I was really excited about reading this chapter because the building of characters has always been one of my favorite parts of both analyzing literature and writing my own stories. Seeing my characters develop– each with their own personalities, motivations, intentions, desires, appearances, and overall complexities– feels magical in a way. It’s like I have a responsibility, or the power, to create a whole living person with the one exception that they are not actually real. I get to put together all of the observations I have made of different interactions, people, and situations and combine them into this one person who then acts as the vessel for an entire creative story. It’s a process that has always inspired me, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the specific techniques of creating characters that have proved themselves helpful to many other writers.
In particular, one thing that stuck out to me was the idea that action is character and film is behavior. This combines the two ideas that a person (or character) is defined by the actions they take, and that a film is a story told through pictures so a character must be revealed by their visible, observable behavior. Therefore, in creating a character for a screenplay, I learned that it’s crucial to not only take into account, but also to place a heavy focus on the physical ways in which the character acts. That is how the audience will get to know the character, and it is how the screenwriter will be able to reveal the character and, thus, convey the message of the story.
One thing that stuck out to me in the reading was the idea of the inciting incident— an event that propels the story into action and gives the story its plot. For example, in the 2016 Marvel movie Deadpool, Wade Wilson’s terminal cancer diagnosis is the inciting incident of the film. If Wade had never been diagnosed, he would’ve never entered the experimental trials that caused both his mutation and his tumor-like scars. In turn, he would’ve never sought revenge against the film’s antagonist who experimented on him, Ajax, or Ajax’s assistance in reverting his scarring, which prevented him in feeling comfortable with returning to his fiancee, Vanessa. These inciting incidents not only propel the story, but they also bring out the true nature of the character, which gets the viewer interested, as the inciting incident often brings up feelings of relatability. To return to the Deadpool example, Wade’s insecurities about his new appearance and his wise-cracking attitude make him a relatable and enjoyable character to watch. He also doesn’t just live through the inciting incident, he makes active choices, such as deciding to undergo the trial in the first place, that make him a more compelling character. No one wants to watch a movie where the main character is without agency. Passivity in a character’s actions makes them less relatable, especially since we, the viewers as humans, make choices all of the time, but also passivity does the worst thing any piece of literature can do, especially film: it makes them boring.
But how does this relate to creating characters? Well, not only do inciting incidents provide the catalyst for a character’s journey, but as I alluded to with my mention of active choices, but who the characters are impacts the inciting incidents as well. For example, it is Wade’s love for Vanessa and his desire to not make her watch him die that influences his choice to do the trial despite its obviously shady nature. The character, at the end of the day, is made up of actions that center around the main storyline in some capacity. The main character, as the name suggests, is the one at the center of all of this who distinctly experiences two types of conflict (given that the writer has failed to create a compelling character): internal and external. With only one form of conflict, you have a character who lacks human relatability, or a character who lacks agency, and either way, so it is crucial to have both.
The creaction of a character was actually pretty funny to me. I enjoyed how they created this character with conflict, drama, and a backstory in such a short time. It really outlined to me just how creating a character should be. Starting with that character and action and subject and just breaking it all down into something that’s screen-worthy. In contrast I dont really like how he says end your stuff with an up ending only because everything ends in an up ending. He used star wars as an example but he didnt include how up ending require sacrificing. In star wars we see Ben use the force to revive Rey, he then dies and they kiss before he goes. While the resitance destroys the sith and win they lost so m,uch to get there. A good up ending requires sacrficing a major charachter or a major thing that dramaticizes the story in a postive fashion. That in turn makes the victory so sweet because we get to see that journey. The pain endured and the loss and sacrifice of something those people hold so dear.
The main thing i took away from the reading was key points, ones i found useful and interesting. The main thing was the tool of writing a biography to help define and flesh out a character, and just how many seemingly “irrelevant” details go into forming a character. The author specifically mentioned going into as much detail as writing out the grandparents, details about childhood friends, seemingly assanine things that seem irrelevant to my story are considered essential in creating a character. Notes about a character do not need to be organized, but the more detail you can build into them, the more “real” they become. These details help build a character’s motivations, help to explain and make more consistent their reactions and actions. If you know your character inside and out, it will make the story that much more cohesive.
