Lesson 4

[Stephen Maynard]

Lesson 4: Character Interviews

Subject line: Stephen Maynard Character Interviews

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” The interview process and the insightful questions in this exercise are a gift from Hal that when applied will assist the writer in crafting well-rounded and complex characters.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST Johnny Grant

Tell me about yourself.

I’m a smart and handsome eighteen-year-old lad looking to have some fun before I reach the dreaded twenty-one and have to start acting like a man.

Why do you think you were called to this journey?

I heard it was going to be a fun-filled adventure.

Why you?

Who better than me?

You are (you) up against?

Some greedy old men who are in it for themselves at the expense of others.

What is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult for you?

They are the establishment with a huge infrastructure, money, and resources which they can use against me and my buddy Stevie.

In order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box. What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the most difficult? <div>

We will have to start thinking about the good of others and be less selfish.

What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?

Our narrower-minded selfishness.

What fears, insecurities, and wounds have held you back?

Fear of becoming an adult and having to assume the responsibilities that come with adulthood.

What skills, background, or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

We are smart, creative, naive, and in great physical condition to face the task at hand.

What are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to know? </div><div>

We’re both virgins but we want the girls to think that we are experienced lovers.

What do you think of?

Having fun and getting girls.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict/story.

We saw a guy try to take advantage of someone we liked so we stepped in to try to stop him before we realized we were up against a force much greater than we foresore.

What does it do for your life if you succeed here?

We’ll be forever changed. We learned that the best thing one will ever do is to do something for someone else, especially if that person is weaker or in need.

Ask any other questions about their character profile that will help you. </div><div>

Has your life up until now been wasted then?

No. We could not be what we have become without having been the way we were in our youth.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST Mr. Bradford, The banker

Tell me about yourself.

Let’s make this brief, I’m a busy man with huge responsibilities.

Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

I’m an educated man, I have a family and huge responsibilities to my investors. I have no weaknesses. What an absurd question!

Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail?

This is off the record. I’ve embezzled some money from the investors and I need to get this old woman’s land to make things good. I will crush those two no-nothing little bastards If they have the audacity to get in my way.

What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?

I stay out of jail and continue with business as usual.

What drives you toward your mission/agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?

The fear of losing everything I’ve worked for and going to jail.

What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear/insecurity?

I can’t let anyone know I am an embezzler or all is lost.

Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?

I’m just a little slicker than most and I have the resources to get the job done.

What do you think of?

At the moment I’m obsessed with stopping those two damnable BOYS from preventing me from getting that old woman’s property. Everything depends on that.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict/story.

Are you ignorant? Do I have to give you a fucking hysterectomy? I’m desperate, goddammit. I have to get that land and I don’t care who dies in the process.

[Mark Hammond]

Mark Hammond’s Character Interviews

What I learned doing this assignment is this process will bring your characters to life, and make it easier for you to write dialogue.

Questions For Protagonist

Tell me about yourself:

I’m a mousy, loser dreamer. I’m in my mid-twenties. I was born in Naperville Illinois and I have a degree in theatre. Now I live in Hollywood. I want to have the typical Hollywood life with a trophy wife, children and big house on the top of the hill with a Bentley. Everyone says I’m a dreamer, but I’m really a late bloomer.

Why do you think you were called to this journey? Why are you?

I think I was called to this journey because I was the only person that the protagonist would really underestimate which I could turn into my much-needed victory. I found that Win, lose or draw I could stick with it until it’s completed.

Up against the antagonist – what is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult for you?

The antagonist is a killer, fighter, and I can’t fight my way out of a wet paper bag.

What changes must be made to survive as I step outside of my box:

I will have to live in the right now. I will have to empower myself-tell myself that I can win! Grow some balls, and the most difficult will be not backing down.

What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?

One is always seeing myself losing before-my defeatist attitude.

What fears, insecurities, and wounds have held you back?

