One of the most difficult things about writing a screenplay is creating characters with depth.

When I evaluate scripts , I notice that most people seem to have three-act structure down or some interpretation of the Hero’s Journey worked out. They have characters that have unique and specific personalities, but the characters, and the main character in particular, lack depth.

Each character should have a combination of at least 3 personality traits, and in order to add depth, at least one of them should be negative. The number 3 isn’t hard and fast. There can be 4 or 5, but you don’t want to go very much higher than that because then the character starts to become muddled and unclear.

If we’re talking about the villain, at least 1 trait should be positive.

This is important because if your hero is a shining statue of virtue with nary a flaw to be seen, the audience won’t be able to relate to him, and he’ll come across as flat and boring. On the flip side of the coin, if your villain is nothing more than a monster without any bit of humanity, the audience likewise will tune him out and he’ll lose all of the menace that you as the writer are working so hard to create.

But if your hero has some trait or quality that makes him come across as a real person with real human emotions, wants and desires just like everyone else, then the audience will connect with your villain on an emotional level, and your script will be that much better because of it.

This is something that you as the screenwriter needs to take care of before you write a word of dialogue, and character biographies are a great way to develop your characters.

They’re time consuming and a lot of work, but they’er absolutely the best way to get to know your characters, what kind of traits they’re going to have and how they’re going to react in crucial situations during the story.

The problem is that when you’re working on a script for weeks and months, it can be hard to judge your own work. As a professional script reader, I’ve read over 1000 scripts and seen excellent character development and I’ve seen terrible character development. I can also judge the story and point out ways to develop your characters to fit your story and to help your story fit your characters.