's barely involved getting killed etc. etc. Protagonist, page one, make the story start and flow without having to bust into the characters life after seeing an important event.

    PS. if you want people to share tips with you, maybe you should start with a tip or two of your own, up front.

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    • #3
      I have a special machine.
      A cross between an ice-cream maker & one of those stand-up grinding organs.

      But seriously.... that's a sweeping question. i hope someone knows how to answer it here ( without having to write a ponderous tome).

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      • #4
        I like to ground my story in my character so that the external forces the character to confront the internal. The Plot forces the character to face his fears and flaws and make choice about himself, others and his goals. I also like to have characters who are unsuited for the demands of the plot in order to generate conflict and maximize the dramatic potential.

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        • #5
          life outside the story

          Once I have the story done and know my characters I get ready to dive into a scene by thinking up what was happening for each of these characters before this particular moment in time. In other words, someone coming into a scene has just had something happen to him whether it's a lousy cabride, fight with the wife, step in dog crap or whatever. They bring that to the scene. Then the character they are meeting was doing something before this new person showed up: killing a chicken, rolling a spliff, reading the bible. That informs what's on their minds.

          This relates to the Squiggy primary rule of comedy writing. "The last person on earth you'd ever want to see is walking through the door." BTW if you ever get stuck in a scene going nowhere, apply the Squigg rule.

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          • #6
            Re: life outside the story

            As anyone who's ever read my scripts can attest:

            I have no friggin idea.

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            • #7
              I start off with stereotypes, who are a hell of a lot easier to work with, then I force them to do and say unexpected things that peel away the stereotype shell so they become unique and interesting.

              Edited to add:
              In theory, anyway.

              -Derek
              My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.

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              • #8
                Re: life outside the story

                I hear the dialogue in my head, especially when I forget to take my pills. :eek

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                • #9
                  Re: life outside the story

                  I take the information I want to deliver and then figure out how to tell it in a reverse way, or subtextual, or using body language, etc.

                  In one script I have one character saying...

                  "I could kick you in the teeth for leaving therapy, Stokes."

                  Then he says after standing up...

                  "Better get over here and start kicking then..."

                  She walks, then runs to hug him...

                  Subtext. They're best friends.

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                  • #10
                    Most of my ideas stem from an initial creative burst usually in the form of what I think is a good story. I'll get this down on a couple of pages.

                    I try and figure out what kind of character [s] would be most affected by the implications of this story. What is it about their past or present that the story will embed in, making the various plot points resonate at a deeper level than just moving the plot forward. I do this until blood drips from my forehead and I have fleshed out to maybe 15 pages.

                    If I think of a character first - then I'm really screwed. I then have to sit and think of a story, which almost never happens. They sneak up on me when least expected.

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                    • #11
                      For characters, I draw on people I've seen and/or known. Then I exaggerate their traits, quirks, etc. (I've even used 'personalities' I've sensed from message boards like this one. So, beware!) Imagining how they sound, walk, their hopes, fears, their fatal flaws, etc., as I develop characters.

                      Some characters are a combination of people I know or have known.

                      Because character drives the story, they 'feel real' to me (based on above), it's easier for me to further develop the best character vis-a-vis the plot.


                      I'm addicted to people watching. Have been all my life. I also eavesdrop on conversations. Sure, maybe 90% isn't interesting but that 10% I overhear is often profound, if only in spirit. Eavesdropping helps me get a sense of how much a person reveals in speech and how much goes into subtext.
                      It also helps spark ideas for plot and story.

                      I think all writers also, knowingly or not, put a bit of themselves into their characters. I think it was DH Lawrence who said (paraphrasing, here) - - fiction is a reflection of life not as it as, but as we wish it would be.

                      So, I try to take real life characters and dialog and make it into what I wish it would be.

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                      • #12
                        As far as developing characters go, I do a lot of character stealing and hyrbiding.

                        For instance, in my current script, I have the following characters (these are the phrases I used when writing for them)

                        * Matt Broderick in Glory played by Topher Grace in Tad Hamilton
                        * Stephen the Irishman from Braveheart played by Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone
                        * Newt in Aliens played by Kiera Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean

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                        • #13
                          For my last -- actually, I should say my latest, as I'm still working on a 2nd draft -- I tried to derive character from function.

                          That is, I came up with a situation, and I thought of what kind of characters would get the most mileage out of it.

                          Example: situation: a man walks outside.

                          Big deal? It is if he's agoraphobic.

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                          • #14
                            ?

                            I like that Apath. Make a good game, too. Or a phrase generation program.

                            Mother Theresa as done by Marilyn Chambers in Insatiable.

                            Passion of Christ done by Seymour from Shop of Horrors.

                            Big fun!

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                            • #15
                              Re: ?

                              Hmmm... it says html comments not allowed but I didn't do that.

                              Anyway, I'll try again.

                              I said it helps if you're nuts and the characters can walk around inside your head and be their natural selves and speak in their natural voices. As The Writer, you have to know when to back the f*ck off and let your characters breathe. Sure, you're team leader and you have to keep everybody on track, but if you get too heavyhanded as The Writer, those living breathing 3D characters will go on strike and that can get messy.

                              When I worked as a waitress, I had a treasure trove of characters and voices and personality traits and quirks and human stories right there in my workplace. It was wonderful and fascinating. So learn to observe, to listen, to free your imagination to create "on the fly" according to what your eyes and ears are telling it.

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