1. Fear of being exposed as a coward and a fraud. 2. Not secure about my ability to do the job because I don’t really have the experience in this field. I was fired back in Illinois, humiliated and labeled as a fraud in front of the girl I really loved and she dumped me.

What skills, background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

I always learned from my failures, which makes me very knowledgeable.

What are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to know?

I’m hiding my past failures and that I used the payroll to finance this project.

What do you think of the antagonist?

He is a cold hearted killer and I’d rather not think of him at all because he can literally taste my fear.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict/story.

I thought that I had to do all of those fraudulent things in order to be liked or respected after I found out that the people I looked up to were all frauds, I realized that all I had to do was be truthful.

What does it do for your life if you succeed here?

It will give me a new lease on life I’ll be able to see the silver lining in every cloud.

What if you fail?

Failure is not an option.

Questions For Antagonist

1. Tell me about yourself

I kill and mutilate people with no remorse. do a job no one else would do.

2. My strengths and weaknesses, having to do with this journey.

I am cold-hearted but a hard worker my job-to punish people for their shortcomings.

3. Why are you committed to making the protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?

I want to show he is not as innocent as he makes himself out to be. Making him change is for his own good.

4. What do you get out of winning this fight/succeeding in your plan/taking down your competition?

My record will stay intact. Actually the plan is their plan, I’m just the umpire.

5. What drives you towards your mission/agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?

It’s my job, and I do it with pride. Even in the face of danger, ruin, or death. I cannot allow anyone to get away with breaking the rules.

6. What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear/insecurity?

My secret is, I broke the rules myself. That’s why I’m here. I fear someone will find out that I once was a murderer. I don’t want them to be seen as a hypocrite.

7. Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?

I do this, so other people won’t turn out the way I did.

8. What do you think of the protagonist?

He’s a phony, but I think he has potential.

9. Tell me your side of this whole conflict/story.

I believe that without me (death) the world would believe in nothing.

[Jennifer Williams]

Jennifer Williams – Character Interviews

ASSIGNMENT

1. “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” – The use of the interview process is an excellent way to see your characters as three-dimensional. They will talk to you and share things you weren’t aware. This process also adds substance to the story and shows you areas of relatability to the audience.

2. Pull out the character profiles for your protagonist and antagonist.

3. Then, interview each character, knowing they will answer any questions you ask. As you interview them, allow them to tell you their experience.

PROTAGONIST

Tell me about yourself.

–- I just turned 40, so I guess you would consider me middle-aged. I’m a college graduate who completed my Master’s in Business Finance at USC. I’m a single Mom due to losing my husband to cancer. He was the love of my life. We went through high school and college together and made plans for a great life: raising our daughter, traveling, and opening our own business. We also had plans to have more children, but I had complications initially, but we were blessed with our daughter. We had just come to terms with trying again, going to a fertility clinic, or adopting. We went to get our physicals, and that’s when we found ourselves on a different path. We thought we had time. I work as a Marketing Director for a major corporation and learned there that I am capable of doing a lot more. I turned the department around and set them on the winning track. However, I’m not happy there, and I’m seeking other employment. I’ve also considered moving out of state, upstate Washington, as a matter of fact. I’ve also thought maybe this is a great time to open my business. Follow the dreams my husband and I had together.

Why do you think you were called
to this journey?

— I believe it is the right time for me because I have much to consider when making changes in my life. My daughter has just graduated from high school and considering colleges, and I need to be that role model. If I can’t decide about my life, how will she know she can trust me when she needs to make a decision as a young adult. Why you? – I’ve endured so much that I know I’m the person to provide the insight required for everyone to understand what really happened.

You are up against .

-– Family and my best friend seem to think I need to start dating again. Even my daughter thinks that. They say I should get back out there; I don’t need to be alone. And then there’s this guy I work with inviting me out. I did go out with him on a lunch date and then once to dinner. I had a very nice time, but he’s not my husband. It was a distraction from what I need to focus on. We even had a great weekend chaperoning youth on a camping trip, and it reminded me of my daughter growing up. My husband and I were king and queen of volunteering parents for all the activities, and we managed to work it into our schedules. But I’m focused on my career and desire to start my business and get it going.

