Character Development

When it comes to producing main or supporting characters the writer needs to remember quite a few things. It's not as simple as creating a person out of thin air, it's more than that. A character needs to serve the story's lore while at the same time growing as a unique character. Sometimes the character needs to be a clean slate that fills itself with characteristics as the story progress. Together we will study the idea of character and what makes a certain type of character interesting to read about or watch in a movie. Consider the part that each character needs to play.

Here, let us make a list of character aspects that need to be established.

1.) The main character or hero needs to be relatable even if later on he becomes alienated from the rest of society. Readers or movie goers need a personal attachment. If one is not provided it is harder for the individual to connect to the story being told. Nowadays there are too many instances where the action is the primary focus over the main character. This simply is not the way to do things. True, audiences love flashy and excitable things. But where is the mental challenge and mental connection that so many people go to the movies for or pick up a book for? A good story always provides a lifelike character to be our vessel through the world that they live in. That is how it should be. Any kind of action needs to be a result of the villain's doing or part of the hero's consequences for an earlier interaction.

2.) Though I've touched on the topic of the villain before, I cannot help but stress the need for a good one. Never be scared to write a villain into existence that terrifies even you, the writer. Chances are that character will frighten others too but in a good way. Always create a path for the villain the same way you would the main character or the hero. Never neglect either one of these characters for they are the necessary polar opposites to any good story. It is the common science behind any great story in the last 70 years. The idea is to make the villain someone that the audience loves to hate or that they feel sympathy for. That or make the villain someone that is truly despicable. No matter what, build that villain as you would the lore of the story. This one character can make or break the value of the resolution. That said, a villain is not the focus of the story but the individual that we consider to be in the wrong opposed to being in the right. This creates strife which in turn produces tension and action.

3.) Supporting characters never get the spotlight that they deserve. The friend or helper in the story is there to push the main character or hero the extra twelve feet that they would never have gained on their own. Any supporting character needs to have a reason for existing. Simply killing or creating a support character is meaningless unless it serves the story. Think of these characters as accessories. The hero would be boring if they never had anyone there to support them or to instigate thought. The support character should always challenge the issue that the hero faces. What is the right way to go? Is it right or left? Is fighting the only option? Support characters have these thoughts to provoke the hero into saying or doing what would be expected of them. Sometimes they push the hero to do the unexpected. These characters are an important piece to both sides of the equation. Without the support around the dialogue between the hero and villain would become stale and almost cartoon-like in practice. The objective of the support character needs to be that of its name, support. These characters should behave as the active crutches that hold up the hero. Adding support characters also gives the audience a breath or refresher, and for the main characters a push in the right direction.