How Observant Are You?

Writing good characters is something that does not come naturally to all writers. And yet, it is a very coveted skill in the world of screenwriting. How well do you write characters? Can you tell? What kind of feedback do you get - not on your pages - but in life? Do you listen to people well? Do you really hear what they are saying to you subtextually? Think of the last movie you saw at the theater - who sat on your right? How did they sit? How did they laugh - if they laughed at all. Did they hog the armrest? Did they eat their candy loudly? Did they cry there, in the dark - or would you have noticed?

The ability to write good characters is rooted, fundamentally, in a writer's ability to observe and to mimic other people. In my work, I often see two-dimensional characters; characters who feel like marionettes not people. They mouth words but they don't really mean them. They walk and talk, saying and doing what the writer says they should be doing - they don't seem to have minds of their own. Sometimes, in an effort to make a character more real, a writer will assign that character tics or quirks. But even those seem inorganic and well - assigned.

Human beings are so complex that to fully capture that on the page is a feat beyond imagining. Tolstoy did it, and so did Flaubert. Many writers capture only parts of a character leaving the rest to be filled in by our imaginations which is part of the point of the writing. Take Flannery O'Connor; many of her characters were types - but types that made a point literarily.

In scripts, the closer your character comes to really seeming like a real person, a real person that one would want to spend time with, the better your script will be. You might even have a PASS script but a CONSIDER writer if you can write great characters.

Be honest with yourself; how much time do you spend developing character? Do you make lists of their fears, hopes, attributes, memories and experiences? In many senses, all movies are character driven. Yes there are exceptions but here's the thing; people are fascinated by other people. Why are soap operas a television mainstay? Why do we care ever so much what happens to Paris Hilton? Why do you sit and happily watch other people at the airport, beach or mall? Because the desire to get inside the head of another human being is so very keen.

What are they wearing? What are they thinking? What is it like - seriously - what is it like to be Paris Hilton? What was it like to be Marie Antoinette? If you're a female writer, what's it like to be a man? And vice versa. Use that curiosity when you write your characters; really get inside their heads and explore.

And as a simple exercise as you continue to build all of your writing skills, the next time you are in a public place, take a few minutes and observe what people are wearing, how they do or do not gesticulate or make eye contact. How they touch, hug or hold each other. Or not. How do old people walk? Who smiles at you in passing - who averts their eyes? Watch for chewing with the mouth open, shoveling in food or eating tiny bird-bites. Observe how many people walk around with a totally blank face. Or people who have permanent frowns. Observe. It will pay off when you write.

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