"The characters I fall in love with are multidimensional and they surprise me in some way. They might be a type of character I’ve seen before, but they’re written with a fresh twist." -Carole Kirschner (Director of the WGA Showrunner Training Program and the CBS Diversity Writers Program, and author of Hollywood Game Plan)
https://www.networkisa.org/articles/view/what-makes-a-character-memorable
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Thanks for sharing. Heath actually died from an accidental overdose of prescription medication for a flu he got on with Christopher Plummer after the Dark Knight. Besides that.
Characters that stick with me have some depth and complexity. Plus I have to see myself in them. That relatability and empathy is important.
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Relatability is really an important hook. We should be able to tell a story that has someone wondering if their lives were secretly watched and worked on.
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You're welcome, Craig D Griffiths. Thanks for clearing that up about Heath.
I'm with you about characters. I think all of our characters and stories have parts of us.
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You're right, Abraham Adzashoja. I think, "How can I make these characters relatable?" when I develop characters. I try to give each major and minor character at least one relatable trait, hobby, experience, etc.
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Unique, quirky characters. Would never intentionally harm others or themselves, but usually wind up doing so lol!
Haha That sounds like it'd be a great Comedy movie, Cara Rogers.
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I disagree with the universally accepted idea that a character has to be relatable. It's true that Hannibal Lecter has "relatable" qualities, but that's not what I find intriguing about him at all! (Ditto for the Godfather!)..... at the end of the day, I think a character has to "simply" ring true to be a character we want to devote our attention to for 110 pages.
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You're right, Michael David. All characters don't have to be likable or relatable. Some can just be entertaining, intriguing, or as you said, "at the end of the day, I think a character has to "simply" ring true to be a character we want to devote our attention to for 110 pages."
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I'm the attorney representing my antagonist. Sure they are evil and are doing bad things. But there are reasons for it. Walk a mile in my antagonist's shoes. I must defend them. I believe you need to have empathy for the actions of every character you create unless you're creating psychopaths.
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"I believe you need to have empathy for the actions of every character you create unless you're creating psychopaths." I agree, Frank Monteleone! That makes for more well-rounded characters and better stories.
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"multidimensional" is a typical marketing term. What does it really mean? Nothing much. Every person is "multidementional" but not every person is an 'interesting' person too; in other words, a multidemential person can be boring as hell and no character grows can save him/her! As said, just marketing talk. But Rutger I'm talking about the right mix. Sure, and I'm talking about "Flaws." That's the key word. At least those marketing guru's got that right. Folks, check out "Unbreakable" and you know what I mean. That's screenwriting!!
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For example: serial killer as a caring father...and here comes the scary part: most of them really were...
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I agree, Rutger Oosterhoff. A multidimensional character can be boring. It's our job as writers to make them multidimensional and interesting. Thanks for the "Unbreakable" reference. It's been a long time since I watched the movie. I don't remember much that happened in it.