How To Figure Out What A Character Wants - Pat Verducci

[@garyowen889]

“start from fear, and generate a want.” So simple, so completely brilliant.

[@anngee2189]

She's so smart, she's giving just concrete inputs

[@JosephPriebe]

Absolutely! Never use the word “just” in a screenplay :)

[@yapdog]

I find that the hardest thing to write effectively is a character who doesn't know what they want. The MC of my novel says he just wants to be left alone, but always finds himself in situations where he surrounded by others. Truth is, early on he has no idea what he truly wants, but ultimately learns more about himself. What can one take from this? The "want" need not always be handled so obviously; it can be communicated via subtext. However, the overall story & plot must be strong enough to support this or the work will be a snoozefest.

[@primarybufferpanel9939]

I am in the same position! My MC is really passive and I think it's making the story boring. The best I can come up with is that she's going with the flow (the people around her want to hang out so she agrees mostly to get them off her back, but slowly start to enjoy it) until her relationship breaks down in 2b, then she's actively trying to get better and make amends. Does you're MC ever actively want something in your story?

[@mandywhorwal642]

Most good stories are about change/transformation/realization, so naturally the characters in the story are either in favor of that change or against it. You said it yourself, your character WANTS to be left alone. i.e. How does the character maintain status quo in a world constantly trying to change them? Now you have your conflict/motivation.

[@yapdog]

@@mandywhorwal642 Great observation. He *says* he wants to be left alone; he always finds himself in situations where he's not alone. Is it just circumstance or is it by his own design? Therein lies the lesson and self realization. Again, I handle this via subtext.

[@risanf7999]

I've had this issue before in my stories as well. My MC starts the story as a directionless, go-with-the-flow kind of guy, and is pretty passive. This is mostly by design, since the story is supposed to act as a critique of this kind of character, and ends with the MC discovering what he really wants. However, even if the MC's passivity is intentional, he can't be so boring that he puts the audience to sleep, so I've had to tweak the story a bit to try and get it to work.

[@mandywhorwal642]

@@risanf7999 James Bond was supposed to be a dull character caught up in extraordinary circumstances. So, yeah, if your character is directionless and the environment provides no excitement either then you're probably venturing more into journal territory. Nothing wrong with keeping a record of your thoughts but an audience expects to be entertained/enlightened by something. Why waste your one chance on boring everyone when you can blow them away?

[@mandywhorwal642]

Understanding a character's philosophy is key. Philosophy = metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics and aesthetics. Once you decide on a character's ethics (what is right/wrong and/or if there is a right and wrong) then you'll know their motivation. A hedonist will act differently than an altruist and an egoist will make different decisions.

[@lazedreamor2318]

100% A character's worldview reveals pretty much everything about them on a conscious level.

[@starwing2814]

I needed this so much! I've been struggling to establish a want and a goal for my protagonist.

[@filmcourage]

Perfect, we hope this helps!

[@stijnvdv2]

@@filmcourage funny that she uses the movie Get Out as an example... it's a good movie and actually right from the start they signal the shift in goal of the protagonist halfway coz his buddy is extremely skeptical all the time of his relationship and some what at that time seems to be a ridiculous theory of caucasians kidnapping people. So the shift in goal of the protagonist isn't coming 'out of the blue', it's foreshadowed. However, it's pretty telling she uses this movie as an example in a time where the left and mainly Hollywood is getting all obsessed with race in a very strange way, which can be described as pretty darn close to some popular political party in Germany in the 1930's.

[@djemonk]

What a fantastic interview! The exercise about finding the character's want is brilliant, and so simple! I looked online for a list of stakes by Linda Seger, but didn't find it. My guess is it's in one of her books.

[@Zton-yn4kc]

Just look up “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”

[@sambakerman9406]

