I'm actually taking the few minutes break I have from my directing class to talk for a minute about something I've been meaning to put up on here for a little while now, so I'm just going to take the time to do that.

Of course if necessary I'll elaborate further as time permits.  And if not, then I'll continue another time.

With all this talk of screenwriting and treatments and fully developing your unique, rock solid idea, I think one factor that often goes overlooked within our scripts is the essential need for the character biography.  You may ask, what is a character biography?  How does it apply to my writing?

The character biography allows you to explore the depths of your main characters.  Every character must have a distinct personality, that something that makes them who they are.  After all, what makes you who you are?  You're a three dimensional breathing human being.  You have strengths, you have weaknesses, you may even have a distinct nickname that people refer to you as.  All of these elements comprise you.

Well often times, since we are working with what is imaginary, it's hard to get a good perception of who the people we create ARE.  Thus resulting in a underdeveloped, two dimensional character that never quite makes it off the page.  They read as 2D, and they have a certain flatness that does not make for an interesting character, much less an interesting screenplay.

So what comprises a character biography?  Well, that will be my next lesson as I run out of time per the moment.  But I have a number of questions for you to potentially consider when creating the character of all characters.  And they each should be so intriguing one can't help but wish to see these people walking, living, and interacting in their created worlds.

Thank you for your time.  I'll continue this shortly.

-L. 

Quoted from lesleyjl21, posted January 29th, 2004, 5:17pm at here The character biography allows you to explore the depths of your main characters.  Every character must have a distinct personality, that something that makes them who they are.  After all, what makes you who you are?  You're a three dimensional breathing human being.  You have strengths, you have weaknesses, you may even have a distinct nickname that people refer to you as.  All of these elements comprise you. Well often times, since we are working with what is imaginary, it's hard to get a good perception of who the people we create ARE.  Thus resulting in a underdeveloped, two dimensional character that never quite makes it off the page.  They read as 2D, and they have a certain flatness that does not make for an interesting character, much less an interesting screenplay.

Characters are definately my weakness, I've found there are times where my characters all sound the same and I hate it. There are several techniques that I have found personally helpful (and please note: maybe I should've already learnt to do this a long time ago, but I never bothered)

* Give your characters literally a birthdate. Have them totally different star signs to eachother and that lays down some ground rules automatically. It may sound lame, and yes it means you have to get books to read up on the subject but it's working for me on my new project. You know how some people just don't get along - it's all there in the star signs.

Someone may have a better method on creating characters.

I don't write character bios.  Generally my characters, as Robert E. Howard said, "walk full grown from the mist and intimidate me until I write [their] history."  I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point.  I usually see what they look like (roughly how old they are, build, etc) in my mind's eye, decide what they like to eat, what chemicals they're addicted to (if you were to read my other works, you'll notice that most of my characters smoke, drink and take drugs...with the exception of the hero of my novel OASIS, TX) and what kind of music they listen to.

As often as not, I already know what kind of life they've led to date.  I run through their relationships: are they married/involved?  Do they have siblings and/or parents that are still alive?  Have they acquired enemies?  How close are their friends?  Do they have a room mate?  Do they read?  Like movies?  Collect toys or some such shit?  Have they ever seen Citizen Kane (or whatever obscure detail I can art-fag into the character).

Then I look over their current state of affairs: where are they going with their lives?  What have they done?  Have they done any time or do they have a checkered past, and if so, how are they dealing with it now?

Wanna explore the depths of your characters? Lock yourself in a room and obsess on them with your "weapon of choice" (bottle, can, bong, whatever) and stare at what you ever written and read it over and over and over until the person comes alive in your mind.  If, after two days of being fucked up and alone, you haven't made them come to life in your mind throw the story in the trash.

I want a quarter every time someone uses this method.

While I see the merit of Kessler's "method" and certainly admire him for it, I'm going to suggest a few more questions folks can consider if they can't see straight through the pot smoke.

Pretend to personally interview your character.  Answer these:

Who are they?
Where do they live?
Who are they closest to?
How much do they open up to that person?
How do they make their living?
How do they feel about how they make their living?
What do they do with their leisure time?
Are they rich or poor?
What do they think of themselves?
What do they say about themselves?
What do other people say about them?
What are their hopes and dreams?
What are their fears?
Do they have enemies?  Why?
How did they end up where they are at the point you reach them in your story?

Hope I helped.  Or at least conjured up some food for thought.

Thanks for reading,
L.

I really have tried that method, Lesley. As an old role playing dork, it seemed like a natural.  It just didn't make me feel as though I knew tham any better.

But it's definately a good method.

Quoted from lesleyjl21 While I see the merit of Kessler's "method" and certainly admire him for it, I'm going to suggest a few more questions folks can consider if they can't see straight through the pot smoke. Pretend to personally interview your character.  Answer these: Who are they? Where do they live? Who are they closest to? How much do they open up to that person? How do they make their living? How do they feel about how they make their living? What do they do with their leisure time? Are they rich or poor? What do they think of themselves? What do they say about themselves? What do other people say about them? What are their hopes and dreams? What are their fears? Do they have enemies?  Why? How did they end up where they are at the point you reach them in your story? Hope I helped.  Or at least conjured up some food for thought. Thanks for reading, L.

I know this thread is almost a year old, but this really helps. I had only asked about a quarter of those questions, and while it's hard for me to gauge (because half of my leads are based on real people), I fear other people might find these characters fall flat, even as I wrote my character bios yesterday. By asking my characters all these questions, I think they'll really come to life for people other than me.

If this doesn't work, though, I'll try it Kessler's way.

Haha...that was written a LONG time ago. Maybe I was full of shit...don't take my "method" too seriously. My obsession with the underbelly of human society hasn't faded, but I also realize it's not for everyone. Deep ("Green") River is also about characters based on real people...but verbatim. I guess "Inspired by real people" is a better way to put it.

Basically, whatever puts you in touch with your characters is a good method.

Damn right.  You must forge interpersonal relationships with your characters as you'd get in touch with real people, so because each relationship/friendship/acquaintanceship has its own definitions, a universal style for getting familiar with one's own characters would destroy the joy of meeting new people, and therefore must never be established.  But meeting people can be tough ... so ... uhh ... hmm ...

... any suggestions?

