Pre-Production: Creating Characters
When creating characters or character bios it is important that I take into account so many things about one specific character. On this basis alone I felt that it would be very important to do some research on the different ways a character bio can be created and what things should be taken into consideration when creating characters.
After creating these it will allow me to create an overall character bio for each character which can then in turn go into our book, looking at all aspects from back story to favorite shoes.
Through research I was able to find an effective key list that I feel can aid me in naming characters. An area in which we are still looking at as previous names have not stuck nor felt right. By looking into this it allowed me to think outside the box with names, and not just to pick the most common or first few names that popped into my head. Instead now they can feel true to the character and be used for a reason.
I was able to find 7 rules on picking names for fictional characters, which are below.
BBC Writers Room
"Characters are the thing that separate great scripts from only competent scripts – and great writers from only competent writers."
Something that I took away from the BBC writers room research that stuck with me was above. Characters are the driving force behind a good script and story. This means in order for my script to be good and effective I have to have good characters. Some the audience may not necessarily like but some that none the less, the audience will care about and want to follow their story.
When a good character is present we see their point of view, they are engaging, their story is worth telling and we know what the world looks like to this character. This way we know exactly how a character will react and respond to different situations through multiple stories.
Going forward i found this very helpful. Not only does the breakdown of creating a character help me create and develop my own but seeing how vital a role characters play within a story shows why they are arguably the most important area within writing and creating a story.
Resources
Creating Characters
Sitting in on a lecture conducted by writer Steve Coombes, I was able to take some key points about characters and when creating them, what can be some of their motivations. How characters deal with certain situations through potentially a detailed back story; or a specific situation summing up their character in one act. Below are a few of the notes:
- Know characters like friends or enemies. - As a writer, characters must be known inside and out, to so much detail as if an imaginary best friend. This means that as a writer I'll be able to know, like a friend, exactly how the character will deal with any situation. As the creator these are the questions I would need to answer.
- Best characters are usually the little people. - The characters that usually have it all are the ones your are positioned to envy or watch their downfall. However the best characters and the ones that are usually empathized with as the audience are usually positioned to root for the downtrodden character fighting for success/justice/etc.
- Character motivations are key. - A character is understood once we see what they strive for, whether good or bad it makes their goal and personal story make sense.
- Are they making choices? What keeps them tense? - Does the character make specific choices? and if so why do they make those choices? which leads to their motivations. Also if their is something that keeps them tense is it something that can be resolved or is it something that has come about as result of an act or reason.
Character Profiles
Through research I found that an effective way of creating characters was through a character profile worksheet. These come in different forms and vary in depth from basic appearance by mean of height and weight to, full character back stories. By starting with a simple character profile, writers often mention that the character simply came to life and the story developed from the character. This is why for me the characters have to be spot on and not only feel real but themselves be believable.
Character Profiles are made easier by character profile worksheets. They act as a character bible and fact list to allow me to look back or update the character in a physical form. By doing this i keep record of what their mannerisms and attributes are allowing me to consult it when looking into how characters will deal with specific situations or plot points.
This is a very effective way of keeping tabs on characters as each character will have one of these so that I can understand accurate reactions between characters to understand how each would act or be like around certain characters.
An example of a Basic Character Profile is:
By looking at examples I will be able to formulate an in depth character profile for each character, which will further aid the writing process. Having the character bibles will not only help understand characters reactions and actions but also further develop the story and plot.
Character Development/Exercises
To help with character development I looked into techniques that can help expand and add further in depth detail. The first is a seven day schedule in which each day looks at a different scenario or stage of development allowing the character to come naturally rather than be rushed. Below is a template for how to perform a Seven Day Schedule.
By following this each day it will allow me to better understand my character, and eventually from this the plot of the story will begin to expand and develop. This is because by being my character i will know exactly how they react to situations or whether they will react at all.
This acts as a good fundamental basis or base and then allows for develop. I just need to make sure I update the character profile and consult it each time so that I know for future reference their reactions in the 'past'.
Naming Characters
I was able to find 7 rules on picking names for fictional characters, which are below.
- Check Root Meanings: When choosing names look for meanings of names that fit the character, overly obvious ones.
- Get your Era right: Make sure when dealing with specific eras in history the name fits, unless the name is meant to be unusual but this has to have purpose. The name should be believable to the era.
- Speak them out loud: Sometimes names that look perfect written down, can be hard to pronounce or sound unlikely when read aloud so its important to say them to make sure they work in spoken dialogue.
- Manage your crew appropriately: Distinguish between characters of a large cast by having different first initials and varying numbers of syllables and places of emphasis within names.
- Use alliterative initials: This can be used to call special attention to characters, for example: Bilbo Baggins.
- Think it through: Names of villains rarely have initials or a middle name, this has a less likely chance of finding someone with that real name out there. Seems silly but this prevents action or suing.
- Check 'em again: Make sure all areas of the name such as origin, meaning and era are checked over thoroughly before finalizing to ensure that the name totally fits to the character and story, so that this way the name won't be questioned further down the production line.
BBC Writers Room
Something that I took away from the BBC writers room research that stuck with me was above. Characters are the driving force behind a good script and story. This means in order for my script to be good and effective I have to have good characters. Some the audience may not necessarily like but some that none the less, the audience will care about and want to follow their story.
When a good character is present we see their point of view, they are engaging, their story is worth telling and we know what the world looks like to this character. This way we know exactly how a character will react and respond to different situations through multiple stories.
Going forward i found this very helpful. Not only does the breakdown of creating a character help me create and develop my own but seeing how vital a role characters play within a story shows why they are arguably the most important area within writing and creating a story.
Resources
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