Writing characters

[kotte]

I have a problem when I'm coming up with and writing characters.

I need to know how he/she looks or I can't find his/hers true voice. First I tried to think of an actor for the part but after a while I'm writing it for that actor...which isn't good cause I probably won't get John Goodman in my film the next couple of years anyway.
Now I try to find the look in people I know or remember having seen. Which is also kind of limiting.

How do you solve this problem? And a problem it is.

[Reinhold]

there are some cheap meditation books that you can find in barnes & noble. there's also a great book... i call it "the 'if' book" but i don't think that's the correct name. it's a collection of a bunch of "if..." questions. my theater teacher has a copy of it.  if you need to get inside the head of a character, try sitting down with a book similar to that and answering a few questions from the perspective of your character. i haven't done it with the book, necessarily, but there are some If... lists online to check out. the questions in the book are better, though.  another thing to do is to vocally improvise a conversation as your character with a friend. when walrus and i were collaborating on a script about two friends who find a gun, just screwing around like this really helped map the backgrounds of those characters. we haven't finished the script, but it worked well for the moment.

[TheVoiceOfNick]

A good way to create new characters is by observing your world... go out for a walk, go to the bowling alley, go to the supermarket... find yourself a nice seat somewhere and just observe people.  If you can, get close to hear the conversation.  Pay attention to the tone.  Pay attention to how real people talk.  If all you do is sit on your computer and post of xixax, then you won't be able to create any characters beyond pant creaming, whopper eating, film making, movie watching, canadiens... not that that's a bad thing... but you need to mix it up!     Get to know people... lots of people... people from other countries... people from every walk of life... and you'll be able to write great characters... guaranteed.

[kotte]

Oh, I know.

My problem isn't really to come up with the character...but I need to know how he/she looks to write true dialogue for it. That's my problem. I tried actors but I end up unconsciously writing it for that actor.

Do you write without a face on your character? You know an actor different from your mental picture will play the part but when you're writing you need to know how he looks right?

[TheVoiceOfNick]

You don't necessarily need to know how he/she looks like... it might help, but its not necessary.  Maybe i'll write the part thinking of someone's face, not necessarily an actor's face... just anyone's face... a face I saw at the lumber yard or at the KFC... where ever... I rely on stereotypes when coming up with a character (pros call them "archtypes"), but then expand those characters to give them depth.

A good idea might be to write your character's biography.  Make it about a page long and write about his or her experiences, their loves, their peeves, where they went to school, what they did on their summer break when they were 15... anything that will give you insight into your character.  When I discuss my characters with people, they think i'm talking about a real person... I refer to them as real people as well... I give them names, and assign them lives in my mind...

"john really likes cotton candy. one time when he was in college, he dated this girl named rebecca. they went to the carnival down near the river.  even though he was hurt by lisa last month, he still thought he'd have a good time.  so they go down to the carnival, and rebecca seemed sad.  so john bought her some cotton candy.  he didn't have that much money on him because his dad only paid him for 30 hours that week... he works for his dad, you know... at the hardware store. anyways, he bought rebecca cotton candy, and she was so happy that she kissed him. right then and there. their faces lit up and they both seemed really happy.  now everytime he gets cotton candy he remembers that fun time with rebecca at the carnival..."

See... I just made that character up... now you know so much about John... just from a little story about him... and I don't know what John looks like... he's just a guy from the country who works for his dad, goes to school, and seems really sensitive.

[Vile5]

i don't know why but i think that John could be thin, tall with a very old look, and if he would be tall but fat i think John could be much more interesting...

[TheVoiceOfNick]

i don't know why but i think that John could be thin, tall with a very old look, and if he would be tall but fat i think John could be much more interesting...

You see, you're already coming up with imagery for the character... if you can imagine what your character's life would be like, you can get down to the very soul of the character... and you'll start to give the character an appearance in your mind as well.

[prophet]

cool ass movie