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Why is character development important in a film?
Character development affects everything from a character’s name and physical attributes to their backstory and character bio. Whether you are writing short stories or a Hollywood thriller, developing believable characters is just as important as creating a compelling storyline.
How does character development affect a story?
Character development is the process an author undergoes to build multi-dimensional characters with personality, backstory, goals, and strengths and weaknesses. Generally, it also includes a clear character arc where the protagonist will change throughout the story’s journey.
Does a movie need character development?
Character development is always important to a good story, and it’s something of a ‘catch-all’ phrase. It both means how well a character is fleshed out to start, in terms of back-story, but also how well the story illustrates how the character changes.
What is the importance of character development?
A good character helps you develop a winning personality. In other words, a good character is the backbone of a magnetic personality which attracts other people. One needs to be honest at work. You need to develop a sense of loyalty and attachment towards your organization.
How important is characterization in a story?
Characterization is an essential part of writing a novel or short story; it helps you understand your characters, and how each character’s personality and perspectives can help drive the plot forward.
What makes a great movie character?
Distinction, empathy, and impetus are the psychological cornerstones in crafting a compelling character with emotional resonance. So as you begin to develop your character, always remember: Distinction draws the audience in. Empathy makes the audience relate.
What does the character development mean?
Character development is the process of creating fictional characters with the same depth and complexity as real-life human beings. Character development is the process of creating fictional characters with the same depth and complexity as real-life human beings.
What is character development in a story?
In literature, character development is the craft of giving a character a personality, depth, and motivations that propel them through a story. Character development is also defined as how a character evolves throughout the course of a story. Believable characters are unique and three-dimensional.
How do you understand character development?
- Think of your characters as real, live human beings. …
- Create a character background sheet. …
- Make your characters vulnerable, three-dimensional, and interesting. …
- Give your characters clear-cut, simple goals. …
- Make your characters sound like real people, not like characters.
What is film character making?
A character tells the story through his or her experiences in the film, which is directly proportional to the viewer’s experience hence making it a crucial part in a scriptwriter’s journey to developing the script.
What steps should an actor follow when developing a character from a script?
- Step One: Cross out any stage directions. …
- Step Two: Mark any significant changes/shifts in tone or character development. …
- Step Three: Mark significant words. …
- Step Four: Understand the words. …
- Step Five: Ask questions.
How do you analyze a character in a film?
- Describe the Character’s Personality.
- Determine the Character Type of Your Protagonist.
- Define Your Character’s Role in the Work You’re Analyzing.
Why is character development important in creative writing?
Character development is a vital part of creative writing. A story with a great plot can fall through with flat characters; conversely, a mediocre plot can be brought to life with vibrant, unique, and well-thought-out characters.
What movie has the best character development?
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991) R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller. …
- Forrest Gump (1994) PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance. …
- Iron Man (2008) PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi. …
- Princess Mononoke (1997) …
- Up (2009) …
- Willard (2003) …
- The Incredibles (2004) …
- All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
What is character development literature?
In literature, character development is the craft of giving a character a personality, depth, and motivations that propel them through a story. Character development is also defined as how a character evolves throughout the course of a story.
Is the leading character in film and drama and the plot interacts with the character for their development?
In film today, the protagonist is the character who drives the plot, pursues the main goal of the story, and usually changes or grows over the course of the film. A protagonist enters the film with a goal and by the end of the film, they either achieved that goal or did not.
Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies?
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- Summary of article content: Articles about Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies? Character development is something writers think about a lot, but it’s surprising how the best movies keep it so understated. …
- Most searched keywords: Whether you are looking for Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies? Character development is something writers think about a lot, but it’s surprising how the best movies keep it so understated. Character development is something writers think about a lot, but it’s surprising how the best movies keep it so understated. In this post using some of the best plot examples, we’ll show you how you can write great characters by focusing on raising the stakes, and keeping your plot in mind.
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Are Our Characters Over-Developed
Character Development in Raiders of The Lost Ark and Star Wars
When Characters Are Too Developed
Character Development versus Plot Stakes Isn’t A Battle Between Art and Business
Raising the Stakes and Character Development Through Metaphor
Up Next Writing More Plot and Less Character
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Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies?
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- Most searched keywords: Whether you are looking for Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies? Updating Character development is something writers think about a lot, but it’s surprising how the best movies keep it so understated. In this post using some of the best plot examples, we’ll show you how you can write great characters by focusing on raising the stakes, and keeping your plot in mind.
- Table of Contents:
Listen
Are Our Characters Over-Developed
Character Development in Raiders of The Lost Ark and Star Wars
When Characters Are Too Developed
Character Development versus Plot Stakes Isn’t A Battle Between Art and Business
Raising the Stakes and Character Development Through Metaphor
Up Next Writing More Plot and Less Character
Read More
More inScreenwriting
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Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies?
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- Most searched keywords: Whether you are looking for Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies? Updating Character development is something writers think about a lot, but it’s surprising how the best movies keep it so understated. In this post using some of the best plot examples, we’ll show you how you can write great characters by focusing on raising the stakes, and keeping your plot in mind.
