30 Days of Tips for Character Development: Writing Character Introductions and Dialogue
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman provides more tips for character development with examples of movie openings and character introductions to inspire, and tips for writing authentic dialogue.
To read the full series of 30 Days of Tips for Character Development, click here. The post is updated with every new tip so you can keep track of all the character creation advice.
It's finally time to write that first scene! Don't ever underestimate the importance of the opening moments of your story, but also the moment you introduce your main character... or any character, for that matter.
When a talent agent gets a script for their actor client, the very first thing they do is flip to the page their character first appears. What kind of first impression does this character make? How does the writer describe them? What's their body language, who are they with, how do they treat that person, what are the first words out of their mouths?
The first words you write about and for that character will be judged more than any other. You convey their personality type, the mood they're in, and also what their goal is for that scene. What do they want? Every character wants something.
Let's dive in making a great first impression.
Day 29: First impressions matter.
I wrote a detailed article previously titled "How to Write Character Introductions to Attract Actors." I encourage you to read it before you start writing that first draft. I share several excerpts from scripts, including this one of Children of Men by Alfonso Cuaron, written by Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. Here's the final line of Theo Faron’s description.
A man enters the coffee shop, making his way through the people: THEO FARON (55). Detached, unkempt, scruffy beard, glasses, Theo is a veteran of hopelessness. He gave up before the world did.
Now watch that opening scene:
The only words Theo spoke were to an off-screen character to get coffee, yet his actions told a full story—he is detached, unmoved by the news that has everyone else in that coffeehouse captivated, and using alcohol as a crutch. We know we're supposed to follow him, and not only be curious about him, but also worry about him. Then... BAM! An explosion! Yeah, we, the audience, have so many questions and want... no, have... to keep watching. We want to know what's going on with the plot, but we're also even more worried about Theo and the emotional pain he's clearly in. This is a simple, effective example of using a plot point to continue to poke at your character's wounds. I bet he drank a lot in the next scene.
Tips for writing character introductions:
Specify age and clothing only if it matters to personality or story.
Provide a glimpse inside their mind or wound.
Use action to convey personality or problems.
Introduce them in a way that either steals the scene or makes a reader never forget that character.
Give a glimpse of their everyday life.
Most importantly, take your time choosing the perfect opening scene for your story. What you think might be where your story starts, might not be the best opening. Write the entire first draft, examine where your outline took your story and characters, and ask yourself if the opening scene you wrote is the best place for your story to begin. Experiment with different openings. You might be starting in the wrong place.
In Children of Men, we learn not from the character's dialogue, but from his actions and the news clips shown on the coffeehouse TV screen. It's important not to use dialogue as an exposition dump.
Here's the opening scene of Scarface. Tony Montana sure likes to talk. Is it an exposition dump? Maybe. But we learn so much about his life, his cockiness, and the struggles he's been through before he crosses the border into the United States.
Is he lying about more than prison? That's the point. We don't know. We have to watch to find out. But he's not lying about living under Castro. He's passionate about that pain and struggle. We see his motivation... what he wants. Freedom, success and respect.
Al Pacino at his best. The accent. The attitude. What actor wouldn't want to play this character. I highly recommend watching him in Dog Day Afternoon, too, if you're one of the handful of people on this earth who hasn't seen it yet.
Bottom-line: When your characters open their mouths, something essential needs to come out, or they shouldn't be speaking.
Author Margaret Atwood said, “Every character needs to speak with purpose. When your characters are speaking, they should be trying to get something from one another or make a power play. As you draft each scene, ask yourself what your characters are trying to get. What are they trying to avoid? How do these wants inflect their speech and guide what they say—or don’t say? As you compose dialogue for your supporting characters, be mindful of their character roles within your primary storyline (as well as any subplots). Use their conversations efficiently to contribute to world building, character development, and the escalation of plot.”
In order to get dialogue right, you need to understand your characters' backgrounds so you'll know their cadence, their life experiences, etc. How we speak has everything to do with how we have lived.
When you have a multiple people in a scene, no two characters should sound alike. I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy many years ago, because every character started to sound like each other. It drove me crazy!
However, don't obsess about cadence in your first draft. During the rewrite and script polishing phase, read the entire script out loud, making sure every character sounds different. In Final Draft, you can highlight each character to find their dialogue and just read that one character's dialogue. Do that for every character.
30 Days of Tips for Character Development: Your Character's Biggest Obstacle Isn't What You Think
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman reveals the most important element of character evolution in the final lesson of the "30 Days of Character Development" series. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
To read the full series of 30 Days of Tips for Character Development, click here. It's updated with every new tip, so bookmark that baby.