I'd like to know a little bit about character development. With my first script, I tried to give each character an individual personality and for the most part, it worked; you could tell the characters apart based upon their personalities. Then someone made a suggestion that I should give each character an individual look which also worked for me. Is this good character development or do characters need more than identifiable looks and personalities? I don't care for the tradition filling-the-blanks of character's occupations, marital status, favorite food, etc. (in general backstory) because I don't care about all that nor do I think it's important unless it has a bearing on the immediate situation (this was Dan O'Bannon's approach towards the characters in Alien BTW). I'd prefer readers to make associations based on the looks and personalities of characters. Or am I wrong? Am I missing out on expanding characters by leaving out these kinds of things?

I'd like to know a little more about this aspect of writing before I jump into another script. Any suggestions on character development or am I in good shape? Suggestions otherwise would be welcome as well. I'd like to learn something new if I can.

It sounds like you're talking about character traits rather than character development. They are two very different things.

Character development is how your characters change during the course of your story. Take Luke Skywalker in Star Wars for example. At the beginning of the trilogy he is a young, naive farmboy who dreams of leaving his old life behind to join the rebellion. By the end of the first movie (Episode VI A New Hope) he has gone some way to realizing that dream. Not only that, his character has changed, and he has learnt important lessons along the way from the likes of Obi Wan and Yoda. His character has developed and matured. The young farmboy at the beginning of the movie could never have rescued Leia without this kind of character growth. The conflicts throughout the movie prepare him for that task.

In almost any story the protagonist has a goal, and a weakness that prevents him from achieving that goal. When a character overcomes that weakness (be it fear, naivety, physical weakness, whatever) then we see that their character has grown.

I suggest you take a look at Joseph Campbell's 'A Hero's Journey'

I would suggest giving the major characters- and the frequently seen minor ones- mannerisms. What I mean by that is to give each one a certain action- a minor, almost irrelevant action- that he/she preforms periodically, casually. For example, smoking a cigar, riding a bicycle, rubbing glasses, and such. It adds more realism, depth, and a kind of symbolism to the character. For example, if you have a character who constantly bounces a rubber ball, you can later have a shadowed or off-screen image, and just the bouncing ball immediately triggers recognition in the viewer, which is more powerful than if you were to show the character in its fullest.
Additionally, try to add a physical trait to most characters, as minor as you want. It could range from the drastic- a heavy limp, a huge scar, an amputated limb- to very minor- freckled, has a strange hairstyle, or quite pale.

Just remember though, if you don't do any character backgrounds, what are you going to send the producer/agent when they ask for a character breakdown?

One of the most important aspects of character development is right in line with what Der Spieler has touched on. Not only does your character need what you've already figured out, but they need some sort of personality weakness that would intially prevent them from finishing the goal, and that through the adventure of the film, they overcome allowing them to do what needs to be done. The film needs to be able to develop their character beyond what they could have ever done and leave them a completely different person by the end.

I watched I, ROBOT recently, and this movie gives a prime example. Will Smith's character is very, very, prejudiced against robots while his counterpart throughout the film (I forget her name, but she's the scientist who builds and works on the things) believes that robots can do no wrong. They are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum and through the course of the film each of their characters develops to the point of where they have changed their opinions. He believes robots have good in them where she finds that they can grow to do wrong.

Had Smith's character not experienced this growth, the goal would not have been completed due to the danger the girl got into. He had to grow to trust the robot to take care of her while he did his hero thing. Had he not experienced the growth, he wuld have told the robot to sod off and try to do both things which would not have ended well.

It's the overcoming of a weakness that makes a good movie great, and something I am trying to go back into my older screenplays and instill to bring some life to the plots.

The baseball movie "Mr. 3000" is another really good example.

While the film itself is a little silly, I was impressed at how clearly you could follow the arc of Bernie Mac's character (I forget the name).  A really excellent example of character "growth" -- as opposed to character "traits" -- can be seen in this film.

Err, I was never planning on having one main character who we follow over the course of the story but rather a small collection of characters who I'd give equal attention. But perhaps this is all stuff I should look into.

And yes, it's the traits that get me. I usually give characters traits of friends, family, people I've known, or myself but I've always felt wierd doing this. Characters come off to me more like caricatures of people I know than actual characters. But if I give characters traits of common ordinary people, I can't identify with them and therefore they're not worth my time. With my last script, however, I was pretty satisfied with two of the characters who represented different versions of me at different times of my life and they were both different and had different ways of looking at things. Maybe I should continue to draw experience from my life into my scripts. I know this is what everyone says you're supposed to do when writing but I always felt wierd doing so. Maybe I just need to play around with it a little more and find a method of creating characters that I'm satisfied with.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'll be taking them into consideration.

It is totally important for characters to have different personalities and their own different traits, quirks, etc.

But, it's not just about "Hey! Bob is an alcoholic and beats his wife omg lol!" or "Cindy is an angry prostitute". You don't have to spell our their personalities like that, let it come through in the way they speak, the way they relate to people or situations, the way they react to things. It's so important that a character is consistent in that way. And yeah, it's more interesting when a character diverges from a set path (ie Bob the wifebeater is actually really into romance novels!) but you have to let that evolution (which another poster mentioned) feel organic and not... tacked on. And not jarring! It can't be jarring.

Evolution itself means to gradually change, and that's what character development is about. It's about changing over a course time - in a way that makes contextual sense and doesn't come out of nowhere... there's a reason behind why someone changes. LIke in real life.

I don't know, this is 99% my opinion and it's probably not helpful or practical at all... just shooting off my mouth.

No, you're absolutely right Redeemer. Characters DO need to change in practical ways, and within reason, during the course of the story. Because if the characters just stayed the same, that would mean that the story must be very boring and uneventful, and therefore there would be no point in even writing it. Stories are basically sequences of interesting situations and circumstances which alter a character's everyday life. Thre has to be a point to every story, a point which has to be proved, and the main way of proving this point is by showing how the characters change during the circumstances within the story.    

Here's something I wrote up once on this subject. Just occurred to me.

The core of great films is the characters and their relationships with each other and the story. While most films have a decent storyline, one of the biggest flaws they run into in the both the independent and major arenas is a lack of good characters or character development. Here's a way to make some good movie people somewhat drawn from my own observations and The Screenwriter's Bible <-- if you write screenplays and don't have a copy, get one! It's my number one resource for nearly everything.

First, you need a central character. Books and TV shows and multiple characters, but movies usually have one that we follow around. This character wants something specific. Whatever that is is the goal. The character, conscious of this desire, strives for it throughout most of the story. To create the drama, the character must be opposed by at least one other person.

