![]() Okay, time to tell me your favorite characters of all time. And with a love story, you have to take time to develop three-dimensional characters." "There are so many romantic comedies made, but very few dramas or love stories. What kind of music do they like, how do they define themselves, what do they say, or do, and how do they act? the best way to tell if your character is to see if you know everything about them. They are well-rounded characters who are written so well, they feel like real people. They're usually main characters, villains, or protagonists. Let's talk about how to make three-dimensional characters. Is this a two-dimensional character? Credit: Miramax Films You can use these characters to build out your smaller scenes, but when you're shaping protagonists and antagonists, you want to make them three-dimensional. Think about the guy who runs the gas station in No Country for Old Men, or Knox's abusive lawyer dad in Dead Poet's Society. We often see these characters as people in the background. So having someone who just wants to kill themselves or someone who is defined by their cancer doesn't make a whole character. See if you have a one-dimensional character and only add one thing to spice them up. Wait, there can be a character with two dimensions? Yup. Not really what we are talking about here. The main takeaway should be that you want to round out the characters in your story.įlat Stanley is a literal flat character. As you can see, the flat character meaning does brush up against what we have covered. Flat characters don't change, they are usually only in a few scenes, and they just want to support the plot, not the depth of the story. People use flat characters almost interchangeably with one-dimensional. If your character is one-dimensional, they're probably flat. I mean, what was that guy's problem? I wanted to know what made him that way. Still, unless you're working on these landmark shows and stories, you want to add people with some depth.īad one-dimensional characters include Jar-Jar Binks, Ender from Enders Game, Elizabeth Proctor from The Crucible, and even someone like Percy from Harry Potter. There are no arcs, just people dealing with the mundane and oddities of life. They are the way they are, and we see the world through their lens. He makes everyone around him arc and we actually feel emotions about his situation and what he sees, even if it never changes him, because he's already a pure light.Īlso, the characters in Seinfeld are really funny because they never change. Forrest Gump is a great one-dimensional character. Let's start with something weird, and look at exceptions to the rule. Is Forrest Gump a one-dimensional character? Credit: Paramount Pictures These people have no emotional depth and do not build on the story around them. They might play into an offensive stereotype or only exist to support the main character on their journey. Because they matter.Ī one-dimensional character might lack a reaction to a big story beat. Think about the way they talk, the way they walk, their ideas, and their dialogue. We'll go through definitions, traits, and some strategies.īut before we do all that, I want you to think about your favorite characters of all time. How to Create Three-Dimensional Characters from a One-Dimensional CharacterĪs I mentioned above, today we will journey through the wonderful world of multidimensional characters. We'll go over definitions, complex characterizations, and fix your flat characters as best we can. Today I wanted to go over those strategies and help you achieve these goals and to improve your writing. There is a way to turn your one-dimensional character into a three-dimensional character. Multi-dimensional characters are the lifeblood of storytelling-you absolutely need them in your screenplay.īut if you think your character is not fully fleshed out, I have good news for you. The goal is to create ones that feel like they're a part of our world, or three-dimensional characters. The one major note I wind up giving younger writers is that a lot of their characters feel one-dimensional. For many beginning writers, creating characters that pop off the page and grip the reader is incredibly hard. Stop me if you've heard this one before: the characters in your script feel too written, too contrived, like they don't exist in the real world.
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