Screenwriting : Character Development and Personalities by Elle Bolan

Elle Bolan For me, it’s usually not the big dramatic traits it’s the contradictions.

A character suddenly starts feeling real when they do something small that doesn’t “serve the plot” but reveals who they are underneath it.

Like someone rehearsing a difficult conversation alone before making a phone call… or straightening objects on a table while trying to hide panic. Tiny behaviors that come from emotional instinct rather than story mechanics.

In one project I’m developing, a character keeps making coffee for two people even after the relationship has emotionally ended. That small habit told me more about him than pages of dialogue ever could.

Characters start feeling real to me when their contradictions and emotional vulnerabilities begin to appear naturally beneath the surface of the story.

I can't think of any specifics. But I love when I'm writing and something just happens. I think, "Where did that come from?" I guess the characters have started describing themselves. :)

I'd like to think every detail counts. From.the first words of the show, "Hiya Joey" which couldn't get smaller as a detail to the last words of the last but not final episode of the show I wrote in which Josh tells Amanda, his girlfriend that his 5-year sentence (possibly down to 2 depending on his meeting with the parole board) feels like an eternity and she says she Will love him for the rest of eternity. That's no small detail but it feels so real as did Giselle's daily after-work "Hiya Joey". I don't think size conveys how real a character comes off. It's more do they say and do things that remind you of the things people do and say in real life or do they sound prosaic? Like Amanda’s telling her incarcerated boyfriend she'll love him for the rest of eternity is both unrealistic and very real.

One tiny little detail that made Felicity of Niveous Reverie so much more real to me was in the now-aborted pilot where she's showing her family her new school uniform. Yes, it's framed like your typical mildly embarrassing moment where your Mum especially gushes over how you look, but the uniform means so many things for Felicity. It's the first time she's ever worn one, and it just so happens to also be her first time going to a real school, with other kids, that she can potentially make friends with. This moment is historic for her, because she's going to be part of a larger group, for the first time in her life, at 17.

After an SS officer's family is accidentally sent to Treblinka, he must save them before the commandant dismantles the camp and kills all inmates.

I think keeping a scene 'small" makes for a bigger impact:

INT. DINING ROOM - LATER

A large table adorned with the finest silverware and

plates is dressed with the most delicious food.

Eleonore maintains her table manners with properly sized bites on her fork.

FRANZ

Don't be modest... you must be

starving. Please, indulge...

Eleonore gives in to her hunger and stuffs food into her mouth. She washes it down with wine.

Franz lights a cigarette and leans back in his chair,

entertained by her ravenous eating.

FRANZ (CONT'D)

I want you to know that you can

remain in my care as long as you

work hard.

Eleonore has cleaned her plate. She wipes her mouth with a napkin.

FRANZ (CONT'D)

Now that your mouth is empty, you

arrived here with two sons, did

you not?

Eleonore focuses on Franz, cautious but hopeful.

ELEONORE

I did.

Franz stubs out his cigarette, breaks eye-contact.

FRANZ

I have assured they did not get

misplaced in Treblinka... And

should you prove to be an

obedient Jew, I can arrange for

you to see them. Would you like

that?

Eleonore holds back tears.

ELEONORE

Yes.

FRANZ

Good. We understand each other,

then... Lydia!

LYDIA HOFFMAN (30s), a twig-thin Jewish woman, comes running to his call. She stands next to him, awaiting orders.

FRANZ (CONT'D)

Clean up the table... and find

some suitable clothes for our...

guest.

Lydia nods and takes plates and food back to the kitchen.

FRANZ (CONT'D)

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must

get more comfortable.

Franz steps away from the table.

FRANZ (CONT'D)

I'll come lock you in, in a

little bit.

Eleonore watches him walk away, then stares at the steak knife beside her plate.

Lydia returns for more dishes.

LYDIA

Don't do it. He will take it from

you and make you regret it. Trust

me. I'll bring wash water and new

clothes to your room, shortly. He

will beat you if you don't keep

yourself clean.

ELEONORE

Thank you.

When they start arguing about what you’re watching on TV.

A character feels real when a small human contradiction appears... something unplanned that reveals they are more than what was written. That’s usually when I know they’ve started to breathe on their own.