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I& #39;ve got to head back into the Hill-Cave to finish up this screenplay, but I wanted to mention something called a "character pass" (at least that& #39;s what I call it) and how it can help your writing, especially your rewriting. #writingtips
So you& #39;ve written your first draft, hit all the scenes from your outline and the story is basically there -- but it& #39;s not yet "popping."
That& #39;s when I do a CHARACTER PASS. And what& #39;s that?
That& #39;s when I do a CHARACTER PASS. And what& #39;s that?
That& #39;s when I go through the script but I only look at it through the point of view of ONE CHARACTER at a time.
I look for unique ways to rewrite dialogue, character reactions, kind of make the scenes "real" in my mind from ONE CHARACTER& #39;S POINT OF VIEW.
Usually I --
I look for unique ways to rewrite dialogue, character reactions, kind of make the scenes "real" in my mind from ONE CHARACTER& #39;S POINT OF VIEW.
Usually I --
-- start with the PROTAGONIST, since they tend to have the most scenes and see if they& #39;re feeling flat. Like they do what they& #39;re "supposed to do" in the scenes, but there& #39;s no life in it. I might play act/improve a scene in my office. Look for ways to make the scene unique.
Sometimes, that& #39;s considering WHERE the scene is. Is there something in the location I can use to make this more dynamic AS THIS CHARACTER. That& #39;s often very helpful and it makes the location seem NECESSARY to the story.
Often, I& #39;ll look at the WAY they& #39;re speaking. Can I make the rhythm of their speech more specific to them? The way they use slang? Maybe they don& #39;t contract words? Maybe they can speak in more staccato sentences.
It& #39;s all about making the generic, SPECIFIC.
It& #39;s all about making the generic, SPECIFIC.
Since my main job is writing for actors, I& #39;m also looking at the script from the point of view of an actor, asking myself --
"If I had to play this character, would that be interesting? If not, how, as an actor would I MAKE IT interesting?"
Then I do that on the page.
"If I had to play this character, would that be interesting? If not, how, as an actor would I MAKE IT interesting?"
Then I do that on the page.
Even though I said I focus on ONLY ONE CHARACTER per "character pass" I often wind up tweaking others in the scene because a change to one, affects the whole scene. Doesn& #39;t often change the WHAT of the scene, but it does evolve the HOW -- but I focus on only one per pass.
I& #39;ll do a character pass for each of the main characters, for sure. I like to do one for ANYONE WHO SPEAKS in the script -- because every speaking part will be played by a real person and that person deserves something interesting to do with their day.
If a character appears once and speaks once, that pass is five minutes long. If they& #39;re a main character, it can take hours, but when I& #39;m done with that process I find my writing is much more "alive." The characters feel more like PEOPLE, and hopefully more fun to perform.
You might not get to your "button lines" until you do a character pass. If your first draft dialogue is flat, just make a note to go back through it and spark it up when you have the FREEDOM to only focus on one character.
Don& #39;t feel like you have to nail it all draft one.
Don& #39;t feel like you have to nail it all draft one.
Works in comics too. For OUTSIDERS I had Batman, Black Lightning, Katana etc. Every script, once the story is laid down in script form, I have to go back through and tweak each of them in a separate pass so they feel like I want them to feel.
In my first draft, they don& #39;t.
In my first draft, they don& #39;t.