What is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult for you?

–- They are always trying to set me up. My mother tries to have me meet her friend’s sons and nephews. I try to be nice; I’m always nice and appease them, but I don’t want to. I think the choice I’m making now will please them, and they’ll be happy. It might not be the person I should or who I will be completely happy with, but I’ll be able to move forward with my life without them all butting in.

In order to survive or accomplish
this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box. What changes
do you expect to make and which of them will be the most difficult?

-– I guess I will have to really consider the right person for my life. Truth be told, I am lonely at times. I miss having companionship, but when the man I thought I should be with turned out to have so much baggage, it put me in the same space. Maybe I felt for the wrong person. Maybe the other guy is who I should be with. So what, the one I wanted was interested in my dreams and desires to open my business and taught me things because he is a successful businessman, but that Ex-wife…Man, I don’t want to fight someone daily. They have a son together; that part doesn’t bother me. He’s a delightful young man, but that woman is unbearable. In fact, having another child to help raise was appealing, but the fights, name-calling, and threats were just too much to bear. So, maybe settling for the other guy won’t be so bad. Perhaps eventually, he’ll see that working for corporate America isn’t the only way to make a living. Having your own service-related business that can assist others in making it is not bad. I won’t hold that against him, and I can wait.

What habits or ways of thinking
do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?

–- Possibly doing things for myself and not asking for help. Not depending on anyone else to obtain the things I need and want, including my career goals. I’m used to being alone. I keep a lot of my life to myself. I don’t even share some things with my bestie, but I don’t want my daughter to ever worry about me or how we will make it.

What fears, insecurities and
wounds have held you back?

-– If I let someone else get too close, what guarantees do I have that I won’t lose them too soon. I don’t ever want to have that feeling again. It was hard. I felt so alone and helpless. I feel alone and helpless now sometimes.

What skills, background or
expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

-– All the leadership classes and supervisor conflict, dealing with difficult employee training that I’ve had gives me some insight, but being a responsible adult trumps all the training. I can go toe-to-toe with her if I choose. My education far exceeds that phony celebrity act she tries to embody, and then there’s also my little-known ability; I have some street wisdom.

What are you hiding from the
other characters?

-– I’m hiding my true feelings about being in a relationship. I don’t want them to know that I was hurt again by the loss of love by not following my convictions. What don’t you want them to know?

-– I want them to know that whether I’m in a relationship or not, I’ll be all right. I will be able to take care of myself and my daughter.

What do you think of ?

-– I want to believe that he did not set out to intentionally hurt me. We talked too much about things that mattered, but I don’t know why he didn’t feel he needed to explain at the end.

Tell me your side of this whole
conflict / story.

-– I am not the problem in this situation. I value honesty and don’t believe the man I wanted to be with was completely honest about his situation. I had no idea he and his ex-wife were trying to reconcile. Once the Ex-wife shared the information, I could do nothing; they have a child. I believe you do everything for the best interest of your children and family. I also realized that just because something looks good, it is not necessarily good for you. I’ve learned that I need to seek counsel from qualified people to help me sort out my own needs and desires that work in my best interest. My decision to move in the opposite direction is justified. Understand she did not turn me away. I was willing to hear his side of the story but when he never called me back or reached out, I took his ghosting as he was just in it for the moment. Lesson learned.

What does it do for your life if
you succeed here?

-– I can focus on what’s next and find happiness in a different situation. Some things will take a backseat, but I will not have to deal with as much conflict as the other case would have presented.

Ask any other questions about
their character profile that will help you.

ANTAGONIST

Tell me about yourself.

