• SERVICES
    • CONSULTATION SERVICES
    • SCREENPLAY SERVICES
    • PITCHING SERVICES
  • Online Screenwriting Course
    • WORKBOOKS
  • UPCOMING EVENTS
  • BIO
    • CREDITS & MEDIA
  • SCREENPLAY VAULT
  • POLICIES & AGREEMENT
  THE PROFESSIONAL PEN: Script Consultant

A WRITER WHO DOESN'T WRITE

Why don’t people like my characters?

6/8/2016

0 Comments

 
​Because they suck. Kidding… but maybe they do. Characters carry your story. There is no way to get around that. It doesn’t matter if you have the best plot ever. If people don’t like your characters, then no one cares about what they’re doing or how they’re affected by what’s happening in your story. So let’s talk about what makes characters likeable.

  1. CHANGE IS GOOD – Your characters should always change.  By the time your story ends, your character needs to have changed. Somehow. Someway. Period. There should be a noticeable difference in the character that we meet at the top of the story and the character that we bid adeau at the end of the story. If not, you will have pissed off a lot of people.
  2. FLAWS AND ALL –Your characters should be flawed. This should be obvious but let’s discuss anyway. No one is perfect. I hate to burst your bubble (not really) but you’re not perfect. But for some reason writers think that audiences/readers want perfect characters as an escape from reality. Word to the wise, reality is inescapable. Readers want relatable characters. The only way to relate is through flaws and perseverance regardless of those flaws. Whether people will say it out loud or not, they know they’re flawed and they’re looking for someone who is on their side. It’s comforting to know they’re not in the world alone.
  3. REDEEMING QUALITIES – Does your character have any? Even unlikeable people have redeeming qualities. This means that not all of your characters have to be “likeable” in the general sense. They can be mean people, evil people, bad people, but they must still be liked enough to care about their journey in your story. For example, in “Up” (the beautifully made Pixar movie), Mr. Frederickson is a grumpy old man. Without the opening montage he’d be totally unlikeable. No one likes a sour puss. But because we understood why he was sour, we gave him a pass and ultimately went with him on his greatest adventure. Another example is Heath Ledger as the Joker was an antagonist that you loved to hate. You wanted him to lose because obviously Batman is the good guy. But there was a small part of you that wanted him to win because you cared about him. He shares a bit of his story making him relatable to those who come from abuse. If he’s relatable, then we can understand his actions because we know his motives. Bad guys don’t consider themselves bad guys.  AND all bad guys are good guys to someone. Never forget that.
 
Character is everything. Take time to build them. Show their vulnerability.  And then ask your self a simple question. Do my characters suck? If so, go back to the drawing board. You’ll thank yourself later.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Shannan E. Johnson, a writer who doesn't write.

    Archives

    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    50 Cent
    American Crime Story
    Building Characters
    Characters
    Courtney Kemp Agboh
    Director
    Episodic Director
    Executive Producer
    Film
    Heath Ledger
    Movie
    Movie Review
    OJ
    OJ Simpson
    Pixar
    Power
    Screenplay
    Screenwriter
    Screenwriting
    Showrunner
    Starz
    Survivor's Remorse
    Television
    The Cosby Show
    The Professional Pen
    Trial
    Tv Show
    Tv Writer
    Up
    Whiplash
    Writer
    Writing
    Writing Team

    RSS Feed

What Pen Pals Are Saying

 As a growing writer, the feedback from The Professional Pen has been crucial in developing my project. The straight forward feedback opened my mind beyond my script. I was given advice about the genre, the world I created, raising the stakes, and character decisions, etc. It urged me to go back, rethink about those gray areas in which I already felt were weak to tackle them for a stronger, focused, and reassured execution. Over all, I like that I wasn't given solutions to my writing, but solid questions that challenged me. I most definitely recommend the services provided. Thank you! - Justin F. 

Contact Me

  • SERVICES
    • CONSULTATION SERVICES
    • SCREENPLAY SERVICES
    • PITCHING SERVICES
  • Online Screenwriting Course
    • WORKBOOKS
  • UPCOMING EVENTS
  • BIO
    • CREDITS & MEDIA
  • SCREENPLAY VAULT
  • POLICIES & AGREEMENT