Why This is Good

If you’ve worked with me on a consultation or read my blogs, you’ll notice that I frequently use the term hero to describe the protagonist, or main character of a script. Many of the people I learned from and have studied choose hero as their preferred term-Michael Hauge, Eric Edson, Chris Vogler, still others choose to say protagonist. It’s important to note that those of us who say hero in reference to the protagonist have chosen this term not because the hero always acts heroically, but because the word represents the hero of any given story-whether that hero is really a heroine, a tragic hero, or never really is heroic or admirable at all.

There is a difference between acting heroically when the need arises and being the hero of a screenplay. The hero of the script is the person who moves the story forward and causes the events in the story to take place as a result of their attempt to achieve a goal. The hero, in this sense, is not necessarily the most heroic or admirable character in the story. The hero may have no special powers or traits that make him or her special. The hero may be a jerk that only has a few minor redeeming qualities. The hero may turn the other way and act cowardly when an opportunity to save someone comes along. The hero of your script is not necessarily a superhero or someone who would save a kitten from a burning building. They are simply, the main character who moves the story forward and causes the action of the story to occur. The hero of your screenplay cannot be reactionary or passive, and cannot wait for others to prompt him or her to action at every turn.

Conversely, the antagonist may also be called the nemesis or villain, when in reality they may be a pretty nice guy. As long as they are opposing the hero, they are playing the role of the villain in the story. Just as Wicked twisted the story of The Wizard of Oz to make the traditional villain the hero, your story may be about a bad guy working to achieve a goal against the forces of the good guys. Your hero in screenplay terms might not be a hero at all, while his or her nemesis might be a true hero outside of the definitions of screenwriting and the context of your story.

As long as you’ve made your hero likable and sympathetic enough that the audience is rooting for their success, the goal they are pursuing does not have to be an honorable one. The so-called hero of many gangster, crime, or teen comedies is often someone we would not admire or wish to win in real life, and not someone we would normally call a hero in the same way that we would call a soldier, police officer, or teacher a hero.

The character leading the action of the story is the hero, no matter how nefarious that action may be.  The Godfather movies get the audience to root for people who we would not want to see succeed in real life. We get behind ruthless killers who perpetrate crime and corruption. In Gone in 60 Seconds we like the “heroes” who are car thieves and want them to win, even though they are committing a crime that in real life we would not admire. In Ocean’s Eleven we want the group of con artist swindlers to rob the casino, despite the fact that it is morally and ethically wrong. Like the kids at school, we love Ferris Bueller and want him to get away with ditching school and fooling all the adults around him, but Ferris is no hero, and if he were your son or brother in real life, you’d be outraged at his disrespect for authority and concerned about his attitude and morals.

In A Fish Called Wanda, we root for the team of thieves to succeed in their robbery even killing dogs is okay because we’re so on their side and want them to win, but imagine hearing this story on the news-a band of criminals who steal diamonds, betray each other, try to seduce a lawyer to help win their case, and attempt to murder a key witness, and in the process kill her innocent dogs instead-we would be outraged and horrified at the depravity, and no one would call them heroes . A charismatic, charming hero doesn’t have to be heroic or noble at all, as long as we like them and want them to win.

The first ten percent of the film establishes the character in their everyday life, or the “Ordinary World” to use Chris Vogler’s terminology. This part of the script is often the easiest to write, and because of that, many writers overlook it and don’t spend as much time here analyzing and agonizing over every word. Since the second act is often the most difficult, and the third act contains the climax and the most exciting part of the story, the opening ten percent is glossed over.

This first portion of your script is where you win or lose your audience or your reader, and it is vital to the success of your script. Some scripts open right away with an inciting incident that sets the story in motion. In this case the first ten percent is off to a quick start and the writer will have to go back when the action has slowed a bit to establish who the character is and what their world is like. For the majority of films, and the majority of screenwriting structure paradigms, the first ten percent prior to the inciting incident is what tells us who the character is, what their everyday life is like, and establishes why we should like them and care enough about them to want to watch the rest of the film.

In this short amount of time, you need to accomplish several things:

-Introduce and describe the hero.

-Grab the reader’s attention with an exciting, compelling story and engaging writing.

-Establish the hero’s normal life, what they are like and what they are doing before the story really starts.

