On Creating Character

by Syd Field, teacher and best-selling author of Screenplay, The Screenwriters Problem Solver, The Screenwriters Workbook, and many others.

On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

Creating character is a process that will be with you from the beginning to the end, from fade in to fade out. It is an ongoing educational progression, an experience that continues expanding as you go deeper and deeper into your characters lives. There are many ways to approach writing character. Some writers mull over their characters for a long period of time and then, when they feel they know them, they jump in and start writing. Others create an elaborate list of characterizations. Some writers list the major elements of their characters life on 3 x 5 cards; some write extensive outlines or draw diagrams of behavior. Some use pictures from magazines and newspapers to help them see what their characters look like. Thats my character, they say. They may tack the pictures above their work area so they can be with their characters during their work time. Some use well-known actors and actresses as models for characters. Anything that makes it easier for you to create your character is a good tool. Choose your own way. You can use some, all, or none of the tools mentioned here. It doesnt matter. What matters is whether it works. If it works, use it; if it doesnt, dont. Find your own way, your own style in creating character. The important thing is that its got to work for you. One of the most insightful character tools is writing a Character Biography. The character biography is a freeassociation, automatic-writing exercise that reveals your characters history from birth up until the time your story begins. It captures and denes the forces -- both physical and emotional, internal and external -- working on your character during those formative years that fashioned his or her behavior. It is a process that reveals character. Start at the beginning. Is your character male or female? How old is he when the story begins? Where does he live? What city or country? Where was she born? Was she an only child, or did she have any brothers and sisters? What kind of relationship did she have with her brothers and sisters? Was it good or bad? Conding or adventurous? What kind of childhood would you say your character had? Would you consider it
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On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

happy? Or sad? Was it physically or medically challenging, with illness or physical problems? What about his relationship to his parents? Was he a mischievous child getting into a lot of trouble or was she quiet and withdrawn, preferring her own inner life instead of a social one? Was she stubborn, willful and have a problem with authority? Do you think she was socially active, made friends easily, and got along well with relatives and other children? What kind of a child would you say he was? Was he outgoing and extroverted or shy and studious, an introvert? Let your imagination guide you.

THE EXERCISE
Write character biographies for two or three of your main characters in about seven to 10 pages. More if you need to. Focus on their early years. Where was the character born? What did his/her father and mother do for a living? What is his relationship with his parents? Does he or she have any brothers or sisters? Whats the relationshipfriendly and supportive or angry and combative? Dene the other relationships the character has in his or her second and third 10 years and see how these relationships formed his or her character. Remember Henry James Theory of Illumination: Every character sheds light on your main character. Before you begin writing your biography, think about your character(s) for a few days, then set aside a time where you can work two or three hours without interruption. No phone calls, no TV, no e-mail, videogames, or visits from friends. It may help to lower the lights or turn on some soft music. Then start throwing down thoughts, words, and ideas about the character. Just let it come out. Dont worry about grammar, punctuation, spelling, or bad writing. Just get your thoughts down on paper, and dont worry about anything else. Youre not going to show these pages to anyone; its only a tool for you to use while you discover your characters and get to know them. If you want to include parts of your character biography in your screenplay, ne. But just get your character down on paper. Free-associate. Let your characters discover who they are.
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On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

Do the same with the professional, personal, and private lives of your character. Write a page or two about what your character does for a living, his or her relationships and hobbies. You might even go into day in the life of your character and write what his or her day looks like? What does she do from the moment she gets out of bed till she goes to sleep at night? Write it in a page or two. If you need to write more, write more. If you can do it in less, do it in less. If you discover any areas in a characters life you feel unsure or insecure about, write it in a page or two. Do some research if necessary. Free-associate. The relationship between you and your characters is like the relationship between two best friends. You decide what you need then dene it. If you dont know whether you should write something or not, write it! Its your script, your story, your characters, and your dramatic choices. When you have completed your assignment, you will know your characters as if they were good friends.