In most good stories, this character also has an inner need, and it is usually something they don't know about until the Crisis. Whatever this need is will bring true happiness or fulfillment to the character. Whatever this need is will be blocked by some sort of flaw, usually a selfishness, that emerges from some kind of past trauma whch will come out in the backstory.

The main plot is driven by the goal or Action story; the main subplot is driven by the need or Emotional story. This emotional story is concerned with character relationships and is what often lacks in a lot of films. People come for the action, but they gauge whether they like it or not based on the emotion. The clever combination of these two is what creates a truly unique film.

For an example, someone wanted a zombie story. There are hundreds of these, so I infused one with a love triangle between a woman, her long lost love, and her devoted husband. How often is that done?

So, your central characters needs most or all of the following:

• An outside goal the audience will care about.
  
• A powerful, personal motivation for achieving this goal.
  
• An opposition character in a position of strength, capable of doing great damage (physically or emotionally).
  
• The will to act against opposition, learn and grow.
  
• Human emotions, traits, values, and imperfections that people can identify with.
  
• A personal point of view of life, the world, and/or self, giving rise to attitudes.
  
• Details, extensions, idiosyncrasies, and/or expressions that are uniquely theirs.
  
• A life and voice of their own.
  
• A key event from the past that has given rise to a character flaw.
  
• An inner need that they might be unaware of.

This list works not only for your main character, but the primary opposition should also have these things as well. A good villain will be just as rounded as the hero, and have needs and goals of their own. You essentially have two stories running simultaneously as one. The villain has a need and goal that they want to accomplish. The hero has their own needs as well. These needs and goals must inevitably clash, but while the hero must grow and learn, the villain doesn't necessarily need to, but if they fall, the fall must be justifiable within the character created. Create a way for the villain to succeed if they overcome their flaws within the story's framework, and so the fall of the villain happens because they refused to grow with the hero.

Some other things to consider for your character's end.

• How does your character grow or change throughout the story?
  
• How is your character different?
  
• What does the character know now that they didn't know at the beginning?
  
• What is their perception of reality at the beginning?
  
• How does that perception change at the end?
  
• Is the protagonist likable? (not a requirement, but we have to relate to them somehow to care)
  
• Will the audience idenitify with the central character on some level?
  
• Does your central character have depth, with both strengths and weaknesses?

And finally, something for the overall idea:

• What is the theme or message of your story? All the good ones have this in them, and it reigns subconsciously throughout.
  
• What are you trying to say?
  
• Will the end of your story say it for you without being too preachy? Sometimes, the theme won't come to you until you're already writing it.

Thought I'd add some writing advice to this writing thread. I know creating characters is too often overlooked in favor of a cool plot, but characters are the heart of the story, and a story with good characters and relationships is a story that gets awards. I thought American Beauty was an insane movie with a really whacked out plot...but hey, it had solid, well-rounded characters.

Well, thank you George, you have helped me!
Many thanks.

I would advise early writers like me to listen to advise like this, it is priceless.

Although I didnt ask the question, I thank George for his answer.

Top man. Many thanks.

Thanks a lot for the comments, guys. Especially George. My main protagonist has most of those characters (I think she's missing only two or three) so I feel I'm in pretty good shape. In general, that seems like good advice and I'll certainly take it into consideration on future work.

Fantastic post George. That basically covers what the character development should be like in a movie.

Good characters create good conflict!

Agreed, excellent post George. It should probably be a sticky. You've basically summarized everything I've ever read on the subject.

Hi,

I'm very new at this i.e. Sreenplay writing. I'm not a published writer or anything of that sorts but I just write almost on a daily basis. Recently I've been working on a Script and I read a couple of scripts written by other people before I began writing my own and I was wondering if while writing a dialog for a character, is it ok to write the character's expression i.e. his face expression(s) and those kind of things or shall I just leave it to the actor himself and just write the dialog?

I've noticed that some writers do and some not which got me confused.

Thank you.

P.S: I messed up earlier. I posted my question in another board..... duh!!!  Sorry for that.

Generally, you leave these details out.  Facial expressions are up to the actors/directors when the expression is appropriate.  The exception would be when the facial expression contradicts the dialogue (perhaps because the character is speaking sarcastically).

If you've read some scripts here, perhaps you can write reviews of them.  Feedback is needed to keep the site active and to helpl our writing.

Phil

Yeah.  Once in a while, maybe, if you really need it.  But that kind of thing should be kept to a minimum.

If the dialogue is "right", these descriptions should be redundant.

You would also throw in facial expressions if the character isn't speaking but merely reacting in an important way to something that has been said. Movies being a visual medium, if you can find a visual response as opposed to a dialogue one, that's one better.

Cool..... thx a lot guys.....

Since I started this thread, I'd like to think I've become more informed in regards to character development. But there's still something that I don't yet understand.

It's one thing to have a well-developed character but it's another to have a likeable character. Just because a character is well-developed doesn't ensure that the audience will relate to them. What does it take to get an audience's sympathy for a character?

I'd hate to think they all have to be good, honest citizens with sugary personalities.

They don't need sugary personalities or even to be "good guys." What it takes is something that we can relate to. The guy might be a mean mobster who will kill at the drop of a hat, and yet, he takes care of his child or kitten most tenderly. If you consider the family in The Godfather, these people are not the friendliest, and yet they take care of their family above all else. If there's a bank robber, that's not good, but why did he do it? Perhaps he is struggling. Perhaps he has a new baby at home and his wife died in childbirth. As long as your characters have reason and motivation that the audience can understand, they can be almost the worst person on the planet.

The flip side works just as well. If you consider the eventual "villain" in The Green Mile, he was absolutely despicable. But why? Because we can relate, not to his actions, but to the reactions of those around him. We also can feel how we WOULD relate to his actions if he did those things to us.

While it's not possible to relate to EVERY character, if most of the main ones do something we can relate to, whether it is positive or negative, that will help a story immeasurably. It's usually done best through emotion and/or familiarity. You can have the most unique storyline in the world, but it needs some familiar to bring the audience in.

Quoted from James McClung What does it take to get an audience's sympathy for a character?

As George says, your characters need to be people we can relate to. We need to understand their pain, their anger, their fear, their love. Even the bad guys.