–- I’m an actress and model who was on the way to supermodel status when I met my husband. He was a charmer and charmed me right into marriage. I think he was really excited that I was younger than him and showed him a good time that those stuffy, over-educated women he was used to dating, were not interested in. He was worth it; he had plenty of money, and I thought, well, we’ll travel a while, and then I’ll get back to the runway. Needless to say, that never happened. I was in college when I was discovered by a talent scout looking for talent for a New York Fashion Week SShow for an up-and-coming designer. It was me and a few other girls in my Sorority, so we thought it was great. After that show, I signed with a top agency in New York, traveled everywhere for a few years, and then met my husband. It only took six months before the honeymoon was over, at least for me, because I was pregnant. Don’t get me wrong, he was ecstatic and showered me with the best of everything. Our son was born and became the center of our world, but when he reached nine months I was ready to return to my career. I missed the limelight and the travel. I missed the stage and the applause. We disagreed on that fact. I also had to get my body back to runway shape. I need to be camera-ready, ready for stage and screen. Lately, I haven’t been able to get any good leads for jobs, my agent dropped me, and it’s his fault.

Having to do with this journey,
what are your strengths and weaknesses?

-– My strengths are in my looks. I’m a 10 by all standards, and any agency will be lucky to have me on their roster. If I didn’t have to fight my husband constantly in court, I could start my career again.

Why are you committed to making
the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed
to making them change?

-– I can’t allow my ex-husband to get with the Protagonist because that would cut me out completely. I want him back. I had a good life. If I can’t work on the runway, stage, or screen, he needs to support me and ensure I can maintain that high-society lifestyle. If he’s with someone else, that limits the money I’ll have access to. Besides, I look better than her. He needs to be concerned About my well-being and not anyone else.

What do you get out of winning
this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?

-– I get my husband back and all his money for me. I return to my rightful status in his life. His family will accept me then, especially his sister. We know each other. We weren’t friends but had developed a respectful and working relationship. We were sometimes in some of the same circle due to my modeling career.

What drives you toward your
mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?

-– The most crucial thing in life is money. People will look up to me. My Ex-husband’s status in the community opens doors in all the right places, and I’ll be able to walk through them again. People will like me again. Also, have that big house and my Mercedes.

What secrets must you keep to
succeed?

-– My Ex-husband can never find out that I lied to his new girlfriend about us getting back together to get her to leave him.

What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?

-– I love my son, but I didn’t want any children, at least not when I had him. I want to be free to live a carefree life for at least 10 more years.

Compared to other people like
you, what makes you special? -– I’m beautiful, confident, and don’t give
up easily. When I set my mind to something, I don’t give up until I get
what I want.

What do you think of ?

— Everyone has finally gotten the message that I’m not to be messed with, and I desire to have the best of everything.

Tell me your side of this whole
conflict / story.

-– My side of the story is that I’m the only Mrs. my Ex-husband needs in his life, and I should reap the benefits of the accumulation of wealth he has amassed. That other woman had no business trying to get in the middle. He might have been upset initially, but give him some time; he’ll come around, and our lives will be back where it left off. I think I was justified in what I told his little want-to-be girlfriend. I’m sure it helped in her moving on and leaving us to have a life together as it should be.

4. Add any new info to your Character Profiles and share with us what discovered about the characters.

-– I added quite a bit of new information. I learned that my Protagonist desires to open her own business and that she was being set up on dates by family and friends. I learned that the Antagonist is an actress, model, and younger than her Ex-husband. She’s all right about being a mother, but she really didn’t want to at this time.

[Steve Jones]

Steve Jones – Character interviews

What I learned doing this assignment is that characters can lie to you, but you know what they’re saying. Subtext is already coming out.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST

Tell
me about yourself.

I’m a detective in the Immigration department of the Martian Police force. My daily duties involve monitoring the incoming shuttle from Earth with the latest tourists and specialist workers involved in our infrastructure development and maintenance. There are teams that cycle in and out of here on weeklong shifts and a million tourists every year.

