Wanted: Compelling Characters
‘How to write a compelling character’ is one of the most searched-for terms leading to this blog. I frequently write about characterisation, especially with reference to important topics such as diversity and inclusion, or advanced elements like archetypes.
But what if you just want a more straightforward, back-to-basics approach? No problem! B2W’s got you covered.
Here’s just 3 things you want to consider when it comes to compelling characterisation in your screenplay or novel. Ready? Let’s go …
1) Strengths
Everyone has at least one thing they’re good at … and this should include characters in novels and screenplays, too.
Giving your character a particular skill – such as archery – can help inform your character’s behaviour. This skill should also help them deal with whatever the plot throws at them.
However, your characters’ strengths don’t have to be literal! Perhaps they’re particularly good at empathising with others? Or maybe they’re a peacekeeper who is excellent at bringing warring sides together? Or maybe they’re a leader who inspires others to follow them and fight back?
B2W TAKEAWAY: Whatever you choose, characters’ strengths should reveal character and help push the story FORWARD.
MORE: Why Lack of Structure Is Killing Your Characters
2) Flaws
If you ever studied tragedy or Greek myth, then you’ll know harmartia stands for the ‘tragic flaw’ that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine.
Aristotle talked a lot about this, plus we can see renowned writers like Sophocles and Shakespeare putting it into practice in plays like Electra, Oedipus Rex, Hamlet and King Lear.
However, ANY character can benefit from having some kind of flaw … it leads them to being much more compelling.
One of the reasons Ellen Ripley is considered one of the best female leads of all time is that she’s not perfect. She’s marking time and desperate to go home to her daughter, but we don’t spend ages with her writing diaries or recording tapes for her little girl.
Ripley is even a bit of a jobsworth who seems to think she’s better than Parker and Brett in particular. It’s clear she doesn’t like Lambert, or indeed anyone much aboard The Nostromo space ship in that first movie.
But all this makes Ripley’s desire to save as many as she can even BETTER! That’s why she goes back for Jones the cat. She needs to save someone, as well as herself.
B2W TAKEAWAY: Consider your favourite character of all time from a novel, TV series or movie. What was THEIR flaw? What did it make them do (or not) do?
3) Back Story
This is where a LOT of writers become unstuck … usually for one of these reasons (sometimes ALL of them – eek!):
- Back story is more compelling than what’s going on in the PRESENT
- Thoughts and feelings mean more than physical events/happenings
- Theme means more than the characters’ actions/behaviour
When it comes to 1), you have to find a way of back story playing out in the present events of the story … WITHOUT it ‘taking over’ or becoming reductive. You definitely don’t want the back story to be more interesting than ‘right now’ (whatever that means in your story).
As an example, if one of the character’s flaws is they can’t ask for help, we want to know why. You don’t need endless flashbacks to do this, either. Another character – such as the character’s domineering mother – will point us to why. You don’t need to endlessly explain every little thing, viewers and readers will get it. Honest!
Similarly, on 2) characters don’t need to name their pain or say how happy they are constantly. Whilst it’s true some stories are more emotional than others, even romances and teen dramas will not explain every little single thing. So don’t have overly emotional exchanges non-stop, no one wants that (especially via dialogue).
When it comes to 3), theme is about making meaning … and everyone will do this automatically. Spend too long on theme, you will neglect the physical events and character behaviour that is supposed to push the story forward FIRST.
B2W TAKEAWAY: Never let back story ‘take away’ from the present (whatever that means) or send you don’t rabbitholes that end up becoming reductive.
MORE: Why Obsessing Over Theme Will Make You Ruin Your Story
Last Points
These three elements are the ingredients of ANY compelling character. Whether you’re writing a novel or screenplay, keeping these three things in mind will definitely help. For more advanced characterisation techniques, don’t forget to grab your FREE characterisation masterclass (link below). Enjoy!