Look at John McClane in Die Hard. He has a simple goal that everyone can relate to: he wants to reconcile with his wife at Christmas. We can all understand his motivation. The terrorists are just the obstacle standing in his way. He doesn't really care if they succeed, he just wants to be with his wife. He does have the extra motivation of being a cop and wanting to do the right thing, but that's not necessarily what the audience relates to.

Basically, your characters need to have a personal, tangible motive that the audience can understand. Why is it in action/thriller movies that our hero's family/loved ones are almost always in danger? It's because we can imagine how they feel, and therefore understand their actions.

Some characters are driven by their strength, some by their weakness. Even though more complex characters will have a mixture of both, they are still predominately driven by one or the other, and it is this that stamps them as a person.
I also think that "true character' is revealed by the decisions that a person/character makes when they are under pressure.

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I think I've become much more fluent in character development since I started this thread. I've really been pushing myself to learn more about it and I think it's paid off.

How do you develop a character?

Through their words and actions.

What.  You were expecting more?

There have been books written on this subject, but hey -- that's the gist of it.

Look through some of the existing threads on this board.  A lot of good information is already out there for you if you are willing to look.

Start Here:  http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-screenwrite/m-1132968707

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-screenwrite/m-1128976925/s-0/

I sure wish people would look before they start a new thread. The search board button at the bottom of the page in each thread can be very helpful if you use it.

If more people used it people may be able to get help without asking.

I messed with this yesterday, and like any other amusing internet game, you make of it what you want to. But after I looked at all the results, I got to thinking that this would be an interesting way to create a character. Pick two or three artists that you have at least a couple albums for that fit your idea for a character. Plug the songs into your mixer as indicated below, and fill in the blanks. This would be one way to make some well rounded characters since you would use the song only for development, not for the movie, but each song could inspire that piece of this person's life (whether they reach that point of their life or not). Here's the forward:

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

I just used my MP3 player which had Billy Joel and Hillsong in it. If I created this character, here's how he would work out on paper. I give the song and an explanation of how it would affect my character.

1. Opening Credits:
Billy Joel - The Night Is Still Young -- He's a night owl, so for him it is never time for bed: the night is always young.

2. Waking Up:
Billy Joel - Miami 2017: Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway -- Hard to say. This song is about remembering the past, so it's possible he dreams of times gone by, and when he wakes up he realizes he's in the present and not what he left behind.

3. First Day At School:
Billy Joel - Half A Mile Away -- In school, he was a rebel. "Talk about women and lie, lie, lie." But beneath the rough exterior, he dreamed of something more.

4. Falling In Love:
Billy Joel - She’s Always a Woman -- I dated someone like this once. It's a woman who can play your heart strings like a guitar. This was his first love probably, and she forever impacted his life.

5. Fight Song:
Hillsong - One Way -- This one is a worship song. Since it is a fight song, this means he has deep religious roots and holds to a moral standard when faced with a conflict.

6. Breaking Up:
Billy Joel - Storm Front -- Holy cow, you don't want to be anywhere near this guy when a break up happened. It must be explosive. This song is compares a relationship to sailing in a hurricane.

7. Prom:
Billy Joel - No Man’s Land -- Probably didn't go to prom since the subject matter of this song compares corporate America to a wasteland of worthlessness.

8. Life:
Billy Joel – Souvenir -- Very melancholic and reflective about his life. It relates closely to "Waking up" except this song is more far reaching and he saves those memories like souvenirs.

9. Mental Breakdown:
Billy Joel – And So It Goes -- Sounds to me like Mental Breakdowns, per se, don't really happen. He's too easy going. If something happens, he's like, "Oh well" and moves on.

10. Driving:
Billy Joel – This Is The Time -- He loves to drive. He wants it to go on and on forever. He's not one to get in the car and zip to his destination. He relishes every mile.

11. Flashback:
Billy Joel – If I Only Had The Words To Tell You -- He regrets not telling someone in his past his true feelings for them. Could be that love, or could be someone else.

12. Getting back together:
Billy Joel - Temptation -- Doesn't want to get back together, but still finds her very attractive and, well, a temptation. Easy conflict right there.

13. Losing your virginity:
Hillsong – Where The Love Lasts Forever -- Given that htis is a worship song, I'd say it was a religious experience. Definitely not animal love-making here, but one where both parties were mutually respected and likely for all the right reasons. It is doubtful this was a one night stand.

14. Wedding:
Hillsong – Came To My Rescue -- So he feels redeemed by a marriage. But redeemed from what, I wonder? It relates closely to 13, where there is definitely something going on for all the right reasons, but at the same time, it also feels like the girl rescues him from something. Could it be the girl he fell in love with who is also the temptation?

15. Birth of Child:
Billy Joel – Summer, Highland Falls -- This is a smooth, flowing song that is a reflection on one's life. He sees the child as a reflection of himself, and as a result, hopes to do the right thing. It's another positive song indicating a life change he feels positive about.

16. Final Battle:
Hillsong – What The World Will Never Take -- This one echoes the sentiments of the Fight Song of 5. With another worship song declaring Jesus as Lord in his life, it solidifies the strong moral foundation in his life.

17. Funeral Song:
Billy Joel - Shameless -- Given the nature of this song, this tells me that he lived a full and happy life doing whatever he could for those he loved.

18. End Credits:
Hillsong – My Best Friend -- And we close with a third worship song proclaiming that Jesus is his best friend.

So we find a guy who has a past girl who did ot work out so well, a rebellious childhood, a life where he longed for the past he left behind, a solid religiously moral foundation, and whofinds a future that he embraces and lives to the fullest. This is, of course, my opinion on all of this, but this is also my character and you can make your own. I think I'll select a couple different artists and devise a companion for him.

Haha, saw this on myspace a while back. I tried it. It's fun.

Yes, from a personal perspective, it is fun, but I also don't want the point to be missed in that you could also use this specific randomness to create some unique characters you might not otherwise have conceived of.

That's a pretty cool idea George.

I've done this before. Here's mine:

Opening Credits:
Un-sweet Sixteen - Wakefield

Waking Up:
Look Where We Are - Hoobastank

First Day Of School:
The Fatal Wound - Switchfoot

Falling In Love:
The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash (LOL!)

