Tips On Creating A Strong Character For Your Screenplay.

February 25, 2025
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Tips on creating a strong character for your screenplay

If you want to write a compelling screenplay, one of the things you have to pay more attention to is creating strong characters, because they have the tendency of evoking emotions, sparking empathy and whatever else that is needed to drive your story forward
For that reason, I am going to take time to write this article with the aim of helping you learn the basic ways or steps you can follow to enable you create strong characters for your screenplay.

Tips on creating a strong character for your screenplay.

To create a strong character for your screenplay, you need to have full  knowledge about character development as well as how to connect the major and minor characters that will interpret your screenplay in such a way that will captivate your audience and keep them hooked as the story unfolds.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create a strong character for your screenplay.

  1. Have the knowledge of writing character development.
  2. Create your major characters.
  3. Develop your supporting characters.

1. Have the knowledge of writing character development.

The very first step to creating strong character for your screenplay is to have the knowledge of writing character development, in other words you must know how to develop your characters.

Character development is the process of creating all the characters who are going to work hand in hand o bring the whole story to life. This involves understanding your characters personality, background, goals and what motivates them to pursue them as well as the obstacles that are necessary to drive the story forward.
To have the full knowledge about character development you must consider the following:
  • 1. The characters profile: This includes their history and experiences that shapes their whole personality and behavioral patterns.
  • Your characters goal: This involves your characters needs, wants, desires or whatever they are trying to accomplish in the whole story.
  • What motivates your character: This is simply the reason why your character really wants to achieve his goals.
  • Emotional depth: This involves how your character responds emotionally to first the obstacles that prevents him from achieving his goal as well as the resolution or else the high point where he is able to overcome all the obstacles and achieve his goals.
  • Character flaws and arc: Don’t showcase your character in a perfect light from the beginning of your story, rather give him weaknesses and towards the end show how he is able to discover as well as overcome those weaknesses to become a strong personality. This is what we refer to as character flaws and arc.

2. Create your major characters.

Start creating your major characters by first concentrating on the 2 main types of characters known as the protagonist and antagonist. These 2 characters are essential for every successful screenplay.

Your protagonist should be the central figure where the whole story revolves around while your antagonist would be the one at the opposite end creating obstacles that will prevent him from achieving his goals.
While creating your protagonist, make sure you put the following points into consideration:
  • 1. Goal-oriented: Give your main character a goal or set of goals he seeks to achieve in the entire story.
  • Vulnerable: Make sure your character has flaws or weaknesses that makes him more human, and find a way of helping him to discover those flaws and in so doing make a character transformation towards the end of the entire story.
  • Relatable: Make sure whatever your protagonist is doing resonates with real human attitude or behavioral patterns that your audience are going to identify with. When you are able to make your protagonist go through what those who are watching him are currently going through and your movie is going to become a hit.
  • Active: Give your protagonist various activities or actions that will drive the plot and impact the whole story. Ensure one decision plunges him into a situation or circumstance that will offer him another decision on how to get himself out or set himself free.

And while creating your antagonist, make sure you consider the following:

  1. Intelligent, smart and cunning: Your antagonist should not be a straight forward or honest person, rather make him more cunning as opposed to the good characters of your protagonist.
  2. Hateful: Try as much as possible to create an antagonist that the audience distaste with all their might and every time wish he will pay the price for his evil deeds.
  3. Formidable: Your antagonist needs to be a formidable force that always opposes your protagonist and every other time create obstacles and conflicts that he needs to overcome in order to achieve his goal or set of goals in the story.

3. Develop your supporting characters.

To create strong characters for your screenplay make sure you add other characters who are going to support both your protagonist and antagonist.

These could be friends, allies, family members or even partners in crime. Even if you are creating a story about your protagonist as a one-man squad, ensure you have other people on the side he will be reaching out for help when the pressure mounting on him becomes too much to bear.

As for your antagonist, make sure he is someone who has too much support by the side that makes him more than certain to conquer or overcome the protagonist.

Think of a drug baron who has so many people on street corners selling for him and scores of bodyguards and hired assassins who are ready to die to keep him safe.

By having full  knowledge about character development as well as how to connect the major and minor characters that will interpret your screenplay in such a way that will captivate your audience and keep them hooked as the story unfolds you will find yourself in a position of being able to create a rich and nuanced narrative that engages and resonates with audiences.
Remember to stich to screenwriting techniques like show-don’t-tell, subtext, and contradictions to create complex and nuanced characters, and avoid common mistakes like flat characters, inconsistent characters, and overexplaining.
Screenwriting