Characters are modeled on people. A writer, being a person who knows other persons, should theoretically have an innate understanding of the mechanics of personality and social interaction; which they do, yet if this were all it took, sociologists should be great screenwriters. The process of creating character is not that straightforward.

Firstly, let me throw out a somewhat imprecise working definition of a screenplay character:

• character - an artificial, aesthetic construct that simulates a human life for the purpose of entertainment, or for the exploration of dramatic, moral, or aesthetic issues.

My use above of the words artificial and simulate is extremely important. It immediately frees you, the writer, from the onerous task of having to depict boring real-life behavior such as teeth-brushing, toilet-flushing, and the 45-minute bus ride to work that morning. A character is not a real person, it is a simulation of a person. Do not ever confuse the two. Even in films based upon actual people are the characters simulacra.

The next part of my definition states the writer's reasons for utilization of a character: "for the purpose of entertainment, or for the exploration of dramatic, moral, or aesthetic issues." In other words, a character exists as a means for you to further your personal or artistic agendas as a creator of a particular work. A character, then, is a vehicle for ideas expressed through the means of human behavior.

Think about what this definition means to you, the writer; it states, very plainly, that in order to create a character, that you must first begin with what you want to say. Now that's easy, isn't it?

Selecting Your Vehicle

Although the standard dictionary definition of "character" is useless for our purposes, it does contain a very important etymological seed; "fr. L character mark, distinctive quality." This is a great clue for how to sequence the first base-pairs of a character's DNA in your home genetics lab.

What makes your character different from everybody else, makes them stand out in a crowd? What is the single, defining, overriding, trait of your character? We're not aiming for depth yet, simply functionality. Some examples:

As you can see, this is the essential, archetypal overview of these characters. Indeed, certain characters never rise above their archetypes, such as the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz" (or his modern counterpart C-3PO in "Star Wars").

Your main character's defining trait should be considered in light of the demands of your story. One of the best kinds of traits you can give a character is one that will create the maximum amount of conflict given the circumstances. For example, strictly from a perspective of dramatic conflict, who would you rather see have the very first formal contact with space aliens -- a seasoned diplomat, or a loud-mouthed insensitive jerk? Or who would you rather see try to find the perfect mate via a series of blind dates -- a suave seducer, or a bumbling, slovenly crackpot who constantly spouts theories of government mind-control? Conflict is drama.

Conflict should be as near to life-threatening as possible. Not that all films are about life-or-death struggles, but a character's way of life should truly be in danger. This can mean actual threat of death, but also might be their lifestyle, their personality, their old behavior patterns, their sense of worth, their integrity, or their psyche. A definite danger to this previous way of living is introduced into the story, and the character must act. Often, this danger emanates directly from the main character, because either their actions or behavior have created a problem, or the problem is actually an active desire to change their life or themselves.

The other important story considerations are: the main character's job or function, the antagonist or forces of antagonism, the main story conflict, and the main character's transformational arc. When these considerations are added together with the character's defining trait, your result will be the 25-words-or-less definition of your story, a log line.

• A cynically self-interested nightclub owner must decide whether to risk helping a former flame on the run from the Nazis. ("Casablanca")
• A headstrong farm-boy must learn to become a warrior in order to join a galactic rebellion against an evil empire. ("Star Wars")
• A stubborn, over-the-hill former gunfighter again straps on his pistols to try to make a living, but must contend with a sadistic small-town sheriff. ("Unforgiven")

Notice the format: main character trait + main character function, followed by conflict + antagonist (or vice-versa).

As you will hear time and again in this business, screenplays are structure. Thus, unsurprisingly, characters are also part of structure. The above exercise in writing a log line creates a beginning, middle, and end for your story, thus suggests a very important piece of your main character; their transformational arc. The arc, for short, is very simply the journey of change that your character experiences by partaking in the story.

To decide your character's arc, you must first decide the outcome of your story. Outcome can be judged by two sets of criteria: 1) success/failure 2) desirable/undesirable. Pick one from each category, and you get four possible endings.

• desirable success - The basic happy ending, in which the main character is rewarded, the bad guys punished, and the day is saved. ("The Wizard of Oz," "Casablanca," "Sleepless in Seattle")
• undesirable failure - Tragedy. A tale of woe, misery, or death, in which the protagonist either falls from grace, or had a fatal flaw to begin with. ("Titanic," "Amadeus," "An American Werewolf in London")
• desirable failure - In which the protagonist didn't get what they wanted, but learned a valuable lesson or inadvertently gained a better reward in the process. ("Risky Business," "Clockwork Orange," "Thelma & Louise")
• undesirable success - in which the protagonist got what they wanted, but sacrificed a valuable part of themselves in the process; i.e.their soul, their loved one, their life. ("The Godfather, "Unforgiven," "Bulworth")

Two important points; protagonist, remember, means "main character" and is not necessarily always synonymous with "hero." Also, whether an outcome is desirable or undesirable is defined from the protagonist's point of view -- not yours or the audience's.

If you approach your character and structure simultaneously, not only do you solve two problems at once, but you get an integration of the two from the beginning.

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