Fight Song:
One More Time - Daft Punk (Haha)


Breaking Up:
Ex-Girlfriend - No Doubt (Coincidence? And yes, I like No Doubt)

Prom:
Nobody's LIstening - Linkin Park

Life:
Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys

Mental Breakdown:
The Beautiful Letdown - Switchfoot

Driving:
Mad World - Michael Andrews

Flashback:
The Living Dead - Phantom Planet

Getting Back Together:
Bomb - Switchfoot

Wedding:
Title And Registration - Death Cab For Cutie

Birth Of Child:
Don't Stay - Linkin Park

Final Battle:
Out of Control - Hoobastank

Death Scene
Teachers - Daft Punk (just listen to this song and you would agree with me that it would be awkward if it were played during any death scene)

Funeral Song:
Time - The Greencards

End Credits:
Contigo - Frederico Aubele


I'D see this movie

Sean

I'll take a crack at it. Doubt anybody's heard of some of 'em though.

Opening Credits:
Only One - Slipknot -- It's him vs the world. A real "this town ain't big enough for the both of us" mentality. Probably a rebel.

Waking up:
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies - Faith No More -- He'd like to be a better guy, but feels he has to be the macho rebel guy, even though knowing that his future will probably be in turmoil because of it.

First Day of School:
Another Know It All - Chevelle -- Probably left and didn't finish school.

Falling In Love:
Beginning of the End - Systematic -- Doesn't know how to sustain a relationship. Probably treats his significant other badly and expects them to come back for more.

Fight Song:
Come Out and Play (Keep 'em Separated) - The Offspring - HA! -- You don't wanna be in a fight with this guy. A real brawler. Don't say anything bad to him on the street.

Breaking Up:
Hand In My Pocket - Alanis Morisette -- hmmm? maybe he just shrugs off any relationship, and acts like it doesn't bother him. He hates to feel saddened.

Prom:
Do You Call My Name - Ra -- Prom was spent in a jail cell for this guy, and he regrets it.

Life:
Still Running - Chevelle -- Does whatever other people want to hold his reputation, running from who he really is.

Mental Breakdown:
Prayer - Disturbed -- Feels that he has been dealt a cruddy hand in life, and has trouble finding solace in faith when things are tough.

Driving:
In The End - Linkin Park -- Driving is the only time he has to reflect on himself.

Flashback:
Bounce - System of a Down -- No fucking clue what this could mean. Maybe, he remembers a wild woman he had sex with once.

Getting Back Together:
Ain't My B*tch - Metallica -- Doesn't want any commitment or to be tied down.

Wedding:
Dummy Block - Element Eighty -- insecure that anyone could love him enough, so he'd never be caught dead walking down the aisle.

Birth of a Child:
All or Nothing - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -- runs out on his kid.

Final Battle:
Old Man - Stereomud -- Runs his whole life, and never really grows up. The battle is with himself and not being young anymore.

Death Scene:
Up and Gone - Hoobastank -- Just fades away like a flickering candle, with no one who cares about him, with many regrets in his life.

Funeral Song:
Wake Up - Damageplan (that'd be interesting at a funeral. lol) -- Dies Longing for another chance to live his life.

End Credits:
When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down -- Wants to be forgiven for his mistakes in death.

This looks fun:

Opening Credits:
The New Pollution - Beck. A good upbeat song to let the credits go by as the camera pans across the room. Could also stand for a new generation kinda thing, youngsters with their fads.

Waking up:
(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind - Powderfinger. Aw, only if i got this for "Falling In Love". He wakes up from a dream of his love.

First Day of School:
The Way - Fastball. This song is about parents up and leaving. But I spose could represent spontaneity. He acts spontaneous, profits from it. "But where were they going, without ever knowing the way..."

Falling In Love:
Everything is in it's Right Place - Radiohead. When their together everything is in it's right place.

Fight Song:
See You - Foo Fighters. I'm not quite sure this would be much of a fight since the song states, "good it is to see you". Maybe a play fight.

Breaking Up:
Brick - Ben Folds. Yes! I'm suprised i haven't seen this being used as a breaking up song. It'd work perfecting. "She's so broken up, drownin slowly..."

Prom:
Pineapple Head - Crowded House. Not sure what to interpret here.

Life:
White Room - Cream. Again i'm at a loss.

Mental Breakdown:
Dimension - Wolfmother. A violent psychadelic breakdown where all kind of crazy sh*t happens. "Then I let go of everything, Into another dimension".

Driving:
Frontier Psychiatrist - The Avalanches. Wow, the mental breakdown may still be occuring.

Flashback:
In My Life - The Beatles. This was a good coincidence. Great choice for maybe a montage of past events. "There are places I remember, All my life..."

Getting Back Together:
Polyester Girl - Regurgitator. Perfect, kinda. This song seems to me that its about wanting back your polyester girl. "It took them several weeks to get you back to me..."

Wedding:
Lola - The Kinks. LOL, There's gonna be a big suprise at the wedding. Two grooms.

Birth of a Child:
Castles Made of Sand - Jimi Hendrix. Just don't know. GOOD BACKWARDS GUITAR SOLO THOUGH!

Final Battle:
2000 Light Years From Home - Rolling Stones. Must be a battle in space.

Death Scene:
Sittin' On the Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding. This would seem to me as the death is accepted, knowing they'll soon be in paradise. "I have nothing to live for, looks like nothings gonna come my way, so i'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay..."

Funeral Song:
Strange Ones - Supergrass. Hahahaha, "Everyone knows where the strange ones go..."

End Credits:
Kelly Watch The Stars - Air. A nice calming song to end with.

While this might make the soundtrack to a complete movie, consider it as a soundtrack to a single character from a movie or anything else. You may not use all of this information for a film's character, but it serves to make for someone very complete if you can explain little details like this. Consider the most under-developed characters in movie-land: horror movie victims. What if each and every victim had at least this much development to them. You knew how that person was in school, how they feel about life, and how they would feel about marriage (even though they would not live that long).

Take your lists here and define what each song might mean. You don't have to use your own life; in fact, it's better if you let your imagination run a little wild. I defined each of my songs from an outside perspective, without relation to my life (although some of them are remakably close, I was more of a nerd than a rebel in school).

Point is, I don't want this thread to descend into everyone just doing a huge randomize of their players. Use the information you gained to create a unique character and then use it in a script.

