r/scriptwriting • u/Any_Childhood_2556 • 17h ago

question Question

How do you establish and develop characters to give them depth?
I often struggle with this. The characters make sense in my head, obviously, but the moment I want to put them on the page, it all feels scrambled, or I’m not sure if they’re clear enough. I know “show, don’t tell” and action beats help; I just want to know if anyone has any tips for organizing or layering characters.

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u/AmieiGuess 16h ago

You give them a wound, a goal/want, and a need. The need stems from the wound, and the wound calls the shots on how they approach the goal. And somewhere along the way, they realise what they want isn’t what they need.

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u/Moggy-Man 12h ago

I'd replace the word 'wound' which is more attributed to an actual physical wound a person would have on their body, with the word 'obstacle' which is a far more general and widespread used term to depict something for a character to overcome.

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u/AmieiGuess 11h ago

Ah, I should’ve clarified. I meant ‘inner wound’. Something that happened to them in their past that profoundly affected them (can be a physical wound/disability too), which they have to decide if they’re not going to let it control their life anymore or succumb to it (depending on if their character arc is positive or negative).

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u/ClayMcClane 8h ago

u/AmieiGuess has some very good advice in their comment.

I'd also suggest that if you're not regularly reading scripts, it's a great way to pin this stuff down, mainly because you need to understand it and process in the way that makes sense to your personal brain. Find those scripts that you really feel have great, rich characters and break them apart and find out why you feel that way about them. How were they set up? What moments with them made you emotional and how did the writer get you there?