- Table of Contents:
Listen
Are Our Characters Over-Developed
Character Development in Raiders of The Lost Ark and Star Wars
When Characters Are Too Developed
Character Development versus Plot Stakes Isn’t A Battle Between Art and Business
Raising the Stakes and Character Development Through Metaphor
Up Next Writing More Plot and Less Character
Read More
More inScreenwriting
The DSLR Cinematography Guide
No Film School
Sections
Follow NFS
What Is Character Development In Literature And Film: A Complete Guide • Filmmaking Lifestyle
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- Summary of article content: Articles about What Is Character Development In Literature And Film: A Complete Guide • Filmmaking Lifestyle Character development in literature and film is accomplished in several ways. First, you have to be familiar with what your character has been through, … …
- Most searched keywords: Whether you are looking for What Is Character Development In Literature And Film: A Complete Guide • Filmmaking Lifestyle Character development in literature and film is accomplished in several ways. First, you have to be familiar with what your character has been through, … Character development, sometimes called character design but commonly referred to as character creation. Here’s our guide.
- Table of Contents:
character development
What Is Character Development
Character Development Write Stronger Characters
What Is A Character-Driven Film
What Is A Character-Driven Novel
What Is A Well Developed Character
What Is A Character Arc
How To Create A Character Arc
What’s A Flat Character
Character Development Questions To Ask When Writing A Screenplay
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- Summary of article content: Articles about Error 403 (Forbidden) Character growth isn’t an arbitrary rule. It’s something that is fundamental to storytelling. Yes, you can find stories where the character doesn’t change, … …
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- Summary of article content: Articles about Attention Required! | Cloudflare Character development affects everything from a character’s name and physical attributes to their backstory and character bio. Whether you are … …
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4. How Are the Characters Portrayed? – Exploring Movie Construction and Production
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- Summary of article content: Articles about 4. How Are the Characters Portrayed? – Exploring Movie Construction and Production In order for the movie to express this development, the character has to show … The size of his nose affects his actions in life such as his love toward … …
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Character Physiology
Character Psychology
Character Sociology
Analysis of the Three-Dimensional Characters
Visually Demonstrating the Three-Dimensional Character
The Three-Dimensional Character Demonstrated Through Sound
Further Character Dissection
Summary of Character Portrayal
Further Viewing
License
4. How Are the Characters Portrayed? – Exploring Movie Construction and Production
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- Summary of article content: Articles about 4. How Are the Characters Portrayed? – Exploring Movie Construction and Production What movie has the best character development? Best Character Development Movies The Silence of the Lambs (1991) R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller. … Forrest … …
- Most searched keywords: Whether you are looking for 4. How Are the Characters Portrayed? – Exploring Movie Construction and Production What movie has the best character development? Best Character Development Movies The Silence of the Lambs (1991) R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller. … Forrest …
- Table of Contents:
Character Physiology
Character Psychology
Character Sociology
Analysis of the Three-Dimensional Characters
Visually Demonstrating the Three-Dimensional Character
The Three-Dimensional Character Demonstrated Through Sound
Further Character Dissection
Summary of Character Portrayal
Further Viewing
License
The 10 Critical Steps of Good Character Development – Industrial Scripts®
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- Table of Contents:
First off What is Character Development
The 10 Steps of Good Character Development
1 Recognize that Characters are Not ‘Real’ Human Beings
2 Purpose + Inner Conflict in Character Development
3 Archetype vs Stereotype in Character Development
4 Flat Character vs Three-Dimensional Character
5 In Character Development Complement or Contrast Other Characters
6 Character Arcs
7 Diversity As a Part of Character Development
8 Physical Profile + Social Background
9 Character Introductions
10 Dialogue As a Part of Character Development
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Character Development: How to Create a Character For a Film – Postpace Blog
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- Summary of article content: Articles about Character Development: How to Create a Character For a Film – Postpace Blog creating and developing a character for your story and movie is the … in the world has got its own traits so do the characters in films. …
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- Table of Contents:
Creating the Character’s Description List
Root and Background
The Mental Condition
Emotional Depth and Goals
Internal and External Conflicts and Development
Dynamic or Static
The Foundation of Growth
Conclusion
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Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies?
How do the best movies balance character development and plot stakes?
We’ve written about how to write internal and external conflict before, and how the two things weave together, but more and more screenwriters are following the same playbook and it can easily become stale, and worse than that fail to get your script to stand out from the pack.
What does it mean when people talk about “show don’t tell” as one of the most important story maxims?
Movies are an art form, and they’re constantly evolving, today we’re going to look at how the idea of character development has started to obscure something that can plenty effective on its own; stakes.
If you fixate on developing characters, and not on how they develop, or why, then you could end up “telling” far more than you show. Your script will be “on the nose” as they say, rather than having tense scenes that draw the audience forward in the story.
Remember the best character development is one we discover because we can’t look away from a compelling plot.
So how do you do that?
Are Our Characters Over-Developed?
Sometimes it feels like screenwriters have been skipping leg day at the gym, and just going big on their biceps. The results are a little imbalanced looking, metaphorically speaking.
Character development is always important to a good story, and it’s something of a ‘catch-all’ phrase. It both means how well a character is fleshed out to start, in terms of back-story, but also how well the story illustrates how the character changes.
Change is the core value of any story, dating back to our earliest mythology. But not every story needs to show how a character grows and changes in great detail, because sometimes a story is more about how the world changes, or how events change.
Let’s get out of theory and into practice though. We’ll hop into a few different prime examples of great movies over the years and start talking about what is happening character development wise, stakes wise, and why.
Character Development in Raiders of The Lost Ark and Star Wars
Why not start with some big, beloved, and blockbusting George Lucas stories?
Raiders of the Lost Ark is, from a screenplay standpoint, has a pretty solid foundation. The protagonist of the movie is Indiana Jones, he’s an adventurer/archeology professor. He’s recruited to help find the Ark of the covenant before Hitler and the Nazi’s do.
This is some real straightforward high stakes stuff. If he fails, evil can win. That core value pushes the story forward more than anything else about Indy personally.
