J G Sarantinos

Every screenwriter has been through the grueling process of building characters. We’ve completed questionnaires of character traits, asked questions, yet they still seem a bit wooden and one-note in our screenplay. How can you add depth to your movie characters so they pop? Physical traits such as height, gender and weight are good places to start. Let’s keep going. CHARACTER TRAITS This is probably the simplest one, so I’ll begin with it. List FIVE defining character traits for your character.

Emerging screenwriters are often told to write something that represents their voice. This is excellent advice to break into the screenwriting world, but what exactly does it mean? A writer’s voice is their soul. Their essence. It’s the intangible quality that defines them thematically. It’s a screenwriter’s unique take on the world. Their concerns. Their interests. Their loves. Their hates.

You’ve written a script and you’ve been invited to a meeting. Well done. You have something the industry is interested in. Here’s a self checklist you should consider before and during your writing so you can better defend your screenplay when discussing your screenplay. DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Before you submit your script to anyone, ask yourself if you actually have something to say. What is the thematic core of your story? If you do, is it sufficiently defined in a single concept?