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Lesson 1. More Character Depth
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WIM Module 7, Lesson 1
Lenore Bechtel loves character depth
My vision: I want to create enough salable screenplays that an agent will want to market my work and recommend me for writing assignments.
What I learned from doing this assignment is that even when I think all my characters are very well developed, I can probably always find another dimension to give them more depth.
I found that my protagonist Libby has been hiding a wound from her past. The viewer already knows that she asked her parents to adopt the baby she had at age 19 so she could go to college. They also know her ambition was to be a doctor.
What they did not know is that she chose to go into pediatrics to vicariously experience the motherhood she’d missed, and she’s had a very successful career.
The trigger for revealing this comes after she lets seat mate Freida know what she’s suspected from the start—that Freida is the daughter-in-law she’s never met. Freida and her son resented that Libby didn’t attend their wedding.
Now the reason comes out in a scene that makes Libby less perfect, but more sympathetic to the viewer. She’d been nominated for a prestigious award, and the awards banquet was the same day as the wedding. She regretted the choice she’d made because she didn’t win the award and ended up created a bigger divide between her and her son.
Her tearful confession bonds her closer to Freida and gives added strength to Freida’s later “take-over” transformation.
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Margaret Loves Character Depth!
Vison: To be the best faith-based screenwriter
What I learned: I needed to change the sequence of events in one section to show a clear reaction of the main characters. I also need to change my protagonist’s reaction to King Loeghaire’s request to align it with his wound. My antagonist’s reaction to the crisis also needed updating to show that she is not entirely evil.
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WIM Module 7, Lesson 1
Lloyd Shellenberger loves character depth
My vision: Working hard every day to become the best writer I can be and as a result I do become the best writer in Hollywood.
What I learned from doing this assignment is There is always more to our characters than the first draft.
I found Reese is suspected of killing the gang member that killed his brother. He is haunted by his past.
Jones is not as street tough and experienced as we were led to believe. He is smart just not street smart. The Commander does care is not all about the regulations.
Reese becomes more and more disillusioned with the beaurocracy. He can never go back to blind faith.
Reese transformation is complete and he is no longer unaware of the suffering around him.
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Module 7 Lesson 1 more character depth
Marguerite Langstaff: The Billionaire in 501
Vision: I want to learn to write and market movie scripts.
State: I absolutely love: continuing on with this course and seeing that again Lauree is involved.
Activity: Building more depth into my characters.
I am elevating my two main characters, Mimi and Pappy, by studying what they may be hiding and what triggers each need. It seems that thinking like this adds to the story! Clearly I realize now that when Mimi experiences a financial setback she should be far more devastated that she was in the first draft….and as for triggers….she has worked all her life as a high school counselor solving problems and she is triggered when she is needed…That needs to be shown better. The Pappy character is lonely, but I’ve not particularly shown that in the script…just sort of assumed everybody would recognize it.. But now I know I need to show it more. Pappy’s emotions are clearly triggered just by the mere touch of Mimi and that needs to be shown…when their fingers touch over a dropped napkin, or their shoulders when simply watching TV together. This lesson triggers an emotion in me just thinking about my characers and the potential which can be better shown.
What I learned doing this assignment: I learned to consider triggers and analyzing the characters and what that can trigger to me in my own realizations. I do want to elevate them. I love them and want the movie goers to love them too.
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H. Vince Loves Character Depth!
WIM Module 7 – 2023
Lesson 1: More Character Depth
My Vision: I will be a professional screenwriter.
What I learned from doing this assignment is that it was kind of repeat from previous lessons such as Lesson 2 in Module 6 when I was solving character problems.
TITLE: DREAM VACATION
WRITTEN BY: H. Vince
GENRE: DRAMA/THRILLER
HIGH CONCEPT: When a retired couple finally take their dream vacation, the husband starts showing signs of rapid dementia and leaves his wife in distress in a foreign country.
MAJOR STORY HOOK: Imagine thinking you can trust your doctor to prescribe you something to block your anxiety and instead you become a guinea pig for a clinical trial drug that causes extreme memory loss while you’re in a foreign country on your dream vacation!?
Depth Tool 1: Lay out your character storylines and elevate.
Depth Tool 2: What are they hiding from me?
Depth Tool 3: How can this story trigger the character?
Initially my characters were just a couple that went on their dream vacation and then the husband developed dementia but then I added the underlying story of who each of them really were. This idea changed the whole purpose and direction of the story. It even made the Antagonist more a red herring thus creating the question of who is really the bad guy in this story?
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Brian Bull – Loves Character Depth!
VISION!!!
My ultimate goal is to get my scripts from my hands to the SILVER SCREEN!!“What I learned from doing this assignment is…
I thought I had it all figured out but I realized I needed to go a bit deeper with the disappearance of the Dad and make it more of a mystery and I needed to expand on the knife (I have to weave that in more)The ONE THAT GOT AWAY – A Fisherman’s Tale
A fisherman is determined to catch the fish he blames for his younger brother’s death, however, in the end, it turns out the fisherman is the one who had gotten away.
ASSIGNMENT
4. Tell us the changes you made using these tools.The changes I am making which will take a bit of time is expanding the significance of the knife and the disappearance of the Dad
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