-Invite the reader into the world of the story by using vivid detail and visual descriptions to create a realistic and three-dimensional setting, whether the story is set in a real or imagined world, in the past, present or future.

-Create empathy for the hero using some of the techniques described here.

-Show the inciting incident that sets the story in motion.

This is not to be confused with the first act turning point that occurs at 25% and firmly establishes the goal for the rest of the film. The inciting incident is the very first event that begins the hero’s journey out of their ordinary world and into the world of the story.

For the next few days, I’ll examine how to accomplish each of these objectives in depth. First I’ll discuss introducing the hero, specifically, describing them.

While character descriptions must be brief, the description of the hero can be a little longer. Take a full paragraph-at least a few sentences-to really describe the hero. Remember that the character description should not be about hair and eye color, or any physical description that would limit casting, unless specific looks are essential to the story or the character. For example, the hobbits had to be described as short, rotund, and with hairy feet,  that Elle Woods was Legally Blonde, and it did matter to the story that all those nerdy girls who would become hot by taking off their glasses or getting a makeover (She’s All That, The Princess Diaries, Walk to Remember, Never Been Kissed, etc.) looked nerdy. But even when looks matter, you’ll find that the descriptions aren’t so specific-as they often get in books-that only one person could play the part. Any number of blondes could have been Elle, the hobbits casting wasn’t limited to brunettes, and those nerdy pre-makeover girls could have any number of hair color, eye color or height.

What matters in describing characters, particularly your hero, is capturing their essence. Who are they? What can we tell about their personality from the way they act, the way they carry themselves, or the way they dress? And while you cannot get into the character’s head and give us a psychoanalysis of their neuroses and hang-ups, you can and should give us an overall image of what they’re like.

You can also use visual description to imply what a personality is like, it’s all about choosing the right adjectives. You need to pick words that can be acted and shown on screen. Shy is not as visual and actable as timid, meek, soft-spoken or careful. Mean is not as visual as aggressive or hostile. Nice is not as visual as warm, friendly or bubbly. Be careful in your descriptions, and try to choose the most actable, visual words to describe your hero. Throughout the script, make sure that we see them acting in a way that is consistent with this description. As you review your character descriptions, ask yourself how the audience will know that what you’ve described is true, since they won’t be able to see the words you’ve written. If your description is visual and actable, then everything you’ve written about your character will be easily known and understood by viewers watching your film, not just people reading your script.

Here are two character descriptions that say the same things about the hero. The first is an example of what not to do-and what most writers do out of habit in their first draft. The second description rewrites the first in a more visual way that an actor could take to the screen and portray.

JESSICA is 5’8” and 140lbs, thin but muscular and toned. She is 24 years old. She spends all her time outside riding horses so she is always tan, with some freckles on her nose and cheeks. She has long brown hair that she always wears up in a ponytail. Jessica’s parents divorced when she was six and she has always had a hard time trusting people because her father left her and her mom. She has abandonment issues and when she gets into a relationship she always suspects her boyfriends of cheating on her. She gets jealous easily and constantly starts fights with them, and has a hard time being friendly because she is afraid if she gets close to someone they will leave like her father did.

JESSICA, 24, is athletic and outdoorsy. She wears black mud-covered riding boots over dusty, worn jeans and a thin white tank top. Her hair is pulled up out of the way. Jessica is reserved and cautious.

It’s not just the length of the description that has been cut down, it’s the novelistic background details that aren’t visual. How would the audience know that Jessica’s parents divorced? The only way they would know is if she reveals it in dialogue, or if you show a flashback of this event happening. But those things are not part of the character description.

The details about what she does in a relationship are also not something that can be acted on screen when Jessica is first introduced. Rather than telling your reader something the audience cannot see, you will need to show that Jessica does this by writing out scenes in which she acts this way. The details about her looks that limit casting have been omitted, and the overall look is summed up in the general but visual adjectives of athletic and outdoorsy. The important thing about her is that she is athletic.

By describing her clothes, we can tell she rides horses. Even better would be if she were introduced in a restaurant, or at school or work-somewhere where the fact that she was dressed this way was not appropriate and would reveal that she is so into riding she is always just coming from seeing her horse and can’t be bothered changing into more suitable clothes. This is a good way to show that she is a rider rather than novelistically telling us that she rides horses a lot.

