Thoughts on Characterisation

[rnbrewer]

To expand a little further on Don's suggestion of adding "...quirky, human traits..." try taking one or more of your characters traits and pulling a 180. If your character is generally happy, see what happens if you make them overly depressing or angry. You'd be surprised how flipping character traits can change and add to the overall drama of the story.

[ScriptNurse]

Give them quirky, human traits ... http://www.scriptnurse.com/wcms/index.php?chardevelop

[uncle_al]

A suggestion I heard a while back, and think might be good, is to get some of those job application sheets at an office supply store, and fill one out for each of your characters.  It would at least give you some backstory to play with...

Al B.

[ScriptNurse]

Writing key character backstories can also be a big help.

[rnbrewer]

For me its all about being able to picture the character in their entirety in my head. I like to see the movie play out on an imaginary screen. Watch the characters move, talk, and react to things around them.

On ocassion I will do write up's of the characters. I jot down a few personality traits/flaws, but I usually reserve this method for characters that I'm having hard time visualizing. Sometimes the characters just come to me, other times they don't.

[M2 Entertainment]

Hello All,

Just curious to find out some of the different things that people do when it comes to characterisation and clearly defining the characters in their story from one another?


Best,

M2E