EDIT: Well done, Alex. In the ones you're not sure how to interpret, just use your imagination. Maybe it's someonthing the song would never fit in reality, but we're also dealing with psychology, so the song means something, and maybe that's just a feeling as opposed to the literal meaning. I also noticed Zombie Sean added a category in the form of a death scene. Not bad toi have. You've preplanned their death.

when you can't think up something for the song as a whole, maybe there is a lyric or two that stands out and you can use to answer that question

Quoted from George Willson I allso noticed Zombie Sean added a category in the form of a death scene. Not bad toi have. You've preplanned their death.

Haha I didn't read that. I guess it's all planned out.

Sean

I also noticed later that the "Losing Your Virginity" category is removed in favor of the Death Scene. In my current version of these (which I did use to create characters in a drama), I have both categories.

Opening Credits:
Jimi Hendrix – Voo-Doo Child
He likes to create chaos. Maybe his life is chaotic. He thrives off of chaos.

Waking Up:
Dispatch – Mayday
He wakes up remembering his past as a Navy Sailor. He has nightmares that remind him of a time when he tried to rescue a sinking ship but failed.

First Day of School:
State Radio – The Legacy of Margaret Brown
Tried to do well in school but just wasn’t cut out for it.

Falling In Love:
Jimi Hendrix – Red House
After returning home from the Navy, he realizes that his girlfriend left him.

Fight Song:
Pink Floyd – Money
He likes to fight. It’s what he thrives on. He likes to box as well where he fights for money and when money is involved you better watch out.

Breaking Up:
Jimi Hendrix – Stone Free
When he breaks up he is not let down by it. He pretends like nothing happened and feels like he’s free because he doesn’t want to be tied down. He wants to move on.

Prom:
SRV – Couldn’t Stand The Weather
He never went to prom because he was kicked out of school.

Life:
Pink Floyd – Cigar
Believes he is cut out to be great.

Mental Breakdown:
The Meters – Hand Clapping Song
He doesn’t have mental breakdowns because he is too happy about life.

Driving:
Jimi Hendrix – Foxey Lady
He likes to drive because he thinks it makes him look cool. He belives it’s a good way to pick up chicks.


Flashback:
SRV – Taxman
He remembers his days in school when people used to take advantage of him. This is when he was weak, which is probably why he is so strong and doesn’t take shit from anyone anymore.

Getting Back Together:
John Mayer – Gravity
On the outside he doesn’t want to get back with his ex-girlfriend, but on the inside he misses her and wants her back.

Wedding:
Buddy Guy – Damn Right I Got The Blues
Doesn’t want to get married. He is sad when it comes to marriage.

Losing Your Virginity:
Muddy Waters – She Moves Me
Lost his virginity when he was drunk. To a girl he thought was attractive, when he was drunk that is.

Birth Of Child:
Dispatch – Elias
If he had a child he would take care of it and take great pride in it, especially if it was a boy.

Final Battle:
Jimi Hendrix – Fire
He reunites with the girl that left him and lets her know what she did to him.

Funeral Song:
Buddy Guy – Ain’t That Lovin’ You
His death occurs while trying to save his life long love partner. She finally realizes that he loved her.

End Credits:
John Mayer – St. Patrick’s Day
Maybe there is a parade celebrating/remembering his life.

Here we have a character that is rebellious and leads a chaotic life. This is due to his past life where he was bullied as a kid and then had a traumatic experience that he couldn’t shake. And to top it all off, his girlfriend leaves him and he spends the rest of his life in regret that he loves her. When he runs into her again he dies so that she may live. This is the ultimate life changing event for her and she finally realizes how mean she was to him.

Thanks for the exercise George! I had a lot of fun with this. It even works for creating a plot.

What is the antagonist of a scene? the opposite of the protagonist?


~Zack~

The antagonist is what is preventing your protagonist from reaching their goal.  

It could be another person, a circumstance, or even something the protagonist possesses (fatal flaw).

One more question, does the antagonist have to be in the scene? Or can the antagonist be marely mentioned?

Scene or script?  You'll have to be more specific.

If you're talking about a feature length script, the antagonist doesn't have to be in every scene, in fact, it doesn't have to appear until later.

As far as just a scene goes, you'll have to tell me what it is you're trying to do until I can comment.

it's a feature script(s) i plan on doing after Friday the 13th. Thanks for the info.

Quoted Text An antagonist is a character or group of characters, or, sometimes an institution of a happening who represents the opposition against which the protagonist(s) must contend. In the classic style of story wherein the action consists of a hero fighting a villain, the two can be regarded as protagonist and antagonist, respectively. Contrary to what people commonly believe, the antagonist is NOT always the villain, but simply those who oppose the main character.

Think Stand by Me. Ace Merrill and his gang is the external antagonist, who pursues and prevents the protagonists from reaching their goal.

In Star Wars it's Darth Vader.

However, in other films it's more elusive who or what the antagonist is.

In Forrest Gump the antagonist is no one person. It's society as a whole.

In A beautiful Mind, one could argue it's Russell Crowe's character's mental disorder.

but in most films, especially a slasher, the antagonist is gonna be the bad guy. The guy who stalks and wants to kill the protagonist.

I'm not sure I understand your question: "does the antagonist have to be in the scene?"

What scene?

DM,

You just made David Trottier very proud

Quoted from sniper DM, You just made David Trottier very proud

Haha, and I never even read the book!

I only like books with purdy pictures.  

Not too long ago, I read a short story where wizards were dueling it out.  It held little appeal even though the description was well done.

Why?  Because the wizards in question existed inside of the vacuum of "The Beginning."

Nothing has happened before the beginning-- at least to the reader.  Nothing is known about the characters until the empathy has been initiated by the author so that the characters-- be they wizards or well-meaning meerkats-- are filled up to the extent that they receive and give to their environments.  To put it another way: they react and importantly act in a proactive sense with their environment.

In life, many of us typically are passive.  Things just happen to us, but in the written universe, characters must make decisions constantly and we must see the consequences of their actions thus we "feel" for them and understand their world.

Just because we write a fabulous scene where characters duel or the world blows up, it doesn't mean that it's going to be interesting.

What's interesting is the dramatic premise and the context in which we place the characters.  They could be in a cotton candy world, but maybe they're allergic to cotton candy, but they love it so much that they are willing to sacrifice the itching, the hives and the general discomfort...

This illumination of character through circumstance is what provides for an interesting read.  How a character handles the mundane and not just how they handle a gun being pulled in their face is something the author needs to consider.  For instance: their reaction to a dropped call or a dropped glass of orange juice can be more significant and just as provocative as their reaction to a death in their family.  And further, it may not be consistent, and if it's not, then why?