I’m a bit of a loner at work and in my private life. Not many people at work want to associate with me because I disagree with how they do their jobs. I don’t believe in relying on the AI robots to access data instantly and make judgments based on zeros and ones that can be corrupted or changed. I believe in what I see and what I recognise. It’s not even a gut feeling thing. It’s the micro expressions that the robots tell themselves they can see but they can’t read beyond their programmed definitions of each one. They’re not human and they can’t react or understand the reactions of a human in the way that a person can. I’m different and I don’t fit in and I don’t want to fit in.

Why
do you think you were called to this journey? Why you?

Wrong place at the right time. Who can say? It had to be someone I guess.

You
are up against <the antagonist=””>Vor. What is it about them that makes
this journey even more difficult for you? </the>

He’s got everything and he can do anything. How do you beat that? I’m on my own and everyone is against me and I don’t have any skills other than understanding what someone is thinking or wants.

In
order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step way
outside of your box. What changes do you expect to make and which of them
will be the most difficult?

I might need help. I’m not good at asking for help and I’ve never really been able to find someone who would help me. Maybe I need to see their abilities a bit more. But mostly I need to accept that I can’t do it on my own.

What
habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let
go of?

I overthink everything while everyone else doesn’t seem to think at all. This means that I feel superior to them and their processes. I want to stop feeling this way but how can they wander through life not using their brains to choose for themselves or know what they want? I want to scream at them to wake up and start to think for themselves. It’s very depressing.

What
fears, insecurities and wounds have held you back?

I can’t get sent to Earth. My parents are there and they should be here with me. They shouldn’t be living with the problems Earth has. Some days they can’t leave the house because it’s so hot and other times it rains for weeks. There’s SISCO of course and other diseases but I feel like I’ve abandoned them even though they left me here for my good. But I feel like everything will break if I get sent there so I have to find Ellis’ killer before they find out that I didn’t stop him at the boarder when I could have.

7. What skills, background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

I can se what people are thinking and read their expressions to reveal their fears and other emotions. This isn’t what anyone else does. It makes me unique and shunned but that’s OK. Why would I want someone else working on this with me? They’s only slow me down or make a mistake. They wouldn’t be as dedicated to this as I am.

What
are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to
know?

What if I’m not good enough?

What
do you think of <the antagonist=””>Vor?</the>

Under that halo, he’s the Devil.

10. Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story

Someone is smuggling Immigrants to Mars so that they can get treated for their SISCO at Vor’s clinic. But I don’t think that they are even infected. I think that they are being used as mules to transport something else and when they get it here, they’re sent back or made to disappear. Ellis was their mistake. If I hadn’t let him go and then followed him to bring him in, I’d never have got in the way and caused them to kill him. That was their only mistake.

11. What does it do for your life is you succeed here?

I can save someone rather than sending them back to the Hell they’re trying to escape. I can do something good by breaking the rules I’ve followed so slavishly all these years.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR
ANTAGONIST <div>

Tell
me about yourself.

Isn’t it obvious? Just look at what I’ve achieved here for these people. The Clinic saves more lives each day and everyone loves me. You can’t do that without having lots to give.

Having
to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

I have every resource I need to achieve what is right. There will be no wavering from my duty to se that this happens. It is the only thing that matters. No-one else has any viable reason for this not to be the future.

Why
are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship
movie, why are you committed to making them change?

He is interfering in my business and no-one does that.

What
do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking
down your competition?

I shall live on as nature intended for another fifty years or more.

What
drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin,
or death?

I will not die. I will live forever and that is all that matters.

What
secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of
fear / insecurity?

I have an inherited weakness that could kill me.

Compared
to other people like you, what makes you special?

Isn’t it obvious? Just look at what I’ve achieved here for these people! The Clinic saves more lives each day and everyone loves me. You can’t do that without having lots to give.

What
do you think of <the protagonist=””>Harry? </the>

I have no opinion of anyone who does not matter.

Tell
me your side of this whole conflict / story.

There’s nothing to tell. I’ve been accused by this Immigration Officer of smuggling people to Mars and then killing them. It’s preposterous and if he continues with this line of attack, I shall resort to the strongest possible legal response. I shall crush him.

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