In terms of backstory, we don’t know much about this character. We learn a few things as we go, for example, that he had an affair with his mentor’s daughter Marian Ravenwood. We know that he has some old friends around like Salah. We know that he doesn’t really believe in the “mumbo jumbo” of the Ark legend. We know that Belloq is something of a rival who’s beat him at the treasure hunt game before.
All of those breadcrumbs probably amount to less than 3 minutes of screentime. If you blink, you might miss them all.
What about how Indy’s character develops through the story?
A few things could be pointed two as to how Indy changes. In one pivotal moment, he chooses not to blow up the Ark, he later becomes a believer in the magic “mumbo jumbo” of it. He seems to learn to recognize the value of Marian and their relationship as well.
These aren’t the reasons the movie is compelling. These aren’t even the reasons Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic and beloved cinematic icons of all time.
What is really the engine that drives Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Stakes.
The pressure is essentially on, and we are on the ride, from the moment the Paramount logo fades into a mountain. The movie’s plot continually raises the stakes. Indy goes from the frying pan into the fire over and over again, until the movie ends. It’s a thrill.
Does Indy change along the way?
Kind of. But it doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that Indy finds a way, and the Nazi’s don’t take over the world. Phew.
Mistaking character development for why the movie works would be like thinking that by wearing a fedora you are as cool as Indiana Jones. Which is to say, people seem to do this but boy is it a bad look.
Star Wars leans a little bit more on character development. Luke Skywalker has some serious back story, so does the whole galaxy, and he learns to let go of technology and trust in the force to save… everything.
Han Solo has a character arc of his own. From non-believing loner to a man who comes back to help his friend, and wishes him well with the force to boot. Hey does Harrison Ford have to have the same arc in every movie?
Once again, writers should consider the ratio of screentime devoted to this character development and backstory. How many minutes of Star Wars is about Luke and Han changing, or wrestling with how they must change? Not much certainly when compared to how much screentime is spent showing them running from Stormtroopers.
Most fans will point to Empire Strikes Back as being the ‘better’ script and story in the Star Wars franchise. Who’s character develops in that one? At least on an internal level the onyl character who undergoes any major change is Leia, who learns to express her love for Han.
Think about it. There isn’t much that happens in either Luke or Han’s action-packed storylines that is about character development. They are just going from one high stakes situation to another higher stakes one.
It’s a good movie, about good characters. But the kids of on the nose character development you see more and more today isn’t a focal point.
When Characters Are Too Developed
There can be such a thing as too much of a good thing. Character development can be over-developed. We want a little bit in the right places but think of it like salt.
Without a little salt a lot of food would be flavorless, but if you put in too much then that’s all you can taste.
If you saw LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part this weekend, you saw a movie about a LEGO mini-figure with more personal angst and on-screen development time than Luke Skywalker.
That just seems… off.
There is plenty to like about devoting the time to give Emmet Brickowski of LEGO movie franchise fame this kind of character development. But in a movie of that nature, aimed mostly at kids, isn’t raising the stakes enough?
It’s good to keep things simple. Emmet is battling with the way his LEGO world has changed. He’s battling with alien forces who kidnap his friends. He’s fighting visions he’s had of the apocalypse. He’s battling how his best friend wants him to grow up and change. He’s also dealing with his admiration and jealousy over a new character who is a lot like him, only cooler.
That’s a lot to lay at anyone’s feet!
That’s certainly a lot for a screenplay to try and work out, let alone one aimed at kids. And this is all to say nothing of the B-Plot about the actual kids playing with the Lego’s in the first place and their conflict/inner conflict and on it goes.
There is nothing wrong with reaching for big ideas, and it would be great if every movie regardless of genre was willing to go for it.
Character Development versus Plot Stakes Isn’t A Battle Between Art and Business
It might be easy to disregard some of this as being that blockbusters and high-octane movies don’t focus on something arty and psychological like character development, but that would be a mistake.
How much screentime does the Godfather devote to setting up Michael Corleone’s psychology? We get that he’s separating himself from his family.
But from there we witness events that turn Michael into his family. Literally. The biggest scene in terms of Michael’s development is this one:
He remains mostly silent. The scene is driven by tension. What is at stake here is the murder Michael must commit. What will happen if it goes wrong, or goes right? How it will affect everyone else in the story. Michael’s character develops in the Godfather but it does so through actions, and through the plot.
Massive emotional shifts for the character take place in singular actions. If you set up one simple action properly, it can do all the character developing for you.
These moments of external stakes and actions can take on significant meaning if you craft them properly.
Because actions not only speak louder than words, but the right metaphorical actions and characters can speak volumes.
Raising the Stakes and Character Development Through Metaphor
What if instead of trying to roll big character development ideas into big external plot stakes, we let the stakes do more of the work on their own… as metaphor.
Metaphor can be a complicated device, but try this one out for size.
Die Hard is perhaps one of the most celebrated action(Christmas) movies of all time, and screenwriters and development executives love how the movie incorporates character development snugly into its high stakes terrorist situation plot.
The story is set up so well: rough n’ tumble NYC cop John McClane is coming to Los Angeles to try and win back his wife, now Holly Genero, from her high powered job atop a skyscraper. He’s old school; she’s a modern woman. By the end, the family unit is restored when he rescues her and the rest of the office after taking on the entire terrorist organization barefoot.
But all that stuff about Holly Genero-McClane isn’t really why the movie works. It’s not. The movie works because it’s 85% John McClane being a badass against all odds.
What happens when you execute a good external conflict and keep raising the plot stakes, is that the audience starts to see your plot as a metaphor.
