screenwriters toolkit

Written/Contributed by Hal Ackerman

Write the full name of your character down the left side of a page, one successive letter on each line. On each line, write a true statement about the character (or from his/her voice) beginning the first word of each line with each successive letter of the character?Ç‚Äôs name. So for a character named Holmeyer:

He lives with a rabbit
Open hearted
Loves bridges
Means well
Ebbs when he should flow
Yearns for love
Even tempered
Runs from life

Try it with all your main characters. (Try it with your own name)

Adding depth and balance to your characters will create a richer story. Your Task: Take an over-the-top character from a hilarious comedy you’ve seen and write a one-page essay about their emotional life. Now, take a character from a moving drama that you’ve seen and list 10 things they do for fun.

Here’s a test on creating effective character descriptions. Your Task: Pick 10 characters you’ve seen in movies. Write a 1-sentence description for each of them. Make it as accurate as possible. Now, bring these descriptions to a friend who has seen these movies. See if they can guess who it is.

Using the people around us, let’s take a moment to practice creating characters. Your Task: Make a list of 15 people you know. Write a one-paragraph character description for each of them. Include at least one characteristic that is unique.

Do you know what’s happening in your character’s sub-conscious? Creating real characters means understanding issues from their past, deeper motivations and other thoughts that don’t lurk on the surface. Your Task: Consider the following situation: Your character was just caught lying and is being confronted right now. Now, Journal from your character’s POV with the following statement: “While my conscious thoughts are… My sub-conscious is saying…”

How revealing is your character’s diary? Your Task: Keep a personal diary for your main antagonist and protagonist for one week. Write at least one entry per day for each.

A great way to understand who we are is to understand our ability to handle conflict. Your Task: Use a character from a screenplay you’re working on, or pull a character from one of your favorite movies. Make a list of 10 problems that someone might encounter that are unrelated to their own story. An example problem could be: You’re camping and there’s a huge rainstorm. You discover a hole in your tent. Now, getting into your characters’ mind, solve these problems.

We are not always ourselves. In fact, acting out of the ordinary for our personality is part of what makes us human. Your Task: Make a list of 6 things that define your character by asking these two questions: 1. Where do they feel most comfortable? 2. What are their values? Now, write a 1-page scene where your character is not being true to their nature.

Learning about our characters gives them a certain depth that shines through our work when writing about them. Your task: Fill out this survey from your characters’ perspective.

Name:
Nicknames:
Date of birth:
Sex:
Height:
Eye color:
Where were you born?
Number of candles on your last birthday cake:
Pets:
Hair color:
Town you live in:
Favorite foods:
Love someone so much it made you cry?
Favorite day of the week:
Favorite restaurant:
Favorite flower:
Favorite drink:
Favorite ice cream flavor:
Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
What do you do most often when you are bored?
Most annoying thing to say to me:
Have you ever failed a grade?
Do you have a crush on someone?
What are you wearing right now?
Do you smoke and/or drink?
What are your favorite colors?
What is your favorite animal?
Do you have any birthmarks?
Have you ever gotten beat up?
Are you shy or outgoing?
How easily do you trust people?
Do you have a secret people would be surprised knowing?
Have you ever been dumped?
Who do you look up to?
Have you ever started a rumor?
Do you have any siblings?
Do you get along with your parents?
How do you vent your anger?
What are your daydreams of?
What do you want a tattoo of?
Last compliment you received:
What is your heritage?
What is your lucky number?
How many rings until you answer the phone?
Do you look more like your mother or father?
What do you like most (and least) about your body?
Has there ever been a rumor spread about you?
What is one of your bad qualities?
What is one of your good qualities?
What is your worst fear?
If you had one last word to say to someone before you die, what would it be?

Thinking beyond the story will help us understand our characters within in. Your Task: Pick a character from a screenplay you’re working on. Use a screenplay where the outline of Acts 1, 2 and 3 are defined. Getting into your characters’ mind, do these two free-writes. 1. Before the movie begins: Where do I see myself in 5 to 10 years. How can I work toward these goals? 2. At the end of Act 2: Where do I see myself in 5 to 10 years. How can I work toward these goals?