I’ve been working with a client on a script for the past couple of months, and a familiar problem reared its ugly head. The script had a compelling premise, the storyline was well structured with steadily rising tension throughout the second and third acts. For the most part, the characters were engaging and likeable with distinct personalities and believable character traits. The main issue was with the main character. For the most part, the main character was solid. She had solid motivation, believable responses to that motivation and good interaction with the other characters.
But the writer missed the best opportunity to humanize the main character.
How do you “humanize” a character? Usually moments that humanize characters are small moments in the script. They seem unimportant to the overall arc of the story, but they’re usually the most instructive moments in explaining what type of person your main character is. I had suggested in a previous draft to the writer that the main character should show some interest in another character of the opposite sex, and the writer decided to go the opposite way. It’s her script, so it’s her choice, but I pointed out to her that now the main character comes across as cold and unapproachable. The concern is that the main character is confronted with a difficult moral choice in the script in which she may have to ultimately betray someone that is important to her, even though it’s the right thing to do. In fact, it’s her duty to do so.
That being said, since duty is so important to this character and it leads to her betraying an important person, it’s crucial that the audience get behind her. A way to do that is to humanize her. Give her an opportunity to express human traits and qualities, like showing an attraction to the opposite sex. It doesn’t have to be that, though. You can have your character show compassion when it isn’t necessarily called for, like Al Pacino’s erstwhile detective in Sea of Love. Give your character a sense of humor and wit like Tony Stark. Give your character something to lose that the audience can relate to. This will make the audience sympathize with your character so that when she’s forced to make that crucial decision, the audience won’t abandon he.
Blake Snyder in his book Save the Cat explains the importance of a likable main character to which your audience can relate. In a word, it’s everything. Your main character is the conduit through which the audience experiences your script. If your main character lacks human appeal or the audience can’t relate to him or her, then your facing an uphill battle in creating a good script.
That’s not to say that you need to create flawless characters.
In fact, I’m saying just the opposite. Think Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting. He was a very gifted and very flawed character that you still rooted for and related to because he had a very reel need for companionship while at the same time having a fear of it as well. That duality made him a likeable and relateable character.
What are we talking about here? We’re talking about depth. Real people have depth to their personalities and so should your characters, and your main character needs it most of all. This is difficult because quite often, the tendency is to try and make your main character so likeable that you make them flat and uninteresting. A while back I wrote a blog entitled. Love Your Hero Enough to Make Her Flawed, and this is the same type of argument. You’re ultimately trying to write about people that you want your audience to believe are real. The only way to do that is to give them depth. The only way to do that is to give them flaws and to humanize them.
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Nope. But thanks for asking. All my charcaters are so rounded and have unbelievably real human qualities that even my best friends cannot tell which charcaters are real and which are fiction. It is only the situations which, even when written as fiction, people find hard to believe. e.g. When Axel waves a condom at Laura whilst she is driving along the autoroute, in ALL EXPENSES PAID, one reviewer said…that wouldn’t happen. Well, hello, welcome to my world 😉
Btw: did you mean…previous draft To the writer…?
Thanks for the excellent insights into characterization. I’d like to add an observation after reading through all three ‘Hunger Games’ books, in which I felt that Katniss, the main character, was not very likeable (and she knew it–she often made reference to this). However, because the stories were told in first person I did end up identifying with her, since I was given more depth and insight into what made her tick, and how her insecurities, her fears and her experiences had shaped her, and was able to like her in spite of herself. Although she appeared unlikeable, the depth and humanizing of her character ultimately did let me identify with her and get behind her.
“Save the Cat” – a must read for all newbie screenwriters. For professional and experienced screenwriters it’s an entertaining book. It’s at the top of my required reading list that I hand out at writing workshops or lectures. The rest of the books are pretty dry and academic. “Save the Cat” inspires the story telling process.
Sometimes when a section of my script droops, it’s usually the character sleepwalking through scenes. I have to put the person/animal/thing back inside my head and interview him/her/it. The character tells me what’s wrong. It’s either plot, motivation, a relationship with another character, or the dialogue. These scenes are usually written when I’m “sprinting,” trying to meet a deadline or get a decent page count before I shut down the computer.
An acting coach told me that one should never act but react. I think that’s true for writing dynamic characters, too. However, like Brian is saying, the character has to have enough depth to make their reaction interesting, thought provoking or entertaining. What say you?