To transform the novelistic sentence: “She has long brown hair that she always wears up in a ponytail” to one that works in a screenplay, I have changed it to “Her hair is pulled up out of the way.” No need to limit casting with the long brown hair detail, it doesn’t matter to the essence of the character if her hair is long and brown or short and blonde. We can’t know that she always wears it up because we are only describing what we see here. Her hair is up now, but the audience would have no way of knowing that she always wears her hair in a ponytail, so it’s inappropriate to describe her this way in a screenplay.

By saying she is reserved and cautious, we have transformed all of her background information and hang-ups into two actable, specific, visual adjectives that the actor can use to approach the character and show us that she has all of these issues, the details of which can be revealed through dialogue and later events. The important thing now is giving an overall impression and a visual description that evokes an image in the readers mind, and character traits that any athletic, 20-something actress could portray.

In your first draft, don’t slow down your writing by worrying over every word. Describe the character as you see him or her, but go back in subsequent revisions and analyze whether or not your descriptions are visual or not. Ask yourself how the audience will see that what you have written is true. If the only way to know a detail you have put down would be to read the script, then you need to revise your description to make it more visual and appropriate for a screenplay.

For more information on the first 10%, check out Michael Hauge’s lecture Grabbing the Reader in the First 10 Pages-available on DVD by clicking here.

Stereotypes are obviously negative. Most of us don’t consider ourselves racist and would condemn blatant bigotry if we witnessed it in real life or in a TV show or film. However some stereotypes are so accepted and ingrained in our culture that they can creep into your writing without you even realizing that they are prejudiced. These portrayals have become so prevalent and so accepted as funny and normal that many writers insert these caricatures into their writing not based on any real knowledge of the people they’re portraying, but because pop culture has made these racist and bigoted caricatures acceptable.

I’m all for free speech, and I would never want to encourage writers or any other type of artist to refraining from expressing themselves creatively in order to avoid offending a certain person or group. I’m a huge fan of the stand-up comedian Russell Peters, as well as shows like The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy, and obviously they do not tip-toe around any controversial issues or try at all to avoid offending anyone. We should all be able to laugh at ourselves and have a sense of humor about the world around us and those in it. I’m not against honest intelligently written comedy and thoughtful commentary. What I am against, however, is the use of clichéd stereotypes in an ineffective attempt to add humor to a script or a movie. It is not just offensive, it is ignorant, narrow-minded and lazy. Using stereotypes to get a cheap laugh is not only trite and irritating, it is proof that you haven’t done your research. Writing a gay male character who is overly effeminate, flamboyant and prissy a la Jack from Will and Grace shows that you probably haven’t done enough research and are not writing creatively. It’s ignorant to think that all gay men behave this way, and it’s insulting the intelligence of your audience to assume we will always find this behavior to be funny. Even if it weren’t offensive it would be clichéd, as this stereotype has been done to death. Think of new and well-rounded ways to portray gay men. And step outside your comfort zone and actually get to know gay men in real life. You’ll find that, like everyone else, their sexuality is only a tiny part of who they are and there are as many different types of people in that community as there are in society as a whole.

I also frequently read black women being stereotyped negatively. They are given the clichéd treatment of being the ghetto-fabulous girls with huge attitudes, constantly snapping their fingers and spouting tired catch phrases like “Oh no you didn’t” and “Don’t go there, girlfriend.” Please.  Don’t perpetuate such a ridiculous stereotype in order to get a laugh. No one with any intelligence or sensitivity is laughing and you’re more likely just offending your reader and alerting them to the fact that your writing is hackneyed and based not on your own experiences but on images you’ve seen and copied from other films and TV shows.

I only mention these two stereotypes because they are so pervasive, but they exist in many forms. Any grouped or type of person can and is stereotyped-young attractive blonde women as ditzy or slutty, elderly people as fumbling, crazy and irritable, middle-aged women as horny and sex-starved and preying on teenage boys (they wish), Asians (see Chinatown, Pretty in Pink or Breakfast at Tiffany’s), Southerners (Deliverance, Waterboy)  and the list goes on. The point is that it’s lazy writing and proves you’ve done insufficient research. If you aren’t willing to get to know the type of people you are writing about then don’t write about them. If you aren’t willing to branch out and get to know other people, than you aren’t mature enough to try to write about them. Better to avoid the subject than flagrantly prove your ignorance and lack of creativity.