The screenwriters didn’t write every scene about how John McClane is winning back his wife his way in a manner that was clumsy and on the nose. Instead, they worked in moments and scenes that embody the spirit of this theme, even if they aren’t addressing it literally.
Take the character of Harry Ellis, for example.
Harry Ellis represents something. How people handle problems in Holly’s new world. He represents maybe a different kind of masculinity than John’s. One that ‘negotiates’ and makes deals rather than just swoops in and saves the day with action.
However you want to interpret it, Harry Ellis is in the script, and the plot, for valuable character development reasons. He’s not there so John can talk to him about where he came from, or how he wants to address this problem. He’s there, first and foremost, to raise the stakes.
He poses a threat to John in the first scene, as the new kind of man in Holly’s life. He becomes a piece in the chess game between John and Hans later. He becomes another death (spoiler alert) later in the story, suggesting that hostages will continue to die.
But all the while he’s a metaphor for what John is defeating, and what Holly is missing.
That’s character development in plot, as metaphor. But it’s surprisingly uncomplicated and elegant.
Up Next: Writing More Plot and Less Character
You’ve heard it before, “character is plot’ or you’ve heard some version of that cliche.
What it really means to each writer is different. The truth is the best character development will always be what happens to the characters, which is plot. It’s not what they think about, or why they do things. It’s what happens to them, and how they behave.
If you want to take your plot to the next level then learn how to write the best plot twists. That’s one way to move the story forward by raising the stakes and avoiding familiar plot devices.
What do you think? Do you think characters tend to be over-developed?
Character Development 101: Writing Characters Readers Won’t Forget
Character development is the process an author undergoes to build multi-dimensional characters with personality, backstory, goals, and strengths and weaknesses. Generally, it also includes a clear character arc where the protagonist will change throughout the story’s journey. Good character development should explain a character’s decision in any given situation.
So why is character development important, you might be wondering? For any novel to truly connect with readers, the author needs to pay close attention to character development. Even if you’re writing an action-packed, plot-driven book where the characters are robots, it’s the human element that will resonate with readers.
Say you’re choosing between two books for your next read. The first recounts a voyage to a newly discovered planet. The second stars a lifelong space traveler on a journey to a faraway world. He was born on the ship and he’ll die there, never setting foot on Earth and never reaching the planet for which he’s charted his course. Once the ship lands, it’ll be his children who get to alight on that new ground — not him.
These two books share the basic concept of space travel, which might intrigue you from the get-go. But in the second one, you catch a glimpse of a protagonist juggling an intriguing set of practical and psychological issues: someone whose personal journey will grab you. If his character development is handled with subtlety and depth, he could elevate the book from a basic sci-fi release to a genre classic.
This article will show you how to develop a character who will linger in your readers’ minds long after they turn the last page. To write such a character, you’ll need to:
Justify the character’s reason for existence by establishing the character’s story goal and motivation Make sure the character has both strengths and flaws Give the character an external and internal conflict Decide whether the character is static or dynamic Give the character a backstory Develop the character’s external characteristics to make them distinguishable Make the character stand out with distinctive mannerisms Do your research to make the character believable Steer clear the biggest character development mistake
Every step helps you build a character’s depth, from the inside out. By the end of this process, you should emerge with a fully realized, multidimensional character. Don’t worry — we’ll take you through each stage in this post in order to get you there.
Let’s start with internal character development. You can think of internal character development as a concentric circle, radiating outward from your character’s fundamental goals and motivations. All the other characterization choices you make, from their backstory to how much they change over time, will flow from these two core elements.
1. Establish the character’s story goals and motivations
Your character’s current goal is why the story exists — and why it’s worth telling. It’s what your character wants from the book’s plot, and what will propel their inner journey. Without it, the overall narrative arc would fall totally flat.
Let’s look at a few character goal examples:
Harry Potter’s goal is to defeat Lord Voldemort
Bilbo’s goal is to help the dwarves reclaim the kingdom of Erebor
Hamlet’s goal is to avenge his murdered father
Harry vs. Voldemort (image: Warner Bros)
Then, there are the motivations for your character’s goal, the ‘in order to’ that gives it meaning. What internal and external influences drive their desires? There can, of course, but more than one. For instance:
Harry Potter’s goal is to defeat Voldemort… in order to ensure the safety of wizarding world — and to find closure from the murder of his parents.
Bilbo’s goal is to help the dwarves reclaim the kingdom of Erebor… in order to bring some adventure to his life of creature comforts — and to impart his sense of home and belonging to those without a home.
Hamlet’s goal is to avenge his murdered father… in order to prove he’s not imagining the ghost who haunts him — and to demonstrate that he’s capable of acting decisively.
If you’re struggling to nail down your character’s goal, try asking, “What would make the character feel happy or satisfied with their life?” This is their motivation. Next, ask yourself, “What could they do to obtain that happiness?” This is their goal.
If you’re struggling to get to the crux of your character’s motivations, try playing the “why” game. This will help you develop a multilayered chain of motivations:
If your character’s goal is to connect with their long-lost sibling, their motivation might be because they are an only child who always longed for a brother or sister. Why? Because they felt lonely as a child. Why? Because their parents moved around a lot and they had trouble keeping friends? Why? Because they eventually got tired of getting close to people, only to say goodbye.
By playing this game to its logical conclusion, we’ve learned that the character wants to meet their long-lost sibling [goal] because they feel it will establish a bond stronger than geography [motivation].
Develop characters by establishing goals and motivations. Ask yourself: What is their goal?
What are their specific motivations?
What are they willing to risk to achieve their goal?
