Screen Adaptation: Beyond the Basics

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Utilizing your Characters’ Motivation and Dialogue

 

 

 

Characters are defined by what they say and what they do (and how other characters interpret these actions). To strengthen one’s writing, it is important to be able to break down the driving forces behind what a character says and what a character does. Sometimes the writer decides these things. At other times, as you may already know from experience, the characters do these things on their own. In the case of adaptation work, some of these elements were decided by the original author. Regardless, as you work on your scripts, it is important to be able to peel back the layers (or to look under the hood) and understand what makes your characters tick. ...