For further reading, check out this article.

One of the first reactions I always have when viewing a film adapted from a novel I’ve read is that the actors portraying the characters are never what I pictured them to be from the descriptions in the novel. Novel writers often spend pages and pages elaborating on the way each major character looks. We learn of their skin color, how smooth it is, the shape and size of their eyes, the abundance or lack of eyelashes, the exact color of their irises and how it varies in different light. We know how long their hair is, how soft, what color it is and how it lights up in the sun. The physical descriptions in novels are long, lengthy, and extremely detailed. Novel writers often create visions of men and women so beautiful that it is impossible for a real human to accurately portray this beauty on screen, and the resulting cast pales in comparison to the gods and goddesses described in the film. While novelists have every right and creative license to create these fantastical visions-whether beautiful or ugly-a screenwriter is limited in the amount and detail he or she should include when describing a character.

While the novelist has all the time in the world to describe the intricacies of what their characters look like, the screenwriter must be brief, and, it is important to limit physical description so that you do not limit casting. For most screenplays, the exact size, shape, and coloring of a character is unimportant. The overall look-young or old, fat or thin, beautiful, ugly, or average-is what matters more than blonde or brunette, blue or brown eyed. There are hundreds of beautiful young actresses, but if you insist that your heroine is five-foot-two, one-hundred and five pounds with long, curly auburn hair and green eyes, you are limiting the casting down to very few women who fit that description. Does it really matter to your story whether a character has blue, gray, brown, or hazel eyes? Probably not. In the rare instances when a certain physical trait is vital to the story, it should be only one thing and you should be flexible with it.

Character description in a screenplay should be brief-in keeping with the style of brevity and clear concise writing that screenwriters must employ. Again, because a screenplay, unlike a novel, is only able to convey what we see and hear, the screenwriter must use the few words allotted to character description to describe not just the looks, but the overall essence of the person. If a screenwriter spends too much time on hair and eye color or how beautiful a character’s body is, there is no space left to describe what the character is like-their real essence, who they are and how they act-the part of them that can be portrayed by a skilled actor of any physical type.

While novelists can spend even more time getting inside their character’s heads and describing how they think and feel at any moment, screenwriters must convey the character’s personality and attitude about life in a few words or sentences in the character description. Novelists can pause the story and get involved in the character’s past, explaining what happened to make them act a certain way. They can reveal a character’s thoughts and how that character approaches life, their views on the world. They can take as long as necessary to explain this, and they can insert more revelations whenever they want during the story, because in a novel it is acceptable to interrupt the forward momentum of the plot with backstory, thoughts, and a characters feelings or inner monologue. A screenwriter must give this sense of what the character is like when they are introduced, by providing visual clues-the way the character dresses, the way they look, their facial expressions. The way they stand, walk, or speak. These visual details, when explained by a skilled screenwriter, can convey as much or more than pages of introspection written by a novelist, but the screenwriter must carefully choose the correct, vivid visual details that most effectively convey who their character really is, without the luxury of actually getting inside their head.

Describing the clothes the character wears often says much more about who the character is than any other physical or personality trait.  Whether or not the clothes contrast with what others are wearing, or is completely trendy and in style speaks volumes about who someone is.

No one chooses whether they have green eyes or brown, we’re born with certain genetic traits that determine our looks, but we wake up every morning and choose what we wear, and how we wear it. Clothes say a lot about our lifestyle, income level, how much we value our appearance, or don’t value our appearance, and this says a lot about who we are and where we are in life.  A frazzled mother with three screaming kids probably doesn’t worry about what she throws on before going grocery shopping. The fact that she is sloppily dressed and possibly wearing mismatched socks reveals how busy and stressed she is. Looking sexy is not her top priority right now, and we can get this sense by simply looking at what she wears, without knowing any other detail about her life.

At the same time, an impeccably dressed, perfectly manicured mother of three may give an impression that she has a nanny and doesn’t ever allow those kids to play outside or get dirty. Teenagers express themselves through their clothes, whether they’re trying desperately to look older or cooler, fit in, or look like they don’t care what anyone thinks and are above worrying about appearances. We know without being told that someone dressed in expensive designer clothes is most likely has money, or serious credit card debt, and someone in a navy or gray suit and a mildly patterned tie probably works for a conservative company, while someone in baggy cargo pants and a holey t-shirt and flip flops may have a less structured work environment.