What would happen if they simply can’t achieve their goal?
2. Give the character an external and internal conflict
Your character only becomes interesting when you put a few obstacles between them and their goal. If Frodo walked on up to Mount Doom, dropped the ring in the lava, and made it back in time for second breakfast, it wouldn’t make for a very compelling story or a very memorable protagonist. It’s the obstacles — the army of orcs commanded by Sauron and the power the ring has over Frodo, to name a couple — that create conflict and tension in the story. And that’s what makes it worth reading.
The struggle is real for Frodo (image: New Line Cinema)
You’ll notice in the example above that we mention two conflicts. One is Frodo vs. Sauron (character vs. character), and the second is Frodo vs. himself — his struggle to not lose himself to the ring. All characters should undergo an internal conflict that makes them question themselves and mirrors the external conflict they’re facing. Even static characters who do not significantly alter over the course of the novel will face an internal conflict — you can find Sherlock vs. self, for example, in his fraught attempts to communicate with people.
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Reedsy identifies six primary types of conflict in fiction. While you are developing your character, you should decide which one(s) will make for the most worthy adversaries. The six types are Character versus…
Character. For example, Othello vs. Iago.
Society. For example, Winston Smith vs. Big Brother in 1984.
Nature. For example, Robert Neville vs. the virus in I Am Legend.
Technology. Victor Frankenstein vs. Frankenstein’s monster.
Supernatural. Jack Torrance vs. The Overlook in The Shining.
Self. Every compelling protagonist faces some conflict of the self, but a few examples include Jason Bourne vs. his own past, Harry Goldfarb vs. addiction in Requiem for a Dream, and Bridget Jones vs. self-doubt.
Develop characters through conflict. Ask yourself: What internal conflict will your protagonist face?
Will they also face an external conflict? How will the internal and external mirror each other?
How will the conflict(s) affect the characters’ pursuit of their goals?
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3. Make sure the character has strengths and flaws
All the intrigue in your story will flow from how your character responds to their external and internal conflicts. In facing these challenges, your character will need both strengths to draw upon and flaws that threaten to drag them down.
The iconic characters we know and love tend to have a nuanced mix of positive and negative traits. Harry Potter, for instance, is brave and loyal. But he’s also stubborn and reckless, flaws that have put himself — and his friends — in danger. Frodo, meanwhile, is selfless enough to take on a thankless and dangerous mission. But he’s also highly dependent on the protection of his allies, and very vulnerable to the ring’s seductive pull.
To give your adoring fans something to root for, your character should be plausibly able to overcome the challenges the plot throws at them, destroying the ring or saving the wizarding world. At the same time, you need to keep your readers on the edge of their seats. That’s why there should be a real risk that your character will fail — fall prey to the ring’s power at the very edge of Mt. Doom, or die in a burst of green light from the Dark Lord’s wand.
Writing a character with both strengths and flaws will help you maintain the tension in your plotting, but that’s not all it does— it’s also crucial to making your readers feel for the people at the heart of your story.
Your character’s strengths — whether that’s their sparkling wit, their skill at wind magic, or their unwavering moral center — will get readers to root for them, admire them, maybe even swoon over them. But don’t forget your character’s flaws: say, their recklessness, their greedy streak, the insecurity that makes them lash out at their more accomplished sibling. These very human weaknesses will make them relatable.
Not sure which flaws to give your characters? Check out this list of 70 fascinating character flaws to hit upon the perfect combination!
4. Decide whether the character is static or dynamic
There’s a myth that characters have to fundamentally change over the course of a story — in other words, be dynamic — in order to be considered well-written. But the truth is, there are a host of great characters who emerge from a long internal journey without changing very much at all. These are static characters, and they’re an absolutely valid part of your character development repertoire.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the idea of static characters versus dynamic characters.
Characters who don’t change because that’s just who they are
Captain America, Captain Nemo, and Sherlock Holmes are a few examples of characters who do not significantly alter over the course of the novel. In the case of Sherlock, it is his unchanging nature that makes him a compelling character. Unlike many of us, he does not feel the need to adapt to his surroundings. For Sherlock, that’s both a strength and a flaw: he is always true to himself, but he often fails to learn from his experiences. This is a “traditional” static character.
Characters who undergo substantial change
A dynamic character is altered by the conflict(s) that they face. This might be a subconscious change, such as Jack adapting to the island in Lord of the Flies by becoming as wild, unconstrained, and “savage” as the nature around him. Or the change might be more of a conscious decision, such as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy overcoming their obstinate pride and prejudice for the sake of love. This is a “traditional” dynamic character.
Characters who don’t change in order to effect change in the world around them
Writers often rely on complex, fast-paced plots with lots of external conflict in order to compensate for static protagonists. The world around them may try to shift these protagonists from their core principles, but they will rebel in order to try and alter their circumstances. This kind of character is both a little bit static and a little bit dynamic: even though they might not change much themselves, they’re the cause of major change. A great example of this kind of protagonist is Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. You can read about all about her unique characterization in our post on dynamic characters.
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy change for love (image: BBC)
Reinforcing your protagonist through secondary characters
Often times, authors write static secondary characters to act as pillars around which a dynamic character can develop. Think of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird: he changes little throughout the course of the novel. But it is his steadfast belief in justice that allows Scout to evolve from an innocent child into a girl with a strong sense of right and wrong.
You might want to consider writing a foil character: a character who contrasts with the protagonist in order to highlight particular qualities of the main character. For instance, Harry Potter’s foil is Draco Malfoy: privileged where Harry is scrappy, self-interested where Harry is recklessly selfless.