I hope I've shed a little light to those that struggle as I do to produce intriguing stories which, despite their fictional strife, take their essence from the real world.

Sandra

What I would hope happened in the story you read was that the duel the wizards were in was later explained and tied into the overall plot in an inescapable. I would also hope that the duel provided enough intrigue that kept you reading until the story-proper could commence and explain what just happened..or at least make you wonder a little more fervently.

Intros are supposed to grab you and hold your attention as well as make you wonder what the hell is going on. The story is then supposed to dole out its plot while providing clue after clue to what the beginning actually meant.

Granted, that's ideal, but openings have their purpose...even though we haven't met the characters yet.

maybe this is a question for you George... being that you are currently writing Fempiror ...
what about characters for say... an episodic drama....??

how in-depth should you know your characters before writing a word of dialogue?

for a feature length or a short its pretty simple... a goal, a little bit of backstory... and a flaw... and wah-lah... a few quirks aside and you can have yourself a well rounded character

but what about a character that could be in a series for 80 one-hour episodes???  

i'm of the opinion a tv series should be approached the same way as a movie... it should have a beginning a middle and an end with developed characters who have planned arcs.

i'd like to have that for a series, but wrapping my brain around a character that could be involved in an extended story like that... is a baffling proccess.

Quoted from SwapJack how in-depth should you know your characters before writing a word of dialogue?

Whether you are writing a short, a feature, or a series, you should know everything about the character.  Obviously, you won't be using all this info in a short, but you're better off with more information than you'll be needing.  And you'll be needing more for a series.

Years ago, I worked as an editor for a short-lived comic book company.  A lot of business was handled on-line, including writer submissions.  The writers all thought that all they needed to know was the hero's powers and weaknesses.  I told them that I needed to know what the heroes did when they weren't fighting crime...

That, generally, blew their minds.


Phil

You should know your characters as well as you know yourself. Not only is it important to know who they are right now, but who they used to be. People change throughout their lives and your characters did too. Like Dogglebe said, you need to know what they do when they aren't doing your plot. Where were they before the story began? Where will they be when the story ends? You know, thinking about where they end up can lend you some plot ideas as the story unfolds.

How do you determine this? Ideally, having a biography of your characters from birth to present (and possibly even death) by your side is the perfect situation. That way, you always know everything when you're writing about them in the now. Think about the TV show, Friends. This series was all character. But you could tell from the pilot episode that their individual histories were all known. Monica wouldn't put on the fat suit that season, but we knew she used to be overweight. We didn't see the Ross-Rachel romance seed until Season 2 or 3, but it was touched on in the pilot. The characters were all there and they all had histories.

With Fempiror, I knew the main three characters when writing the first screenplay, but they developed little by little as the series developed. I found as I was writing that I had to go back and rewrite things as I learned more and more about the characters. I ended up writing a lot of stuff down that will likely never appear in any episode just so I knew when it happened.

It is said that for the main characters in War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy had biographical information for each one that was about as thick as the finished novel. The more you know about your characters, the better you will portray them in your final script. Evern if you don't include that your man was a paperboy at the age of 8, just knowing that will make you change how you write him as a character.

I don't know if it helped or not, but in my screenplay Vengeance, I gave each of the unfortunate victims who were college students a major. I made sure that each victim's major came out in some way before they were killed. Why bother for cannon fodder? I felt like giving the characters a major showed they had a hopeful future and it lended itself to their study habits, living habits, and a host of other things that gave them just a little more dimension than just cannon fodder. Someone was even shocked that the first ones were killed because we'd spent some time getting to know them.

The best thing to do, if nothing else, is to note who they are outside of the boundaries of your story. If you give them a life outside your plot, they will feel more human because a story is only a piece of a life. 2-D characters only exist inside your plot. 3-D characters were there before it started and live (or hoped to live) after it is over.

so in other words... my one page character outline is not even gonna get me started. lol

i love the idea of having the character's biography from birth till death....

that could open up a few more doors

A one page character outline is a great start. You've already got more than some people do when they start. For a series, you'll need a lot more though.

Wow, what a great thread. George's advice is invaluable, so much so if I had enough pins I'd print out his pearls of wisdom and stick them all around my desk.

Anywho, I have a general character related question (figured it was better in here than in a new thread). How would you go about writing a more eccentric character? I've got a character I want to write who's a college lecturer with a bit of the Emmett Brown about him (although not quite that crazy), but I'm finding it tough letting loose on the dialogue and such -- I'm too restrained. I write too real. How could I go about making his characteristics stand out? Is it more about his dialogue or his actions? Or both? Any tips at all?

An addition to the above -- do you find it easy to write characters who are more larger than life, or easier to write "real" characters who are more like you and I?

I don't think you can write 'too real', and this should not stand in the way of writing characters that are odd in one way or the other. Just look around you, I'd say

For instance, I was at a gym once, and afterwards when getting dressed I saw this guy in the shower who was combing his hair very meticolously. I thought it was somewhat strange to be combing your hair in the shower but it also struck me as a fascinating image for a 'weird' character in a script. Another time I had a colleague I had to work with for a few months who was just... weird. He laughed pretty eirily in between almost every sentence, he had this thing with his hands, he talked just a bit too calm, and was obsessed with having a cigarette at some points in time, but the weirdest thing was that in between all this he was actually a nice, friendly guy..

Point being, you're not telling me you never had a weird teacher, uncle, co-worker that you could use as a template. Using people you know as a template for characters is on the whole a good way to create characters, at least, for me. Think of one of them and try to remember their speech patterns.

Another tip: Go read about the ( i think it were 11 in total) personality disorders that exist (f.i. on wikipedia): Anti-social, Schizoid, Schizotypal, Avoidant, Histrionic etc: Apart from that you might recognize one or two of your own character-treats (since everyone has some characteristics of some disorder ) it can help you with giving a character his weaknesses and characteristics.