Writers are notorious for being insecure. We have a reputation, maybe thanks to Hemingway, of being drunk and anti-social. We like solitude, don't like showers, and are happy living in our pajamas.
Guilty as charged.
But what makes writers great is our imaginations. We create worlds that could not possibly exist, like those of the Star Wars and Harry Potter series. Maybe it's because we'd rather live in our imaginary worlds than the real ones. Who can blame us when screenwriters are the lowest rung on the totem pole?
Getting real with your writing.
I've written about the value of therapy a lot. I don't suggest that lightly as some PC-tip for writers. I mean it. I believe in asking for help, collaborating with someone to push your growth, and having a person you can lean on when you think you can't take one more step.
And... I just described what it's like to have a writing partner. Yes, I have one of those, too.
Being honest about our weaknesses makes us stronger. I've given a lot of notes to writers over the years. (No, please do not send me your script.) The most common notes I give go something like this, "You're protecting your protagonist. I don't care about them. They're boring."
"Boring." That's a word that stings because the writer often relates too much to their protagonist. Therefore, if they get a note calling their character "boring," they hear, "you are boring." So, they immediately get defensive about notes, especially that one. Whenever a note hits too close to home, too close to their own personal wound, the writer typically recoils.
That is something you must get over. Seriously. Get over it.
Does that mean you can't be insecure and be a writer? Hell, no. It means you have to be willing to rip open your wounds and hand someone the salt shaker. Writing is exactly that. We pour our hearts onto the page, writing with the "door shut," as Stephen King suggests in his amazing book, On Writing. "Writing with the door shut" means we bleed on the page, not worrying about anyone else's eyes reading, and judging, our work... or us.
It's personal.
For this exercise, let's pretend selling your screenplay or book doesn't matter. If you could be assured no one would ever read your work, how deep would you go? How far would you push the creative boundaries? How far would you push yourself?
My father passed last year. In a cardboard box labeled "Career," I found a note he wrote to himself in the late 1970s when he was in Tehran, Iran, working for the United Nations, helping the Iranian government create a budget. It was right before 52 U.S. diplomats and citizens were taken hostage in Iran. A very turbulent time in the world. He was 51 and took this side gig with the UN to save money for college tuition for his four children. It was his third trip there. His need and want was simply to provide for his family. This was how far he was willing to go to succeed at his goal. He'd go for weeks at a time. In that note, he spoke of all the insecurities and frustrations he felt—he was scared. Terrified. His handwriting even changed. He started with capital letters, then, as his vulnerabilities and fears rose, he switched to lowercase. His hotel was bombed, he felt hostility and resistance from the Iranians he was trying to help, he felt... well, I won't go into his emotional pain, but trust me when I tell you, he wrote that note as if no one would ever read it, least of all me.
But I read it. Now, I'll never forget it. I will never, ever forget the emotions I felt reading the words of a man who presented such strength to the world, but alone in that Iranian hotel room, with the door shut, was willing to reveal his fears and demons and speak the truth. His truth. He would do anything to provide for his family, even risk his life.
That is raw and honest storytelling. I was griped. I was moved. I could relate to him in a way I never related to him before.
That is what you need to do. Write like no one will ever read it.
Where do you start?
You are your character's biggest obstacle. You. The person who birthed them. The person who is taking them on this journey. You are the only one who can make them everything they should be. You.
Start with the tip I gave in a previous article in this series, pay attention to what makes you cry. That is where your wounds are. Those are the areas to start poking. It's going to hurt, but I promise, the rewards will be worth it.
By protecting your characters, you are only protecting yourself. You might fear ripping open their wounds and then an exec telling you that your character is "boring," which makes you feel boring. You aren't boring. Inside you is a literary, and possibly tortured genius, waiting to come out. You hold the keys to the emotional prison cell you have trapped your characters in. Set them free by setting yourself free.
The only way to create compelling characters is to be brave enough to crawl into your own head, analyze yourself, rip your wounds open and see where it takes you... and your characters.
Being vulnerable is scary, so is change. But you are seeking out writing advice because you want to evolve and grow. When you evolve with your characters, there is no going back for either of you. Your writing will forever change, and all of your future stories and characters will thank you. Your future manager will thank you, too.
Now that you know you are the true key to character development, you might want to peek back at some of the lessons of the past 30 days and change some things. Go ahead, shut the door and start bleeding. I'll be right here, virtually holding your hand. You got this.