Develop characters by determining the shape of their arc. Ask yourself: How much will they change?
What inspires their change?
Do they change for the better?
Do they change for the worse?
Do they change the world and/or people around them?
5. Give the character a past
Just as your history has contributed to the person you are today, your character’s history has made them into the person we see on the page. You should develop your character’s past as much as possible, but it’s especially important to create and zero in on memories that inform exactly what we see in the story.
Develop characters through their history. Ask yourself: What moments from their past have played a pivotal role in who they are now?
Do they have any suppressed memories?
What are some of their happiest memories?
6. Develop the character’s physical characteristics
Yes, the internal goals and motivations are the “heart” of a character. But that doesn’t mean that their external characteristics should just be an afterthought. Sure, the fact that your protagonist has blonde hair may not impact the plot. But it may color how other characters respond to them. And it can only benefit you, as the author, to have a detailed image of them in your mind as you write your story.
Early in your character development, put a bit of time into sketching out your protagonist’s physical features, including their…
Appearance: What do they look like? Does their appearance play a role in the story?
What do they look like? Does their appearance play a role in the story? Voice: What do they sound like? Do they speak with an accent, or an unusual cadence? Does their voice appear to “match” their appearance?
To help give yourself a more holistic image of your character, check out our ready-made character profile template. It will prompt you to define external elements like posture and distinguishing features, in addition to internal elements like their relationship with their mother and how they want to be remembered after they die.
If you prefer to keep your character notes organized online, you can check out the character builder tool over at One Stop for Writers. It’s a super-thorough guide to character creation that prompts you to fill out their backstory, personality, and other details that contribute to their overall character arc. (You’ll need a subscription to access the tool, but trust us that it’s worth it.)
Want to see how the greats build their characters’ dialogue? Check out 15 passages of great dialogue, analyzed.
7. Make the character stand out with distinctive mannerisms
Figuring out your character’s external traits doesn’t stop at deciding on an eye color and a voice type. To make your brown-eyed alto stand out from all the other brown-eyed altos in the literary canon, you’ll want to round out that physical profile with some distinctive mannerisms. After all, a character’s physicality takes so much more than describing their body in isolation. It’s about how they move through space — and about how they interact with everything around them, from objects to other characters.
You’ll want to reflect on how your character responds to the world around them, including their….
Communication style: How do they interact with others, and how does that shape their relationships? Does their speech have any idiosyncracies or quirks?
How do they interact with others, and how does that shape their relationships? Does their speech have any idiosyncracies or quirks? Gait: How do they make their way around their environment, and how does this impact how they’re treated? Do crowds unconsciously gather to watch their fluid, graceful strides, or do others give them a wide berth because their heavy tread is intimidating?
How do they make their way around their environment, and how does this impact how they’re treated? Do crowds unconsciously gather to watch their fluid, graceful strides, or do others give them a wide berth because their heavy tread is intimidating? Tics: What do they do when they’re nervous, uncertain of how to proceed, or about to collapse from exhaustion?
Some character mannerisms will be situationally dependent, coming out only when they’re acting under the compulsion of some strong emotion. Harry Potter, for example, understandably rubs his forehead when his scar hurts. Similarly, Nynaeve from the Wheel of Time series tends to tug on her braid when she’s agitated, and James Bond villain Le Chiffre, from Casino Royale, puts his finger to his temple when he lies or bluffs.
Le Chiffre is bluffing (image: Eon Productions)
Other mannerisms, however, are part of a character’s default state — as essential to our view of them as their coloring. Just think of Draco Malfoy’s permanent sneer: it’s as much a part of him as his pale blond hair.
To make your character truly memorable, you’ll want to consider adding both these types of mannerisms to their behavioral repertoire. Anger shouldn’t look the same on everyone: someone might flare up like an inferno, going red in the face, while others turn icily polite, smiling insincerely.
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8. Do your research to make the character believable
When it comes to character development, empathy and imagination will take you far. After all, you can’t expect your readers to get into your protagonist’s head if you’re not able to think your way there.
But say you want to craft characters so lifelike they seem more flesh than sentence, capable of walking right out of the pages and moving around without the puppet-strings of your plot tugging on their limbs. Then you’ll want to go beyond the limits of your mind — and do some character research.
Character research comes into play when you’re writing about an aspect of your character that you don’t know much about off the top of your head. For instance, say you’re writing a British character when you’ve never set foot outside of Florida. You’ll want to do a bit of research when you’re scripting his dialogue.
You absolutely don’t want to pepper your British character’s speech with American regionalisms. But you also don’t want to him sound like the wrong sort of Brit — he shouldn’t talk like a posh Oxonian if he’s supposed to be a working class guy from Croydon. Your character’s dialogue has to fit the background you’ve given him, and that requires some research.
Now, how do you go about that? Luckily, character research doesn’t have to feel like you’re cranking out a paper for school — it can be a lot more experiential and quirky in its methods. You can Google “croydon slang” and read the articles that come up, or hit up your library for some books on linguistic ethnography. But you could also watch some British-made TV set in your character’s hometown.. You could even find some YouTubers from the area.
Note that research is especially important if you’re writing a character whose identity or experiences differ substantially from your own — say, someone from a different ethnic background, or someone with a mental illness you’ve only read about.
In that case, your research should start with reading. In addition to looking at the facts — whether that’s an article on Chicano culture, or a clinical description of depression symptoms — consider seeking out some memoirs and personal essays by writers in the relevant demographic. In addition, you might consider engaging the services of a sensitivity reader. Think of them as research assistants, committed to making your character development as authentic and nuanced as possible.