From Erin Brokovich by Susannah Grant, “…in the middle of this pedestrian normalcy, a pair of impossibly high spike-heeled pumps struts out of a shop. So high it hurts to look at them.”

Without having to say it outright, we know that Erin without is alluring, maybe bordering on a bit trampy and tacky. The shoes show us she confident, a bit provocative, and probably attractive.

From Back to the Future by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale, “MARTY McFLY, 17, a good looking kid who has an air of confidence just shy of cockiness. He’s wearing a silver Porsche jacket, and like most typical modern day kids, not a stitch of his clothing is without some brand name or form of advertising.”

Again the clothes tell the story, by showing us that Marty is a typical kid, probably into sports cars, definitely trying to fit in and look cool. He’s not an outsider or a geek, as his clothes are in line with what everyone else is wearing. The writers also noted he was confident. This character trait is something we can see, and it has to do with who he is as a person. It doesn’t matter whether he has brown, blonde, or black hair, or if he is tall or short. We know he’s good-looking, confident, and dresses in trendy clothes. This tells us what he’s like without limiting casting. It allows us to create a picture in our heads of what the kid is like, and gives producers reading the script the flexibility to imagine casting several different actors.

In Legally Blonde by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kristen Smith, Elle is described based on how she looks, but in a way that speaks volumes about who she is “…passing toned, waxed, tanned legs in pink Prada pedal pushers and a pair of perky boobs encased in a spaghetti-strap top – until we finally reveal a magnificent head of long blonde hair and a sweet, beautiful face. This is ELLE WOODS”

Here the writers noted the hair color, because, obviously in this case it is vital to the character. But they spent more time detailing her body and her outfit because the clothes tell us so much more about her. Reading this description is much more interesting and visually impactful than if they had instead said: “She is attractive, takes care of herself, is well-groomed and popular.” We get so much more out of the visual details. The waxed, tanned legs, the revealing, designer clothes, the perky boobs. All of this shows us, without telling us that she is popular, wealthy, and probably superficial.

In Chinatown by Robert Towne, Gittes is introduced by noting his clothes: “He looks cool and brisk in a white linen suit despite the heat.” This conveys much about his personality, that he’s confident and cool. The other character in the room is sweaty and sloppily dressed. Our hero, by contrast, is relaxed and suave. These minor details are a vital part of the character, telling us the essence of who he is with a few short words, and without relying on hair color, body type, or any other limiting details.

In Schindler’s List by Steven Zaillian “Oskar Schindler – salesman from Zwittau – looking almost reputable in his one nice suit.” This tells us that he is not really be reputable, and that he may be a bit of a swindler or a con artist. He only has one nice suit, so we know that he is not wealthy, but that he puts on airs and possibly uses this suit to impress and get people to do what he wants. He is probably persuasive and popular, but also worried about how others see him. He values what people think and makes sure they think he is more successful than he is.

When you’re out and about, observe what people are wearing and note what your immediate impression is based solely on this. This is one of the primary ways we judge strangers who we have never spoken to and know nothing about. Note what you think of someone based on their outfit, and you can use these observations to help choose the right look for your characters based on what you want their clothes to mean about who they really are.

In talking about creating character sympathy, there are rules, techniques and devices we can use, but there are also simple, intuitive ways to create a likable, sympathetic hero. But there is also a very practical, intuitive way to create sympathetic heroes that will captivate and engage your audience.

Think about your closest friends. What about them makes you like them? What drew you to them initially, when you first met? Some friends were set-ups from your childhood-your parent’s friends, cousins, kids in the same class and school. You may have become your friend just because of proximity. There are other friends that you probably met as an adult-through work, through other friends, in college. What attracted you to them? What made these people stand out, regardless of how you met, and kept you in touch? What about them made you want to nurture and sustain a friendship? Having things in common is good, but you have things in common with a lot of people that you don’t become or stay friends with. You’ll maintain relationships with your friends because they are likable. Think about why.