DAY 1: Character Goals - The first step of understanding how to develop your character is to understand their goals. What is their want? Start your 30 days of writing exercises with these tips.
DAY 2, 3 and 4: Creating Character Backstories - Diving deep into creating characters' backstories not only helps you create roles actors want to play, but also creates more opportunities for interesting plot points and conflict.
DAY 5: Read Screenplays - How to Find Professional Screenplays to Download - Great movies have great characters. The best way to learn how to write a screenplay is to read screenplays written by professionals. Get an extensive list of resources to find screenplays online to help you develop compelling characters.
DAY 6 and 7: How to Identify Your Character's Inner Wounds - A character's inner wound not only grounds the story, but also provides valuable information for creating plot points full of conflicts to push your character. Explore ways to identify your character's inner wounds.
DAY 8: What is Your Character Afraid Of? - Exploring the fears of your characters is an essential step in character development. Why are they so afraid to face those fears?
DAY 9, 10 and 11: Meet the Bad Guy - Antagonists toss road blocks in front of our protagonists. They're the most important source of story conflict. Learn writing exercises to help elevate your antagonists and add more conflict to your stories.
DAY 12: Naming Your Characters - Unlike parents, who name their children before ever meeting them, writers can name a character after they've explored their psyches. Get tips on naming your characters.
DAY 15, 16, 17 and 18: Comfort, Revenge, Fear and Power - Developing our characters to their fullest requires deep exploration of character motivations. Get tips on pushing characters out of their comfort zones, discovering their potential for revenge, fear and power.
DAY 19, 20, 21 and 22: Supporting Characters - Supporting characters "support" the protagonist, the theme and the overall story. Learn how to create supporting characters who serve your story.
DAY 23, 24 and 25: Theme, Setup and Payoff - Great storytelling involves characters that captivate the reader. Get tips for connecting your characters to the story's theme and using their choices to establish an effective setup and payoff.
DAY 26, 27 and 28: How Character Evolution Impacts Story Structure - Stories are only as interesting as the characters in them. Get advice on using character evolution to create powerful story structure whether you're an outliner or a pantser.
DAY 29: Writing Character Introductions and Dialogue - Get more tips for character development with examples of movie openings and character introductions to inspire, and tips for writing authentic dialogue.
DAY 30: Your Character's Biggest Obstacle Isn't What You Think - The most important element of character evolution is revealed in the final lesson of the "30 Days of Character Development" series. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
30 Days of Tips for Character Development: How Character Evolution Impacts Story Structure
Stories are only as interesting as the characters in them. Jeanne Veillette Bowerman shares advice on using character evolution to create powerful story structure whether you're an outliner or a pantser.
To read the full series of 30 Days of Tips for Character Development, click here. The post is updated with every new tip so you can keep track of all the character creation advice.
Tired of crawling in your characters' heads? Good! Now we get to move onto how you take those psychological lessons and turn your characters' evolution into potential plot points.
Days 26, 27 and 28: Time to plot your story.
Yes, I'm giving you three days for one exercise, because structure is everything. Plus, the following tips intertwine so much that we need to keep them all in your mind as you break your story. Starting is everything, so let's get on with it.
Conflict, plot and character evolution go hand in hand. Go back to the lists of conflicts you created on Day 11, in our Meet the Bad Guys post, and also go back to every list we did throughout the past 25 days. Print them out and spread them on the table. I want you to be able to see everything.
To inspire you, here's a clip from one of Hauge's and Vogler's presentations. Their examination of how a character's emotional journey impacts the story's plot sets up a blueprint for structure. Watch the whole clip, but pay close attention to how they describe the impact of the opening scene for Erin Brockovich, and the many rewrites that changed it.
Let's backup. Just watch the opening scene of Brockovich now, then watch the Hauge/Vogler clip after. Trust me.
(Yeah, subtitles... sorry. It was the best version I could find.)
Midway through the following clip is where Hauge and Vogler examine this opening scene. But watch from the beginning, where they explain how once you know the deeper levels of your character, you can layer those into your story right from the first scene. Yes, we've talked about all of this many times in the last umpteen days of this article series, but sometimes hearing the same ideas from a different person helps you connect the dots.
Revisiting conflict, theme and structure.
Let's explore Cast Away. An over-the-top FedEx systems analyst, obsessed with time management, gets trapped on an island, all alone. No one to organize or direct. Just him and his thoughts. How does he handle the conflicts that will arise, in an environment that is beyond his control, missing the life and love that he may never get back?
