In the world of film and television, compelling and well-rounded characters are the bedrock of any successful narrative. Characters are the lens through which audiences experience the story, and the degree to which viewers can relate to and invest in these characters often determines the impact of the narrative.
Well-developed characters are memorable because they echo the complexities of real people. They harbor dreams, desires, flaws, and fears, making them feel real and relatable to the audience. They make us laugh, cry, and question. They take us on emotional journeys, drawing us into their worlds and making us care about their outcomes.
Beyond this, characters with depth and nuance can surprise us. They can break our hearts or make us cheer. They can make us see the world through a different lens. A well-crafted character isn’t just a set of traits or a function in a plot but a believable, complex individual that reflects some aspect of the human experience.
Understanding how to develop characters effectively is a vital skill for any aspiring screenwriter.
Here are some key tips to help you create characters that audiences will remember long after the credits roll.
1.) Begin with a Clear Concept
Every memorable character begins as a clear, concise idea. This doesn’t mean just their job or role in the story, but a glimpse into their persona. A well-detailed character concept includes facets like personality traits, major life experiences, and fundamental beliefs. When defining your character, think about what makes them unique and what they might want or fear. Remember, the best characters often reflect real human complexity.
Here’s an example for each.
Incorrect:
“Xenon, a space engineer.”
This concept only mentions Xenon’s profession and offers no further insight into his character. There’s no indication of his personality traits, life experiences, or core beliefs. It lacks any hint of what makes Xenon unique or any fears or desires he might have. This leaves Xenon as a one-dimensional character, lacking depth and complexity.
Correct:
“Xenon is a space engineer, known for his unmatched problem-solving skills and analytical mind. Working on a ship venturing to the unexplored corners of the galaxy, he’s driven by his insatiable curiosity and the thrill of discovery. However, his tragic past—losing his family to a space travel accident—has instilled in him a fear of the vast, unpredictable expanse of space. He’s haunted by the question of whether the quest for knowledge is worth the risk.”
In this version, Xenon’s character concept is clear and detailed. It includes his unique personality traits (problem-solving skills, analytical mind), major life experiences (losing his family), and core beliefs (curiosity, thrill of discovery). It also introduces his fear (of space travel) and his desire (for knowledge), giving Xenon a rich complexity that makes him a more compelling and relatable character.
2.) Create Conflict
Conflict drives a story, but it also helps in developing characters. Inner conflicts—such as personal flaws, doubts, or past traumas—can make your characters more relatable and compelling. The character’s journey to overcome these issues can form the emotional core of your story. External conflicts, such as disputes with other characters, can further reveal their traits, motivations, and growth.
Here are examples.
Incorrect:
“Lara, a robotics expert, who enjoys her work in a highly advanced interstellar colony.”
This concept provides no conflict for Lara. Without any personal flaws, doubts, past traumas, or external disputes or challenges, Lara’s character is missing the crucial ingredient that could make her more relatable and compelling.
Correct:
“Lara is a skilled robotics expert living in a bustling interstellar colony. She takes great pride in her work, especially her recent project developing advanced life-support systems for deep-space exploration. However, she struggles with a deep-rooted fear and guilt stemming from a past incident where a life-support system she designed failed, leading to an explorer’s untimely demise. Externally, she finds herself in conflict with the colony’s council, who want to cut corners and rush her work, compromising safety for faster results.”
Her internal conflict arises from her guilt and fear about a life-support system she designed that failed, which can form the emotional core of her story. Her external conflict with the colony’s leaders over the use of her inventions adds further tension and reveals her motivations and ethical stance. This conflict also provides a clear path for Lara’s growth throughout the story.
3.) Motivation and Goal
Every character needs a driving force, something that motivates them and propels their actions. This could be an ambition, a need, or a desire to change something in their life or environment. Having a clear goal also provides direction for your character and a structure for your story, leading to a satisfying resolution when the character either achieves the goal or learns from their failed attempt.
Incorrect:
“Zorgon, a friendly alien creature, who loves exploring different planets.”
While this description provides a basic idea of Zorgon’s character, it fails to identify a clear motivation or goal. Without a specific ambition or desire, Zorgon’s actions lack a driving force, making his character less compelling.
Correct:
“Zorgon is an alien creature from a dying planet who has developed a fondness for the diversity of life forms across the universe. Driven by a deep longing to preserve these life forms for posterity, he’s embarked on an interstellar journey to document different species. However, his ultimate goal is to find a new suitable home for his species before his own planet becomes uninhabitable.”
In the revised concept, we see that Zorgon’s driving force is the need to preserve various life forms and the ambition to save his own species. This motivation provides direction for his actions, and his clear goal of finding a new home provides a potential structure for the story. The stakes are high for Zorgon, creating a much more compelling narrative for the audience to engage with.
4.) Make Them Flawed
Perfection is boring. Characters who are too good to be true, without any flaws or weaknesses, can feel flat and unreal. It’s through their flaws that characters often become relatable and memorable. So don’t shy away from giving your characters quirks, foibles, and defects. The way they handle their shortcomings, and how these impact their journey, can add depth and intrigue to your story.
Incorrect:
“Commander Orion, a space explorer who is exceptionally brilliant, always courageous, perpetually makes the right decisions, and never encounters failure.”
