 Think of an interesting character from a

movie. Who is the character? What makes the

character interesting?
Wolf: “Just because you are a character
doesn’t mean you have character.”
–Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
Pulp Fiction
 A good character is unique as a person.
 A person is defined by what he does, not
what he says, it is his actions that determine
his character.
 Good characters are the heart and soul of
your screenplay.
 The story is told through your characters and
this engages the audience to experience the
universal emotions that transcend our
ordinary reality.
 The purpose of creating good characters is
to capture our unique sense of humanness,
to touch, move, and inspire (or even terrify)
the audience.
“All drama is conflict; without conflict, you
have no action; without action, you have no
character; without character you have no
story; and without story, you have no
screenplay.” –Syd Field
“All drama is conflict; without conflict, you
have no action; without action, you have no
character; without character you have no
story; and without story, you have no
screenplay.” –Syd Field
Take-aways:

 Drama is Conflict
 Physical or Emotional Violence
 Conflict forces action which reveals character.
 Story is dramatic conflict in action
 Conflict = a “want” or “desire” plus an obstacle
 Great stories are about adversity.
 No conflict, no story
 You need to know your character inside and
out.
 You need to know their hopes and dreams
and fears, their likes and dislikes, their
background and mannerisms.
 You need to know their personal history.
 Your character must be an active force in
your screenplay, not a passive one.
 If your main character is too passive, then he
or she often disappears off the page and a
minor character will leap forward to draw
attention away from the main character.
 Have a strong dramatic need.
 Have an individual point of view.
 The character personifies an attitude.
 The character often goes through some kind
of change or transformation.
 Dramatic need is what your main character
wants to win, gain, get, or achieve during
the course of your screenplay.
 It is his purpose, his mission, his motivation,
the force that drives him through the
narrative action of the story line.
 The dramatic need of the character may
change during the course of the screenplay
based on events.
 “The world is as you see it.” –Yoga Vasistha
 Point of view is the way a person sees, or
views, the world.
 Every person has an individual point of view.
 Point of view is a belief system, and as we
know, what we believe to be true, is true for
us.
 Attitude is a manner or opinion and
encompasses a person’s behavior.
 Examples of attitude are being socially or
morally superior, being macho, always being
right.
 Does your character change during the
course of your screenplay?
 What is the change?
 Can you define it?
 What lesson did she learn?