Another key takeaway i found in the chapter was that regardless of the genre of story, a fully fleshed out and dimensional main character is just as important. A knight in an action story may be different from a grocery store owner in a slice of life, but both have goals and motivations, both have experiences that have shaped them, and both are just as important to the plot. The circumstances may be different, but the planning and thought into the character’s personality/behavior is just as important. Find your character, and you can find the direction of your plot, at least that is what I took from the reading. That and one of the major examples of characterization we got was from the perspective of a horse which was entertaining.
In this chapter, Field describes the idea of creating a character by first learning their entire background. Who are they? What was their childhood like? Their teenage years? He asks a few more questions like this, and it really stood out to me the amount of detail he goes into about a character. It reminded me of the movie, “The Thing”, in which it becomes apparent each character was throughly thought about – from beginning to end – with their whole lives displayed through their actions and they way they interact with the circumstances and the other characters. Every scene that we see them in builds their character more and more, like how they enjoy playing pool, or how MacReady has a drinking problem, or how Clark is a more introverted character who likes to be by himself and with his dogs. Field also described how to define a main character from important characters, by making the main lead the one who drives the story forward, like how in The Thing MacReady is the main character and this is made easy to see by the fact he is the one who comes up with the plans and takes over each situation. Meanwhile, most of the other characters have things happen to them rather than doing anything to the plot. In this way, it becomes apparent who really leads the story. Even though MacReady has just as much screen time as some of the other characters, he is the only one we get to see a more personal side of, like him playing chess in his personal quarters. By allowing us to connect more to a specific character, we feel like rooting for them more and more, and in this way the main character exists.
Whats a charachter. How do you make one, and how do you make one everybody wants to personify? Those ideas are what stuck out to me in the reading. The idea that we have to create our context, the qualities, and behavior to make them someone unique and relatable. He mentions how doing these things well creates a character we can empathize with and relate our humanness to is essential. Going one step beyond is dramatizing that feat and making it somewhere we as people cant physically reach and that’s peak entertainment. He says these types of characters are “Flappers” a type who inspires others to look and act like them—characters who can influence an entire generation. I love how he also had the idea that this character must be the whole “nervous system ” of our screenplay because it’s true. It’s your character world and everyone else is just living in it.
6 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 6”
I was really excited about reading this chapter because the building of characters has always been one of my favorite parts of both analyzing literature and writing my own stories. Seeing my characters develop– each with their own personalities, motivations, intentions, desires, appearances, and overall complexities– feels magical in a way. It’s like I have a responsibility, or the power, to create a whole living person with the one exception that they are not actually real. I get to put together all of the observations I have made of different interactions, people, and situations and combine them into this one person who then acts as the vessel for an entire creative story. It’s a process that has always inspired me, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the specific techniques of creating characters that have proved themselves helpful to many other writers.
In particular, one thing that stuck out to me was the idea that action is character and film is behavior. This combines the two ideas that a person (or character) is defined by the actions they take, and that a film is a story told through pictures so a character must be revealed by their visible, observable behavior. Therefore, in creating a character for a screenplay, I learned that it’s crucial to not only take into account, but also to place a heavy focus on the physical ways in which the character acts. That is how the audience will get to know the character, and it is how the screenwriter will be able to reveal the character and, thus, convey the message of the story.
One thing that stuck out to me in the reading was the idea of the inciting incident— an event that propels the story into action and gives the story its plot. For example, in the 2016 Marvel movie Deadpool, Wade Wilson’s terminal cancer diagnosis is the inciting incident of the film. If Wade had never been diagnosed, he would’ve never entered the experimental trials that caused both his mutation and his tumor-like scars. In turn, he would’ve never sought revenge against the film’s antagonist who experimented on him, Ajax, or Ajax’s assistance in reverting his scarring, which prevented him in feeling comfortable with returning to his fiancee, Vanessa. These inciting incidents not only propel the story, but they also bring out the true nature of the character, which gets the viewer interested, as the inciting incident often brings up feelings of relatability. To return to the Deadpool example, Wade’s insecurities about his new appearance and his wise-cracking attitude make him a relatable and enjoyable character to watch. He also doesn’t just live through the inciting incident, he makes active choices, such as deciding to undergo the trial in the first place, that make him a more compelling character. No one wants to watch a movie where the main character is without agency. Passivity in a character’s actions makes them less relatable, especially since we, the viewers as humans, make choices all of the time, but also passivity does the worst thing any piece of literature can do, especially film: it makes them boring.