Write down the names of your five closest friends. Next to each name, write where or how you met them. Then describe your first impression of them. Did you like them when you first met or did your connection grow slowly? If you did like them right away, what was it about them that was attractive? Was it the way they spoke, the passion they had for a certain subject or cause? Was it because they seemed powerful, didn’t care what others thought and broke the rules, encouraging you to push the limits? Was it because they were funny? Think about why you liked them enough to want to keep spending time with them.

After the initial meeting, what was your second impression? What did you think the next time you saw them? What made you decide to continue pursuing the friendship instead of letting it go, like you have with other people you have met? Did they say something you really agreed with? Were they so nice to the waiter when you had lunch that you knew they were a genuinely sweet person you wanted to get to know? As in dating, when you meet friends, you decide whether or not you want to continue being their friend based on behaviors you observe and how they make you feel.

Next think about why you have remained friends with each person. Were there times where you drifted apart? What brought you back together? Often times we lose touch with friends or family and are brought closer after a tragedy.  As with a character in a story, you may have worried about your friend or felt they were in jeopardy and been compelled to reconnect because of that. If you’ve been friends with someone consistently for a long time, think about why they have stayed a constant in your life, while other people have come in and out. Why do you admire them and want to spend time with them? These qualities are the types of traits you can instill in your characters and most importantly, in your hero. Even if your hero is unlikeable, or not that nice of a person, there needs to be something seductive about them that makes the audience interested in them, makes them want to spend time with them the same way you want to spend time with your friends.

One of the consistent problems I run into when reviewing screenplays is a passive hero. Most new writers create passive heroes without realizing why or understanding why this is a problem. A passive hero is one who lets things happen to him or her. Instead of being the catalyst, they are the victim. It is natural to think of your story in these terms at first. Many ideas begin with “What if ___ happened to someone?” This thought process starts your story down the road to passivity. Your story is based on outside forces acting upon your hero. They are not in charge of their situation and passively react to what happens to them rather than what they make happen.

The story may begin by something happening to the hero and forcing them to take action, but from then on, each turning point needs to occur because the hero has done something. If the hero has a goal and pursues it, they are making things happen. They are constantly active and always moving forward. Turning points occur because their actions create resistance, obstacles stop them from achieving their goal and they are forced to redirect themselves and take a new approach.

As you write, ask yourself with each new turn your story takes, if the hero is the one who cause this event to happen. If not, you may have created a passive hero. Take time to examine your premise, and create an outline of the story. What is the hero’s goal? Is it an active goal that will force them to pursue something? Often inexperienced writers create stories based around a passive goal, which in turn necessitates a passive hero. A passive goal is to not do something, to avoid life in some way. The best way to achieve this is to sit around at home and stay out of trouble. This creates either 120 pages of someone sitting on a coach, or forces you to impose things upon the hero. If they are avoiding life and passively staying home, other characters must act upon them to give the story momentum. In a well-written story, the character has to do something in order to get what they want, and therefore goes out and makes things happen.

After going over the ways to make a character likable, I want to point out that your characters can and should be flawed. Every hero in a film needs to have experienced some trauma in their past that has caused them to react to the world in an unhealthy way. The experience that they will go through during their story-whether it is meeting the love of their life, accomplishing a career or personal goal, or changing the world-will heal this wound, teach them that they have to live life in a healthy way again in order to be fulfilled by accomplishing their goals.

We know from Storytelling 101 that a well-written script involves a protagonist with a goal who tries to accomplish this goal but faces opposition, which he or she eventually overcomes. Opposition comes in two forms-external and internal. The hero cannot accomplish their goal because the antagonist, circumstances, or forces of nature are preventing them from getting what they want. For example, in Shrek, Shrek cannot be with Fiona because she is betrothed to Lord Farquaad. This is the external opposition. But Shrek is also wrestling with his own internal obstacle. He lacks the confidence he needs to admit his feelings, and he has been hurt and rejected in his past for looking different, so much so that he has shut down and decided it’s better to be alone than to open up and face possible rejection. He is forced to overcome both obstacles before he can accomplish his goal, and finally be himself and live a full life.

In crafting your characters, delve into their past and determine what happened to them that made them the flawed, incomplete person they are today? This is usually something that happened in their childhood and deeply affected them. Write out that scene, in prose form, so you can fully explore their life before you put them into your screenplay. This event will most likely not be a part of your script, but it can and may come out in dialogue. Whatever it was, it has created in them a fear of doing the one thing that they will be forced to do in the climax of your story. Overcoming this fear is the only way they can accomplish their goal and achieve true happiness and an authentic life.