9. Steer clear the biggest character development mistake
By now, you’ll have built up a character from the inside out, moving from the goals and motivations that define their role in the story to the mannerisms that make them stand out from the crowd.
Congratulations! You’re well on your way to giving your story an unforgettable human element. But your job isn’t over just yet. Now, you have to make sure you aren’t making the biggest character development mistake of all: making your character too perfect.
We talked about giving strength and flaws before, so you might think you’re covered. Your character might be a heroic warrior who earns the well-deserved respect of her community, but she’s totally got some weaknesses too!
You might very well be in the clear. But the key now is to make sure that your character’s strengths and flaws are well-balanced. You don’t need to counter every positive characteristic with an equal and opposite weak point. But you do want to make sure your character has some flaws that are just as consequential as their strengths.
Say your protagonist is a gorgeous, violet-eyed sylph with a heart of gold, who fights like Mike Tyson and writes like Mark Twain… but she sings like a squawking parrot and once got a B- in math. Sure, her tone deafness and mathematical ineptitude are technically flaws. But all in all, they’re pretty inconsequential.
If your character has only a couple of minor weaknesses to balance out their tremendous strengths, they’ll still read as unrealistically perfect. Watching them dazzle their way through your story will have your readers rolling their eyes — or even worse, suspecting you wrote them as a wish fulfillment exercise.
So make sure your character has some meatier flaws, the kind of vulnerabilities that will actually play a role in her character arc. Maybe your violet-eyed heroine is brave and strong, but she tends to panic when the stakes are high, making tactical mistakes that can cost her dearly. Maybe she’s so hung up on a prophecy she’s supposed to fulfill that she has trouble thinking for herself. Maybe her tendency to be suspicious of everyone, so she has a hard time winning allies.
Once you’ve made sure your character is human as well as heroic, you’re well on your way to nailing character development. When those details are hammered down, put your knowledge of your protagonist to the test with these eight character development exercises, or request advice from a character feedback group such as CharacterHub. Before you know it, you’ll have acquired a new close friend (or mortal enemy) — even if they are imaginary.
Do you have your own tips for character development? Or any favorite characters from books you feel leap off the page? Leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below!
Can Character Development Get in the Way of Good Movies?
How do the best movies balance character development and plot stakes?
We’ve written about how to write internal and external conflict before, and how the two things weave together, but more and more screenwriters are following the same playbook and it can easily become stale, and worse than that fail to get your script to stand out from the pack.
What does it mean when people talk about “show don’t tell” as one of the most important story maxims?
Movies are an art form, and they’re constantly evolving, today we’re going to look at how the idea of character development has started to obscure something that can plenty effective on its own; stakes.
If you fixate on developing characters, and not on how they develop, or why, then you could end up “telling” far more than you show. Your script will be “on the nose” as they say, rather than having tense scenes that draw the audience forward in the story.
Remember the best character development is one we discover because we can’t look away from a compelling plot.
So how do you do that?
Are Our Characters Over-Developed?
Sometimes it feels like screenwriters have been skipping leg day at the gym, and just going big on their biceps. The results are a little imbalanced looking, metaphorically speaking.
Character development is always important to a good story, and it’s something of a ‘catch-all’ phrase. It both means how well a character is fleshed out to start, in terms of back-story, but also how well the story illustrates how the character changes.
Change is the core value of any story, dating back to our earliest mythology. But not every story needs to show how a character grows and changes in great detail, because sometimes a story is more about how the world changes, or how events change.
Let’s get out of theory and into practice though. We’ll hop into a few different prime examples of great movies over the years and start talking about what is happening character development wise, stakes wise, and why.
Character Development in Raiders of The Lost Ark and Star Wars
Why not start with some big, beloved, and blockbusting George Lucas stories?
Raiders of the Lost Ark is, from a screenplay standpoint, has a pretty solid foundation. The protagonist of the movie is Indiana Jones, he’s an adventurer/archeology professor. He’s recruited to help find the Ark of the covenant before Hitler and the Nazi’s do.
This is some real straightforward high stakes stuff. If he fails, evil can win. That core value pushes the story forward more than anything else about Indy personally.
In terms of backstory, we don’t know much about this character. We learn a few things as we go, for example, that he had an affair with his mentor’s daughter Marian Ravenwood. We know that he has some old friends around like Salah. We know that he doesn’t really believe in the “mumbo jumbo” of the Ark legend. We know that Belloq is something of a rival who’s beat him at the treasure hunt game before.
All of those breadcrumbs probably amount to less than 3 minutes of screentime. If you blink, you might miss them all.
What about how Indy’s character develops through the story?
A few things could be pointed two as to how Indy changes. In one pivotal moment, he chooses not to blow up the Ark, he later becomes a believer in the magic “mumbo jumbo” of it. He seems to learn to recognize the value of Marian and their relationship as well.
These aren’t the reasons the movie is compelling. These aren’t even the reasons Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic and beloved cinematic icons of all time.
What is really the engine that drives Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Stakes.
The pressure is essentially on, and we are on the ride, from the moment the Paramount logo fades into a mountain. The movie’s plot continually raises the stakes. Indy goes from the frying pan into the fire over and over again, until the movie ends. It’s a thrill.
Does Indy change along the way?
Kind of. But it doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that Indy finds a way, and the Nazi’s don’t take over the world. Phew.
Mistaking character development for why the movie works would be like thinking that by wearing a fedora you are as cool as Indiana Jones. Which is to say, people seem to do this but boy is it a bad look.
Star Wars leans a little bit more on character development. Luke Skywalker has some serious back story, so does the whole galaxy, and he learns to let go of technology and trust in the force to save… everything.