If you enjoyed this article by Syd Field, consider subscribing to the print or digital version of Script Magazine. Published six times per year, Script Magazine has exclusive articles from the best screenwriters and teachers in the world. Or visit www.scriptmag.com to read more articles on the craft of screenwriting, interviews with top industry insiders, and the latest screenwriting news.

On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

ABOUT SYD FIELD Acclaimed as "the guru of all screenwriters" (CNN), SYD FIELD is regarded by many Hollywood professionals to be the leading authority in the art and craft of screenwriting in the world today. The Hollywood Reporter calls him "the most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world." Syd Field has sold over 1,000,000 copies of his books. His internationally acclaimed best-selling books Screenplay, The Screenwriter's Workbook, and The Screenwriter's Problem Solver have established themselves as the "bibles" of the lm industry. They are used in more than 395 colleges and universities and have been translated into 19 languages. Field chaired the Academic Liaison Committee at The Writer's Guild of America, West, is currently on faculty at the USC Master's of Professional Writing Program, has taught at Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, the AFI and many other noted institutions. Field's former students include Anna Hamilton Phelan (Girl, Interrupted, Gorillas in the Mist), John Singleton (Four Brothers, Boyz N the Hood), Randi Mayem Singer (Mrs. Doubtre), Laura Esquival (Like Water For Chocolate), Michael Kane (The Color of Money), and Kevin Williamson (Scream, Scream 2 & 3), and he has been a special script consultant to 20th Century Fox, the Disney Studios, Universal, and Tristar Pictures. In May 2011, Syd Field will launch his rst iPhone and iPad application Script Launcher, and will take to the stage for major headlining seminars in Los Angeles, Toronto and London in the Fall of 2011.

On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

How to Use Final Draft to Write Great Characters

CHARACTER FORMAT The CHARACTER element in your screenplay must be CAPITALIZED and indented 3.5 inches to the left. You dont want to stop writing your story so you can toggle the CAPS LOCK key and tap the space bar. Final Draft formats it for you automatically.

Normally you can just hit the RETURN or TAB key on your Mac or PC. Final Draft will automatically set you up to start writing a CHARACTER line. But there might be times when you want to change the order of an element. Thats just as easy. You can use a drop-down menu on the toolbar or use a Keyboard Shortcut to switch to the different elements in your screenplay. The default Keyboard Shortcut in this example is Command-3 or Control-3. If youd like to change a shortcut, just open Final Draft and go to Format > Elements. You can customize almost anything in Final Draft. A screen shot of customizing Final Draft from going to Format > Elements is presented on the following page.

On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

EXAMPLE: CUSTOMIZE ELEMENTS BY GOING TO FORMAT > ELEMENTS

SMART TYPE

Why type the same Character names over and over? Use SMART TYPE in Final Draft. When you rst type a Character name in Final Draft, that name becomes part of Final Drafts Smart Type database. Then as you write your script, you only need to type the rst letter in a Characters name and Final Draft will automatically start to ll in the blanks for you. If that Character is in the SMART TYPE database, then just hit Return once and the rest of the Character line is completed for you.

On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

Heres an example from Toy Story. After the line from Mr. Potato Head, we only need to type W-O and - voila - Woody appears. Just hit Enter or Return and keep writing.

Of course, if youre introducing a new Character, thats no problem. Just type it like normal. That Character will now be in the Smart Type database ready to go. And, like almost every tool in Final Draft, you choose whether to turn Smart Type on or off.

On Creating Character is brought to you by Final Draft, Inc.

NAMES DATABASE
Final Draft includes a Names Database with over 90,000 names. Find that perfect character name by just brainstorming a few letters in the name. You can also instantly add that name to SMART TYPE so Final Draft remembers it for you.

CHARACTER REPORT Once your script is nished, you can run a report for each Character. You can view how many lines each Character has. You can also print out each Characters lines of dialogue. This report is invaluable for the actor learning his or her lines. It also helps you, as the writer, make sure that each Character maintains his or her own voice. To view this report, rst open a script in Final Draft. Then, in the Final Draft toolbar, go to Tools > Reports > Character Report.
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