If you're looking for the eccentric type, I would focus on the Schizotypal personality disorder: "...is a personality disorder that is characterized by a need for social isolation, odd behavior and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs".

possible characteristics:
   1. Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference)
   2. Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms (e.g., superstitiousness, belief in clairvoyance, telepathy, or "sixth sense"; in children and adolescents, bizarre fantasies or preoccupations)
   3. Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions
   4. Odd thinking and speech (e.g., vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate, or stereotyped)
   5. Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation
   6. Inappropriate or constricted affect
   7. Behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar
   8. Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives
   9. Excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity and tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgments about self

(source: wikipedia)

I think referring to schizophrenia to show eccentricity is a bit of an exaggeration.  All you need is a character quirk and work from there.  I have two friends who are stage actors and people know them from their hats.  One wears a straw hat that you would see from a barbershop quartet; the other wears a black velvet top hat.  One of them, after ordering a pint of beer, sometimes pours half of it into a half pint glass (that he carries around).  He drinks from this smaller glass and refills it with the other.

I wrote a script a long time that involved a mob boss.  He always had a Spalding ball with him; he had it since he was a kid.  He was constantly playing with it, bouncing it around or rolling it from hand to hand, or even just squeezing it like a stress ball.  Was this any indication that he was crazy?  No.  It was just a souvenier from his youth that he liked to play with.


Phil

Some great tips there, thanks a lot.

Quoted from dogglebe I think referring to schizophrenia to show eccentricity is a bit of an exaggeration.   Phil

I wasnt suggesting he'd use a full-blown mental disorder, but it's interesting to realise that every human being has signs of 2 to 3 personality disorders. Don't make the common mistake that someone with a mild variant of a personality disorder can be spotted acting loony from miles away, on the contrary.  

I did not refer to schizophrenia but to schizotypal disorder. Schizophrenia is an actual disease. Personality disorders are not diseases.

You could use some characterics in a (very) mild way as guideline. For instance, with the schizotypal type one sign can be "Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives". You could use this very easily in a character.

Dogglebe, the things you mention are visual characterizations, but do not help in knowing how a character feels or responds in certain situations. Those are two different (but equally important) things.

It's a cool visual to have a character with a typical hat and a spalding ball, but how does he react when he sees a car crash? Is he the type that tries to rescue victims, or maybe calls 911, or looks the other way or runs away shocked?

The hats and the balls were just little quirks hat I briefly mentioned.  I wouldn't defin a character based on these quirks.


Phil

This is a great excercise. I'm working on a drama-heavy screenplay focusing on two separate characters, a male and a female. I've only done the female's, but I liked what turned out. I only shuffled a 27-song playlist for her though, so I'll use my entire library when writing the guy.

So here's the girl--


1. Opening Credits: Nightwish - She is my Sin
A loving, but at the same time very jealous, bitter person--but those feelings are supressed still--feels like she's caught up in a nest of lies and sin that go against her own morality.


2. Waking Up: Kidneythieves - Red & Violet
She had deafened herself to hate, but that jealousy and bitterness have gotten the best of her. She is angry inside.


3. First Day At School: Within Temptation - Mother Earth
In early school days, she was rebellious and was unwilling to go against her own morals and opinions, even at the expense of her own well-being. But she was happy still, and she believed in being even with everybody, willing to lend a hand when necessary. Probably well-liked.


4. Falling In Love: Within Temptation - What have you Done
Somewhere along the way, she fell in love and entered a deep relationship at the worst possible time. Tensions rose, and little trivial matters escalated into huge problems. She grew to hate her partner once he was tired of her theatrics. The hate seems to be mutual, but at the same time, they cannot live without one another.


5. Fight Song: Apocalyptica - Hope Vol. II
She believes there is still a slight glimmer of hope for her left, even if it is shrouded in darkness. She will not give up. She will do whatever it takes to be happy.


6. Breaking Up: Kittie - What I always Wanted
She finally let go of her terrible relationship, but finds out that there is an empty, gaping hole where it used to be. She feels relieved, but empty inside. It's still a long way to happiness  

7. Prom: Fozzy - Daze of the Weak
Her hardships and all her troubles have finally paid off. It's a huge weight off her shoulders. She is back on the right track and ready to fight to the end for a great life. She is inspired. She is strong.

8. Life: Apocalyptica - Path Vol. 2
She realizes that all is not well with her. She now knows that her way of life is a dark one. She does not fear her insecurities anymore, she revels in them and uses them to her advantage.  

9. Mental Breakdown: Puscifer - The Undertaker

She has been betrayed once in the past. It will never happen again. And if it does, there'll be hell to pay.

10. Driving: Machines of Loving Grace - Golgotha Tenement Blues

She sees and smirks at the poverty and ignorance in the street as she drives. But she is indifferent to it all, She feels better than those poor bastards.

11. Flashback: Muse - Time is Running Out
She remembers her sins and her addiction to them. She feels like she's being smothered as soon as she remembers it all. She can't breathe--it's all just way too much for her. She tries to forget, but can't.


12. Getting back together: A Perfect Circle - Weak and Powerless
That past lover is back into her life and, much as she tries to, she cannot deny his proposal. She is weak. It gives her a temporary "high" at first, but things gradually go sour.  

13. Losing your virginity: Tricky - Anti-Histamine
Her first time was a disgusting one--unprotected, loveless, probably fuelled by drugs...done out of desperation. Her partner was a horrible person--a pimp, maybe. She had an illegitimate child which she was forced to get rid of.

14. Wedding: Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper
Late into her life, she has found a new partner. Someone who loves her and she loves back. He is a sweet, precious spot in a life that's been nothing but a hellish nightmare. But she is afraid of these new feelings--afraid of acceptance. But she takes it all in regardless.

15. Birth of Child: Lacuna Coil - Our Truth
She tries to forget that her first child ever existed, as he is a symbol of all that is wrong with her.

16. Final Battle: Poe - Trigger-Happy Jack
She finally confronts the one who brought her all of her pain, and does a damn good job of making her voice be heard. She won't be silenced.

17. Funeral Song: Epica - Never Enough
It describes her sorrows, desperation, and unheard pleas; but at the same time, it also expresses her everlasting desire for happiness, which she eventually got.


18. End Credits: Apocalyptica - I Don't Care
In the end, she makes it through her life in her own way. She will not be influenced by others anymore. She will not be used anymore. She doesn't care about those who bring her pain, she now cares about her own well-being.

What I've found works best for the character song shuffle is to pick 3 or 4 artists whose music and style encompass generally who you think the character is and then shuffle just them. You'll have a character that's a little more coherent. In fact, the fewer artists you use, the more single minded your character will become. If you don't know who they, pick a random mix of 3 or 4 completely different artists and see what churns out. This could even assist in plotting out your character's story if you don't fully know it.