I'm hard at work on my first original feature and I was wondering if anyone has any good tips for character development?

It's an area I've always struggled in. I'd really like to improve. Any good examples of great character development?

Thanks.

~Zack~

If you Google this you'll find dozens of suggestions and links. Here is just one example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pg9UgIbheQ

So, assuming you've done that are really just asking what do we peeps do, I'll share what I do as a shortcut to get me started on a script. For each main character I get a digital photo (someone famous or someone I know and paste in on a word file for these three elements

Who do the look like?
Who do they talk like?
Who are they like

For example, let's say I have a middle age female protag that is well educated, confident but soft spoken. However, underneath, she is volatile and ruthless. I might go something like:

Who does she look like?  = SANDRA BULLOCK in the Blind Side
Who does she talk like? = ANTHONY HOPKINS  in "Meet Joe Black"
Who is she like: = MICHAEL FASSBENEDER as STEVE JOBS.

I will copy a digital image for each of the above and then start writing more details (e.g., married or single? good parent or bad one, etc.) about them in a character profile.

Boom - I got a starting framework for this person. It will of course be ever changing, but having the picture in my mind as I write really helps me to keep their voices and actions consistent in a script.  This might be a stupid idea, but it has always worked well for me to get the ball rolling.

Your main character?

Has to be someone we want to follow into a story.
That can be achieved by making the character sympathetic to us, but that's not the only way.
We see a lot of "bad" main characters now. Why would we want to journey with a bad character?
Plenty of reason!
Maybe the character makes is laugh, is witty, clever.
Maybe we see potential in the character to change.
It can help if the character is the best at what he does.
So if he's a corrupt congressman, he's a power broker, rising towards the top.
We hope he'll get to the top and we hope his humanity will triumph over his dark side before the end.

There is usually an inverse relationship between theme and character arc.
So let's say your theme is "there for the grace of God go I"
Then your character will face pressures to to become bad(or desperate) and must resist that, thus revealing the theme.

Books on the Hero's Journey can be a good starting point for thinking about those kind of things. You can find plenty of excellent free articles online too.

I have a general idea of the sort of person I imagine them to be and start writing.

I did invest in some character software when I first started writing but only used it once.

Dave's way of doing this is great!  For me, that's taking it a little too far, but it makes perfect sense.

Bottom line, picture your character however you want to and get to know where they came from, what they're like, and of course, how they act.

Quoted from Dreamscale Dave's way of doing this is great!  For me, that's taking it a little too far, but it makes perfect sense. Bottom line, picture your character however you want to and get to know where they came from, what they're like, and of course, how they act.

Thanks, Jeff - I was never the type who could sit down and do a complete one page character profile - so it does work as a shortcut - at least for me

Lots of good advice and tips. Thanks guys. :)

~Zack~

No problem - good luck

Put your characters in messed up situations and make up even further messed up reactions and you have someone people will like to follow -- if only because human beings enjoy watching someone else struggle just as they have at some other point in their life.

Some of my favorite character developments and some good examples are:

Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction
Michael Corelone in Godfather
Terry Maloy in On The Waterfront
Will in Good Will Hunting
Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver
Lester Burnham in American Beauty

Although Jules' motivation for change is defined by a single momemt, I think characters that change over time are a lot more real.
I just like the whole devine intervention and leaving the "life" angle from Tarantino

A weird thing about Jules is that he tells us what he's going to do and how he's going to change himself, we don't actually see his transformation. I mean, there is that little part at the end where he doesn't go ape-shit on Pumpkin (or was it Hunny Bunny?)

It's one of those examples where telling is acceptable rather than showing.

Quoted from BSaunders Some of my favorite character developments and some good examples are: Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction Michael Corelone in Godfather Terry Maloy in On The Waterfront Will in Good Will Hunting Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver Lester Burnham in American Beauty Although Jules' motivation for change is defined by a single momemt, I think characters that change over time are a lot more real. I just like the whole devine intervention and leaving the "life" angle from Tarantino

Solid examples

Truby's Anatomy of Story is the best book for this, in terms of traditional story telling.


Some things to consider:

1. Personality Archetypes for your character

A)One of the 12 Jungian Archetypes
B) One of the 52 character archetypes
C) One of the Dramatica theory archetypes
D)Enneagram Personality types
E) "Complex" character..they are mixed.

Some gurus will push writers towards complex characters...but often an archetype works very well, and is often more loved by the audience. Consider surrounding archetypes with more complex characters to add depth, if you choose an archetype for your main character.

2. Age, sex, location, human/non human, corporeal/non corporeal, clothing etc
Decide on their physical characteristics. Remember to allow yourself to go to ridiculous extremes to find new ideas. A romantic comedy is very different if, instead of the 25 year old male lead, the protagonist is a 15 billion year old woman. That slight change may take the most humdrum, hackneyed idea and make it gold.

3. Define their needs/role in the story.

Hero/Protag needs a Physical goal (what he's doing in the story) A psychological goal (what's going on in his head...the heart of his conflict) and a Moral Goal.


Using Jules in Pulp Fiction

Physical Goal to get briefcase back...or whatever he was doing...been a while since I saw it.
Psychological goal...to understand what happened to him during the shooting scene where he appeared to survive through divine intervention.

Note how this psychological need drives the story...it's why he has that whole dialogue with  the Tim Roth character and lets him live. He's working out what it means, and what it means for his life.

Moral Need: To be a better person. He decides to end his life of crime and become a Pilgrim, a Man of God.

In terms of the story, this results in his life being spared, or at least, surviving...he isn't there when Vincent goes back to Bruce Willis's apartment. Vincent, who put the incident down to random chance and failed to act upon it, is killed...perhaps even by the random chance of being there at the same time, and the fact Bruce's girlfriend left the watch behind.


If you look at that example, you will see how character is perfectly blended with plot and theme...they all reflect and build upon each other to create the perfect whole.The needs of the character on all three levels drive the plot, and illuminate meaning.

4. Dialogue..related to the last point, but dialogue and action reveals the psychological conflict taking place in the characters head.

5. Character web: The characters all play off against each other. You need different characters, different archetypes representing different ideas in the story, or it will feel incomplete. I haven't the time to fully go into this, but Truby and Dramatica are the best for this.

To give a simple example: Your antagonist will either be the SAME as the protagonist but taken to extremes, or the exact opposite.  

All your characters need to hold together as a whole.

All your characters in your story will want the same thing, they just try to get there in different ways. Whoever wins, you will be showing had the "right" idea...this will become your theme. If they don't, the film will feel broken and pointless.  In Star Wars, for example, they all want to control the future. Some use religion, some use technology, diplomacy, etc but all are trying to get control of the future.


Good luck. Rick