Writing characters you would hate in real life
How do you go about writing characters that you don’t identify with, or even find abhorrent, as good as the ones you like?
– Dan
Redditch, England
The same way many actors find playing villains liberating, I often enjoy writing characters who, in real life, I would actively avoid.
For instance, in Go, the four guys who go to Vegas in the middle chapter are sort of my bete noire. Simon is id-driven, wantonly impulsive, and only gets away with it because of his accent. Marcus is too righteous by half, the self-appointed leader who only got the title by picking the least-capable of travelling companions. Tiny is a faux-Black chihuahua, and Singh is sort of a perma-stoner. They’re all little lizard brains, and I kinda love them, though I wouldn’t want to be within 20 feet of any of them.
[For the record, the character in Go who I best relate to is Claire. Like her, I'm the one who's always trying to be the voice of reason. But eventually I give up, and hook up with the hot, scary guy.]
In many ways, it can be easier to write characters with whom you don’t have a lot in common. Unlike a novel, where you’re digging inside a character’s head, screenwriting is about what you see and hear. Even the most rigorous self-examination probably won’t reveal the dialogue and behavior you would notice just watching actual people going about their lives. Sometimes, the most fascinating people are the most annoying, or the most abhorrent.
So don’t strive for likeability. It’s a fool’s errand. Rather, aim for believability. Make sure your characters are consistent, and real within the universe you’ve built for them. The audience will happily watch loathsome characters doing terrible things, as long as you keep them engaging.
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July 11th, 2005 at 8:42 am
For myself, I find writing characters I hate more enjoyable than writing people I like/relate to. I think there’s much pleasure to be derived from working drama around them without actually having to be near them in real life. Also, it’s great to be able to comically point out their faults and write, with lurid delight, as they try to get themselves out of trouble or live in absolute ignorance as to their own behaviour and everyone else’s responses to it.
July 11th, 2005 at 9:07 am
ahhh! i’m happy to hear you all like writing about me even though you wouldn’t want to be near me in person! ;)
July 11th, 2005 at 9:20 am
I was always with the understanding that you should make the character likable in some way no matter how vile they may come off. Even if the audience doesn’t want to be them or hang out with them they should be designed so the audience still wants to watch them go through their paces and create an environment of conflict.
I rented GO about a week ago and I will say this, it is a very well constructed screenplay Mr. August. It is a great example of character and structure working together in a very entertaining way.
Okay, ass-kissing session is over. I also noticed in the credits you did some 2nd Unit work on the film. What did that entail?
July 11th, 2005 at 9:31 am
William:
I think what you mean is that you should always make a character sympathetic, not necessarily likable. You do that by making the characters true to themselves and the world you create. As all actors who play great villains say, the villain always thinks that what they are doing is right on some level, that it makes perfect sense. If you can tranfer that rationale to the audience, then no matter how bad they act, the audience understands them, and consequently feels for them enough to keep watching.
July 11th, 2005 at 10:41 am
The one time I had to write someone I hated as to look at the world in their view and find what they love about what they do…
A good example is the Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive” and Uncle Peck… a totally disgusting man, yet in his mind, he loves Lil’ Bit and does what he does because of it… I’m not saying he is right or what he did was okay, but in his mind, he loved her, so to him, it was the right course. So to write someone like him, it probably served Paula well.
Also, the best advice I ever got from an acting coach was to (when in doubt) “Play the love.” In otherwords, find what makes the character happy.
And then one day, I’ll get around t o re-writing this so it makes sense.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
Derek, ya got me. Maybe not literally likable.
Like when we say our “hero”. How does that translate literally when your protagonist or “hero” is an alcoholic wife-beater who just got out of jail for manslaughter? Is he really a “hero”? For the purposes of tagging the protagonist as the one who is going on a difficult journey, he is the “hero”.
Yes, it can be understood as sympathetic.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:47 pm
can only say i identify with all my chars. they’re all me, in part. no matter how they behave. how do i go about writing them? makes no difference to me whether the char is good or bad. i write them with the same technique. what that technique is i can’t say
July 12th, 2005 at 11:07 am
I’ll admit my female characters are a bit more of a stretch for me, but I can usually identify with every one of my male characters. In my web series, the characters of Jack, Dean and Leo each represent a different part of my own psyche. Even though I’d like to say I identify the most with Jack, he’s also a fairly passive protagonist, which proves that even my “hero” has a flaw I’d rather not admit to seeing in myself…
July 12th, 2005 at 3:01 pm
I’ve been fortunate because I have seven personalities. Two of them are women and one is a platypus. The platypus is usually fairly pissy, so I use him when writing my villains.
July 12th, 2005 at 5:39 pm
…and who wants to actually be in a room with a pissed off platypus? I mean, really.
July 13th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
William, if you click [url=http://imdb.com/name/nm0041864/]here[/url] you can see the limited details of his 2nd unit work on Go.
John, I saw you wrote and directed a short, as well as directed some 2nd unit stuff on Go. Did you abandon that career path entirely or can we expect to see a “Directed by” credit for you in the future?
-3
July 13th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
well that’s curious… I guess you’ll have to cut and paste that link.
August 29th, 2005 at 1:10 am
Mr. August,
I am the Editor-in-Chief of Ellipsis Magazine, a new publication hitting the stands this winter on a monthly basis, focused on literary serials and narrative culture. We feature serials by established authors – including Daniel Wallace – and interviews/articles with writers in other fields, including yours. We are very interested in sending you a proposal, if perhaps you could contact us and provide an address, electronic or otherwise, that this information could be sent. For more cursory information on us, you can check out http://www.waywardcouch.com. Other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at this email address. Thank you for your time, and keep up the excellent work!
Sincerely,
H. Perry Horton Editor-in-Chief Ellipsis Magazine