This description portrays Commander Orion as a perfect, flawless character. While his intelligence and bravery are positive traits, the absence of any faults or weaknesses makes him unrealistic and potentially uninteresting for the audience. His constant right decision-making and lack of failure do not provide opportunities for growth or conflict, key elements in character development.
Correct:
“Commander Orion, a renowned space explorer, is as brilliant as he is brave. However, his stubbornness often blinds him to the suggestions of his crew, leading to avoidable mishaps. Despite his reputation, he grapples with an imposter syndrome, always questioning if he’s truly deserving of his accolades. He carries a deep-seated fear of the unknown, a fear he must conquer with every new uncharted territory.”
In this version, Commander Orion is a complex character. His stubbornness creates tension within his team, and his imposter syndrome adds a layer of vulnerability that makes him more relatable. His fear of the unknown presents an internal struggle that can drive his character arc throughout the story.
5.) Characters Must Change
In real life, people evolve with time and experience, and so should your characters. Consider how your character might change or grow throughout the course of the story. This is often referred to as the “character arc”. The transformation doesn’t have to be dramatic or complete, but there should be some noticeable shift in the character by the end of the story. It’s this change that often leaves a lasting impression on the audience.
Incorrect:
“Astra, a top-notch space pilot, is fiercely independent from start to finish. Despite various challenges and experiences throughout her space missions, she remains the same, unwavering in her solitary approach.”
This description provides a static character who does not evolve over time. Astra’s unchanging independence, despite the challenges she faces, lacks the dynamics of a character arc, and thus fails to create an engaging journey for the audience.
Correct:
“Astra, a top-notch space pilot, starts her journey as fiercely independent, relying solely on her skills and instincts. However, after a series of missions where she has to collaborate with others for survival, she begins to understand the value of teamwork. Despite her initial resistance, she learns to trust her crew and accepts their help, without sacrificing her self-reliance. By the end of her journey, she becomes a more well-rounded leader, able to balance her independence with her newfound appreciation for her crew.”
In the revised version, Astra experiences a character arc. She starts off as fiercely independent, but her experiences force her to adapt and grow. The shift in her character, from a solitary space pilot to a more collaborative leader, creates a dynamic journey that leaves a lasting impression on the audience.
6.) Show, Don’t Tell
Film is a visual medium. Instead of using dialogue to explain your character’s backstory or personality, look for ways to show who they are through their actions, choices, and interactions with others. Visual cues, like their clothing or personal spaces, can also reveal much about a character’s personality or state of mind.
Incorrect:
“A scene opens with the creature, Gorgon, sitting at a table with a human character. Gorgon says, ‘I am a peaceful creature. I do not believe in violence, and I have come from a distant galaxy to promote harmony among species.'”
In this example, Gorgon’s character and motivations are being explicitly told through dialogue. This approach tends to be less engaging and can feel like a shortcut in character development.
Correct:
“Gorgon, the alien creature, steps into a chaotic scene where humans are confronting another alien species. Instead of joining the fight, Gorgon raises his appendages in a clear sign of peace, calming the escalating tension. When a human lashes out in fear, Gorgon calmly steps back, showing no sign of retaliation. Later, in his living quarters filled with artifacts from different species, Gorgon is seen meditating – a serene, unifying presence amid the interstellar turmoil.”
In the revised example, Gorgon’s peaceful nature and mission are shown through his actions and choices, not just told through dialogue. His decision to defuse the conflict, his non-retaliatory response, and his meditative practice all visually demonstrate his character. His living quarters, decorated with various species’ artifacts, subtly suggest his interest in promoting harmony among species.
7.) Make Each Character’s Voice Distinct
If you can remove the character names from your script and still tell who’s speaking, you’ve done your job well. Each character should have a distinctive voice. This isn’t just about dialects or accents; it’s about how a character sees and reacts to the world around them, their education, their attitudes, and so much more.
Incorrect:
Billy, a 10-year-old space prodigy, speaks to his robot tutor: “Indeed, I agree with your assessment, it would appear that the quantum destabilization of this star system could lead to an interstellar catastrophe.”
In this example, the dialogue doesn’t sound like something a 10-year-old would typically say, even if they are a prodigy. The sophisticated language and formal tone don’t align with what we’d expect from a character of his age.
Correct:
Billy, a 10-year-old space prodigy, speaks to his robot tutor: “So, you’re saying if the star goes all wobbly-wobbly, it’s like a super big space boom? That doesn’t sound too good.”
Here, Billy retains his intelligence but speaks in a way more fitting for his age. He still grasps complex topics, but the way he processes and expresses them – “wobbly-wobbly” and “super big space boom” – are unique to his character and feel more realistic for a child, making his voice distinct.
Creating engaging and memorable characters can be a challenging process, but the rewards are immense. A well-developed character can elevate a story, turning it from good to unforgettable. Remember, characters are the heart and soul of your screenplay. The more time you spend developing them, the more your audience will connect with their journey. So, take your time, delve deep, and let your characters breathe life into your story. Just as in the real world, your characters should be complex, flawed, and capable of growth. Understand their motivations, their fears, their desires, and allow these elements to shape their actions and decisions in the story. By doing so, you’re not just creating characters; you’re creating reflections of humanity in a narrative form. These are the characters that resonate, that linger in the minds of the audience long after the credits roll. Remember, in screenwriting, your characters aren’t merely serving your story—their journeys are the story. Craft them with care, authenticity, and depth, and they will undoubtedly captivate your audience.
