1 / 18

Characters

Characters. What makes a good main character. Your favorites. Lets take a look at some of your characters and see what we can identify as similarities between them. Characters.

edwinmoses
Download Presentation

Characters

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Characters • What makes a good main character

  2. Your favorites • Lets take a look at some of your characters and see what we can identify as similarities between them.

  3. Characters • Characters are the nervous system of the story. Everything that happens is an extension of what they do, and how they react. • Why do you think those two phrases are in bold?

  4. Characters • A screenplay is like a noun • It’s about a PERSON, in a PLACE, doing his/her THING. • Character needs action • Must know whoyou story is about, and what happens to them.

  5. Knowing • In order to be successful writers, you need to know what happens in all aspects of your story. • Know your character. • Know what happens to them and what they have to go through. • Know the resolution of the story so you can get that character there. • Know what the end has in store for them.

  6. Knowing • If you don’t know how your story ends, you will have no idea how to get them there. • ACT II is filled with obstacles that pertain to your main characters actions. • Events and actions in a story are specifically designed to bring out the truth of your character, so we can achieve a connection or bond. • If you know your character you know what obstacles will have more impact

  7. Behavior • Film is behavior. • Dialogue is secondary to action, with two purposes. • Moves the story forward • Reveals something about the main character • A character is what he does, not what he says • Determine whether the main character causes things to happen, or things happen to them.

  8. Biography • Separate character’s life into two basic categories: • Interior Life: Everything that happened to your character from birth until the movie starts • Exterior Life: Takes place from the start of the movie to the end

  9. Interior (biography) • The first 10 years: Birth, pre-school/elementary school, family, friends • Second 10 years: Middle school/high school, sports, political agenda, clubs, activities, friendships, relationships, sexual experience, employment, major traumatic events, etc. • Start by asking yourself “what”

  10. Why “what” (interior) • WHAT implies a direct, definable answer: • What kind of childhood did he/she have? What was his/her relationship to their parents? What kind of child was he/she? What kind of trouble did they get into? What was home like? What kind of hobbies did he/she have? What clubs were they a part of? What was high school like for them? What college did they go to? What was their major? • Trace your character until your story starts

  11. Interior (biography) • If you know your character inside and out, only then can you begin writing. • REMEMBER: Your character is NOT you. They may be similar, but they should be a completely different person.

  12. Exterior (biography) • Sometimes it’s easier to separate into three categories • Professional • What is work like for them? What do they do? What do they love or hate about work? How do they get along with their co-workers, etc.

  13. Exterior (biography) • Personal Life: • Are they married, single, widowed? How long have they been married? How did they meet? Do they fight a lot? Are they a social couple? Do they have children? How many? What are their ages? What is the family dynamic?

  14. Exterior (biography) • Private Life: • What does your character do when they are alone? • What do they watch on TV? Do they go to the gym? How many times a week? What are they working out for? Do they take a night class? What kind of class? What sort of hobbies do they do in their free time?

  15. Importance • The reason why we spend time on the biography, and internal information is so we have a character who lives and moves in a real, believable world. • If you get stuck on what happens next, you can look to the “real” life of that character and put them in a place that is natural for them to be.

  16. Action • Your character is what he/she does • They need to be active • They need to do things, cause things to happen • Things can’t always happen to them. It’s not all reaction.

  17. 4 Essential Qualities • Have a strong dramatic need • What your MC wants to win, gain, get, achieve over the course of your story • Have an individual point of view • The way they see the world • Personify an attitude • A manner or opinion based on an intellectual decision • Go through some sort of change or transformation

  18. Writing Exercise • Free write: • The goal of a free -write is try and write continuously for a set amount of time with absolutely NO stopping. There is no right or wrong, you just have to keep the pencil moving. • Today’s Free Write: • You will be given a random character description • Start to fill out the character bio packet • Packets will be due FRIDAY!

More Related