Creating sympathy for your hero is an essential part of successful screenwriting. This is something many writers overlook in their quest to create a great flawed hero who can go through an arc. But in order for the audience to enjoy the movie, they need to empathize with the character-relate to them, understand them and care about watching them take the two hour journey that will be the movie.

The same things that make you like or dislike a person in real life will make your audience like or dislike your hero. There are some specific devices you can utilize to make your audience empathize with your hero. It’s important that you employ one of these techniques within the first ten pages, or your reader will lose interest in your hero, and therefore your film. And luckily, some of these can still work if your hero has to start out flawed in order for your story to work.

Undeserved Misfortune-the key here is undeserved. Something bad that isn’t their fault. If they are running late for work because they stopped to help a little old lady with a flat tire, and they get fired. If it is their fault, it’s not undeserved misfortune. If they are running late for work because they stopped to get a coffee because they had a horrible hangover from partying too hard the night before and they get fired. That is their fault and therefore not sympathetic. In Fight Club, Edward Norton’s apartment explodes. In no way is this his fault, so we feel sorry for him.

They are in jeopardy-we care about people we are worried about, and will want to continue watching to make sure they are going to be okay. Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire, Harry Potter in all of his movies, Frodo and the other hobbits in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We know something bad is going to happen to them, so we are compelled to not only care about them, but to watch and see if they will be okay.

Liked by others-showing that people are liked by others by showing them around their friends, often at a birthday part, especially a surprise party, or showing that they are popular at work or school. Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List is shown at a party, schmoozing up a storm, he’s the toast of the town. Because others like him, we feel we can like him too. He must be a good guy.

Kind to animals- Obscure but true. Characters who are kind to animals are perceived as heroic, likeable characters. If they are kind to other less fortunate creatures that also will make them likeable. A lot of movies show the hero giving money to a charity, a homeless person, or volunteering. We all know that is the right thing to do and therefore we instantly like those we see doing this and will want to keep watching them.

Good at what they do- Most people wish they had more power, and therefore admire people with power. James Bond movies use this exclusively to make you like James Bond. He has tons of power and he is good at what he does. Often times this is one of the first things you see in the beginning of a movie, the hero at work, making deals, helping people, making money, finding the bad guy, etc. Show that they are good at what they do and they have power, and we will like them. This is a great technique to use when your character is kind of a jerk and is going to learn something during the course of the film.

In As Good as it Gets, Jack Nicholson’s character Melvin is almost entirely unlikeable, save for the fact that he is good at what he does.

In Collateral, Jamie Foxx wasn’t just a cab driver, but he was the best cab driver ever. He was meticulous about keeping the cab clean, and he knew the best routes and had a very good sense of how long it took to get everywhere. We respected him also because he embodied the next trait.

They have grand aspirations-He was a cab driver, but he dreamed of owning his own business. In Jerry Maguire, Jerry noticed the problems in the world and dreamed of bringing some integrity back to his corrupt business. We like this.

See the problems in the world/want to fix it- your hero will be likeable if he sees the problems in the world and wants to fix them. In Jerry Maguire, Jerry embodies three of these qualities-he is good at what he does, he sees problems and wants to fix them, and he has a big dream. As discussed in yesterday’s post, Baby in Dirty Dancing can’t wait to join the Peace Corps and make the world a better place. She goes out of her way to help Penny and help others.

Funny-Everyone would like to be funny, and everyone likes to be around funny people. Giving your hero a sense of humor makes them seem down to earth, easy to get along with, and just downright entertaining and fun to be around and watch. Juno, in Juno was instantly likeable because of her wit and humor. Even if it’s not a comedy, they can have a strong sense of wit and irony that makes them appear funny, and smarter than the average idiot, it makes them special. We like that.

Unselfish- Referring back to the undeserved misfortune example. Our hero that helped the old lady with the flat tire even though he knew it was going to make him late and get fired was acting unselfishly. Showing your character is unselfish is a great way to make the audience like them. Will Smith’s character in Seven Pounds gives up time, money, and his own organs in order to help others.