Han Solo has a character arc of his own. From non-believing loner to a man who comes back to help his friend, and wishes him well with the force to boot. Hey does Harrison Ford have to have the same arc in every movie?
Once again, writers should consider the ratio of screentime devoted to this character development and backstory. How many minutes of Star Wars is about Luke and Han changing, or wrestling with how they must change? Not much certainly when compared to how much screentime is spent showing them running from Stormtroopers.
Most fans will point to Empire Strikes Back as being the ‘better’ script and story in the Star Wars franchise. Who’s character develops in that one? At least on an internal level the onyl character who undergoes any major change is Leia, who learns to express her love for Han.
Think about it. There isn’t much that happens in either Luke or Han’s action-packed storylines that is about character development. They are just going from one high stakes situation to another higher stakes one.
It’s a good movie, about good characters. But the kids of on the nose character development you see more and more today isn’t a focal point.
When Characters Are Too Developed
There can be such a thing as too much of a good thing. Character development can be over-developed. We want a little bit in the right places but think of it like salt.
Without a little salt a lot of food would be flavorless, but if you put in too much then that’s all you can taste.
If you saw LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part this weekend, you saw a movie about a LEGO mini-figure with more personal angst and on-screen development time than Luke Skywalker.
That just seems… off.
There is plenty to like about devoting the time to give Emmet Brickowski of LEGO movie franchise fame this kind of character development. But in a movie of that nature, aimed mostly at kids, isn’t raising the stakes enough?
It’s good to keep things simple. Emmet is battling with the way his LEGO world has changed. He’s battling with alien forces who kidnap his friends. He’s fighting visions he’s had of the apocalypse. He’s battling how his best friend wants him to grow up and change. He’s also dealing with his admiration and jealousy over a new character who is a lot like him, only cooler.
That’s a lot to lay at anyone’s feet!
That’s certainly a lot for a screenplay to try and work out, let alone one aimed at kids. And this is all to say nothing of the B-Plot about the actual kids playing with the Lego’s in the first place and their conflict/inner conflict and on it goes.
There is nothing wrong with reaching for big ideas, and it would be great if every movie regardless of genre was willing to go for it.
Character Development versus Plot Stakes Isn’t A Battle Between Art and Business
It might be easy to disregard some of this as being that blockbusters and high-octane movies don’t focus on something arty and psychological like character development, but that would be a mistake.
How much screentime does the Godfather devote to setting up Michael Corleone’s psychology? We get that he’s separating himself from his family.
But from there we witness events that turn Michael into his family. Literally. The biggest scene in terms of Michael’s development is this one:
He remains mostly silent. The scene is driven by tension. What is at stake here is the murder Michael must commit. What will happen if it goes wrong, or goes right? How it will affect everyone else in the story. Michael’s character develops in the Godfather but it does so through actions, and through the plot.
Massive emotional shifts for the character take place in singular actions. If you set up one simple action properly, it can do all the character developing for you.
These moments of external stakes and actions can take on significant meaning if you craft them properly.
Because actions not only speak louder than words, but the right metaphorical actions and characters can speak volumes.
Raising the Stakes and Character Development Through Metaphor
What if instead of trying to roll big character development ideas into big external plot stakes, we let the stakes do more of the work on their own… as metaphor.
Metaphor can be a complicated device, but try this one out for size.
Die Hard is perhaps one of the most celebrated action(Christmas) movies of all time, and screenwriters and development executives love how the movie incorporates character development snugly into its high stakes terrorist situation plot.
The story is set up so well: rough n’ tumble NYC cop John McClane is coming to Los Angeles to try and win back his wife, now Holly Genero, from her high powered job atop a skyscraper. He’s old school; she’s a modern woman. By the end, the family unit is restored when he rescues her and the rest of the office after taking on the entire terrorist organization barefoot.
But all that stuff about Holly Genero-McClane isn’t really why the movie works. It’s not. The movie works because it’s 85% John McClane being a badass against all odds.
What happens when you execute a good external conflict and keep raising the plot stakes, is that the audience starts to see your plot as a metaphor.
The screenwriters didn’t write every scene about how John McClane is winning back his wife his way in a manner that was clumsy and on the nose. Instead, they worked in moments and scenes that embody the spirit of this theme, even if they aren’t addressing it literally.
Take the character of Harry Ellis, for example.
Harry Ellis represents something. How people handle problems in Holly’s new world. He represents maybe a different kind of masculinity than John’s. One that ‘negotiates’ and makes deals rather than just swoops in and saves the day with action.
However you want to interpret it, Harry Ellis is in the script, and the plot, for valuable character development reasons. He’s not there so John can talk to him about where he came from, or how he wants to address this problem. He’s there, first and foremost, to raise the stakes.
He poses a threat to John in the first scene, as the new kind of man in Holly’s life. He becomes a piece in the chess game between John and Hans later. He becomes another death (spoiler alert) later in the story, suggesting that hostages will continue to die.
But all the while he’s a metaphor for what John is defeating, and what Holly is missing.
That’s character development in plot, as metaphor. But it’s surprisingly uncomplicated and elegant.
Up Next: Writing More Plot and Less Character
You’ve heard it before, “character is plot’ or you’ve heard some version of that cliche.
What it really means to each writer is different. The truth is the best character development will always be what happens to the characters, which is plot. It’s not what they think about, or why they do things. It’s what happens to them, and how they behave.
If you want to take your plot to the next level then learn how to write the best plot twists. That’s one way to move the story forward by raising the stakes and avoiding familiar plot devices.
What do you think? Do you think characters tend to be over-developed?
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