What's the worst possible scenario for a time-management freak to be in? A place where time doesn't matter and he has no control over anything. The writer had to create conflicting situations to make him more comfortable being uncomfortable and help him evolve and let go of control.
Remember from our last article, this is also where the story's theme comes in. Survival is a basic human instinct. The writer tossed every survival obstacle at him, even giving him the ultimate test of suicidal ideations. The man who washed up on that island is not someone who would ever allow himself to consider suicide. He was an overachiever. Not a quitter. Yet, he considers giving up because of all the horrific conflicts he faces. That moment of loss of hope presents the perfect opportunity for growth.
Symbolism plays a key role, too. The one package that he keeps unopened gives him purpose—gives him hope. It creates a symbolic connecting thread to his past life and reminder that he must stay focused because, one day, he may be able to deliver that package.
It works. He doesn't give up. For four years, he not only survives, he thrives. By the time he's rescued and returns "home," he cannot just go back to the way he was before. He's forever changed because of this experience, and we want nothing more than for him to be happy. He's been through hell! But home doesn't feel comfortable to him anymore. Quite the contrary. Everything he thought mattered to him is gone.
However, there is still that part of the old Chuck that's alive... the responsible FedEx executive who must deliver that lone unopened package. After he leaves the package on the addressee's porch, he ends up at a crossroads, literally. Unlike in the beginning of the film, he now feels he has choices. Life isn't all about work, and being on a rigid schedule.
When we discussed theme last time, we also talked about payoffs and setups. That package is exactly that. Notice in the beginning of Cast Away, that very package was picked up at that same ranch, and then delivered to her husband in Russia... and he was clearly cheating on her. So, it's a likely assumption that Tom Hanks' character was in possession of that package because the husband returned it, unopened.
That package was swept onto the shore by the tide after he survived the plane crash. The woman who sent it, and he later delivered it to, just might be his destiny. His future, all set up four years earlier on the shore of that deserted island.
There were also lines in the movie that stated the theme of survival—"I know what I have to do now. And I keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring."
When asked about the film's ending, Hanks reflected on the theme again, "Somehow at the end of the movie, you can stand on the crossroads, and it's going to be okay, it's going to be alright. As long as you keep breathing and have a certain kind of perspective and proportion to your life." His character had to get to the place where he understood the theme in order to survive on that island. Now, he needs to revisit that lesson yet again once he gets off the island. We know he can do this, because we watched him. If he can survive four years on a deserted island, he can survive in Memphis.
Because I want to drive the point home on how to use setups and payoffs, here's the iconic crossroads/package ending. Notice how the road that leads back to the ranch even has a beach-like appearance to it.
Start outlining.
Use our free download, or Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet, or index cards, or any other process you already use for outlining, and start breaking story. Jane Friedman recently shared a "Puzzle-Piece Plotting Method" by Justin Attas that might work well for you, too.
But what if you're a pantser? No worries! Now that you know your characters inside and out, the panters-style works great, too! Nothing is written in stone. This is just a roadmap. It will change. Read that again—it will change. It should change! You're going to keep learning about your characters during this phase, too.
For inspiration, look back at the character lists you created earlier, like from Days 15, 16, 17, 18, where we explored comfort, revenge, fear and power by asking the characters “What do you want the most and what is keeping you from achieving it?"
Don't just rely on your lists. Keep using your imagination and exploring new choices and conflicts for your characters.
Push them off a cliff.
If I haven't driven this home enough, let's say it one more time—PUSH YOUR CHARACTERS OFF A CLIFF! No one wants to watch a movie where the main character is in a protective bubble. Push them, dammit! Force them to face something that scares the crap out of them. Test their coping skills. Find out who they really are by how they react to the situations you put them in. Then push them farther! Imagine a scene that would keep them from being able to have their natural reaction. Shock the hell out of them!
Here's where I want you to go off road. As you add each point of conflict, have them do something you’ve never seen on screen before. The conflict itself can be something totally original, or how they react to that conflict can be original. Just be original! If you can't think of something off the cuff right now, don't worry, just write "do something super awesome here" and move on, but know you must find an original way when it comes time to write.
When I was writing a kidnap scene for Slavery by Another Name, Doug Richardson demanded I find a way to kidnap the son in a manner no one has ever done on screen before. It took me a few weeks to figure out how, but I did! It turned out to be one of his favorite scenes in the script.
Even if most of the ideas you jot down are similar to others we've seen, twist just one of them to be something totally mind-blowing. Just one powerful, totally original scene can make a movie memorable. Do that. Always do that.
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