But how does this relate to creating characters? Well, not only do inciting incidents provide the catalyst for a character’s journey, but as I alluded to with my mention of active choices, but who the characters are impacts the inciting incidents as well. For example, it is Wade’s love for Vanessa and his desire to not make her watch him die that influences his choice to do the trial despite its obviously shady nature. The character, at the end of the day, is made up of actions that center around the main storyline in some capacity. The main character, as the name suggests, is the one at the center of all of this who distinctly experiences two types of conflict (given that the writer has failed to create a compelling character): internal and external. With only one form of conflict, you have a character who lacks human relatability, or a character who lacks agency, and either way, so it is crucial to have both.
The creaction of a character was actually pretty funny to me. I enjoyed how they created this character with conflict, drama, and a backstory in such a short time. It really outlined to me just how creating a character should be. Starting with that character and action and subject and just breaking it all down into something that’s screen-worthy. In contrast I dont really like how he says end your stuff with an up ending only because everything ends in an up ending. He used star wars as an example but he didnt include how up ending require sacrificing. In star wars we see Ben use the force to revive Rey, he then dies and they kiss before he goes. While the resitance destroys the sith and win they lost so m,uch to get there. A good up ending requires sacrficing a major charachter or a major thing that dramaticizes the story in a postive fashion. That in turn makes the victory so sweet because we get to see that journey. The pain endured and the loss and sacrifice of something those people hold so dear.
The main thing i took away from the reading was key points, ones i found useful and interesting. The main thing was the tool of writing a biography to help define and flesh out a character, and just how many seemingly “irrelevant” details go into forming a character. The author specifically mentioned going into as much detail as writing out the grandparents, details about childhood friends, seemingly assanine things that seem irrelevant to my story are considered essential in creating a character. Notes about a character do not need to be organized, but the more detail you can build into them, the more “real” they become. These details help build a character’s motivations, help to explain and make more consistent their reactions and actions. If you know your character inside and out, it will make the story that much more cohesive.
Another key takeaway i found in the chapter was that regardless of the genre of story, a fully fleshed out and dimensional main character is just as important. A knight in an action story may be different from a grocery store owner in a slice of life, but both have goals and motivations, both have experiences that have shaped them, and both are just as important to the plot. The circumstances may be different, but the planning and thought into the character’s personality/behavior is just as important. Find your character, and you can find the direction of your plot, at least that is what I took from the reading. That and one of the major examples of characterization we got was from the perspective of a horse which was entertaining.
In this chapter, Field describes the idea of creating a character by first learning their entire background. Who are they? What was their childhood like? Their teenage years? He asks a few more questions like this, and it really stood out to me the amount of detail he goes into about a character. It reminded me of the movie, “The Thing”, in which it becomes apparent each character was throughly thought about – from beginning to end – with their whole lives displayed through their actions and they way they interact with the circumstances and the other characters. Every scene that we see them in builds their character more and more, like how they enjoy playing pool, or how MacReady has a drinking problem, or how Clark is a more introverted character who likes to be by himself and with his dogs. Field also described how to define a main character from important characters, by making the main lead the one who drives the story forward, like how in The Thing MacReady is the main character and this is made easy to see by the fact he is the one who comes up with the plans and takes over each situation. Meanwhile, most of the other characters have things happen to them rather than doing anything to the plot. In this way, it becomes apparent who really leads the story. Even though MacReady has just as much screen time as some of the other characters, he is the only one we get to see a more personal side of, like him playing chess in his personal quarters. By allowing us to connect more to a specific character, we feel like rooting for them more and more, and in this way the main character exists.
Whats a charachter. How do you make one, and how do you make one everybody wants to personify? Those ideas are what stuck out to me in the reading. The idea that we have to create our context, the qualities, and behavior to make them someone unique and relatable. He mentions how doing these things well creates a character we can empathize with and relate our humanness to is essential. Going one step beyond is dramatizing that feat and making it somewhere we as people cant physically reach and that’s peak entertainment. He says these types of characters are “Flappers” a type who inspires others to look and act like them—characters who can influence an entire generation. I love how he also had the idea that this character must be the whole “nervous system ” of our screenplay because it’s true. It’s your character world and everyone else is just living in it.