1. Survival: Many excellent stories are about survival. This primal instinct is basic to all animals and we are no exception. By centering our story around the hero’s (or community’s) survival, we’re ticking the first box on the list of creating empathy. The movie, Deliverance, is a fine example of this. 2. Safety and Security; Once our survival needs are met, we seek a safe and secure place to keep the dangers at bay. We lock our doors, build forts, raise armies to guard us. Voyage of the Damned and Country utilise this need in their stories. 3. Love and Belonging: But what is a safe home without love and family? We have a deep need to connect with others. We need to love and be loved in return. In Places of the Heart, Edna desperately wants to preserve her family - a family that comprises of more than just her children. It includes Will, the blind man, and Moses, a black male. This need drives the story to its inevitable conclusion. 4. Esteem and Self-Respect: People desire to be looked up to, respected. But this respect has to be earned through knowledge and hard-knocks. Luke Skywalker earns respect at the end of Star Wars after a series of lessons learnt the hard way. 5. The Need to Know and Understand. We are insatiably curious creatures. We seek to understand how things work, how they fit together. We seek to know what life is, where we came from. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is driven, in part, by such a curiosity, while films such as Back to the Future and The Time Machine show characters perpetually struggling to understand how to travel back and forth in time. 6. The Aesthetic: Once we are secure and confident, we seek to create a sense of order in our lives by connecting to something higher than ourselves. This can be a religious or aesthetic experience, but it often involves the search for epiphany. Films such as Joan of Arc, Amadeus, and Never Cry Wolf, use this more abstract need to drive their stories. 7. Self-Actualisation: Finally, we need to express ourselves - to communicate who we are, to declare our skills and talents to ourselves and the world. Artists and athletes express this need through their desire to finish a work, break a record. The need to excel is strongly displayed in films such as Chariots of Fire and The Turning Point

[@KEP1983]

I'm a nurse. When she started talking about different ways to raise the stakes, I immediately thought of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (Good catch by the interviewer, btw). It's a great way of putting it. We learned about Maslow's hierarchy of needs very early in nursing school, and I didn't think that I'd be hearing about it again for screenwriting. But I see how it obviously applies. Very cool!

[@capuchinosofia4771]

Its very nice to have a channel with great interviews both thanks to the interviewer and the interviewee! Its honestly a pleasure to listen to

[@creativeraven2222]

Love this tidbit. The hierarchy of needs was stolen from natives, Blackfoot I believe. Some things were taken out/tweaked.

[@reginaldforthright805]

@@creativeraven2222 it’s pretty dumb either way

[@ccwoodlands1565]

Enneagrams can be a great tool to help you explore a character’s internal fear and need.

[@gvphdyt]

Jeff K would agree… kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHeqeqGCZZqcrMU

[@dylana.9057]

Great interview. Thank you so much !

[@seanferguson5460]

Your guests are always smart and thoughtful, genuine and grounded, experienced and generous. Given the industry's reputation for proliferating flakes and phonies and self-centered jerks, I have to think that you are either an extraordinary judge of character or the latter group just can't see what's in it for them to appear on your channel -- or both.

[@AndrewDChristie]

Thanks!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much Andrew! Our best to you and your work!

[@m00dyalien]

I JUST DID THE MONOLOGUE EXERCISE AND OH MY GOSH

[@lionhoneyfilms1460]

Great tips here. Thank you.

[@yapdog]

I've been subbed to this channel since I first started writing, but did I every tell you how much I love this channel? Well, if you don't know, now you know ;^)

[@filmcourage]

How do you figure out what your characters want?

[@kevincarballo6496]

This video just gave me the answer about a good character, thank you, amazing video.

[@filmcourage]

Great to hear! Keep at it Kevin!

[@E91medi]

She's super 👌 good 👌

[@DenkyManner]

Very good advice.

[@JrtheKing91]

I always have a hard time getting my characters to talk its nerve recking. What could I do to make them speak on their own?

[@ianbanks3016]

Have a conversation with them, don't think about the script, or the story, just think about them as people. If writing it down is too hard act it out and record it. Or go from a drive with them, or go shopping with them, what would they buy? Why? There are a ton of different exercises, but think about them as characters, not cyphers to get your story from plot point A to plot point B.

[@JrtheKing91]

@@ianbanks3016 Thanks 👍🏾

[@anthonywritesfantasy]

One thing I do: What's an ugly truth your character doesn't want to admit? Then, at the 75% mark, have the external antagonist say it out loud. And the hero hears it. And that's what triggers the despair moment: being forced to admit an ugly truth.

[@tiburc10]

Oh my god I love her

[@PaulCrousePhoto]

Me too!

[@therealmogod]

Bless Every1 Who Reads This Comment… … .

[@cobymarcum1442]

Superb 👍

[@ComicPower]

If you cant figure out what the character wants then you dont have a story and have a long way to go. Great characters have several things they want. Both external and internal

[@DirectorDead]

How does one create a lasting goal or want for a character in a long running series? Something longer than a movie's two hours.

[@G360LIVE]

I think, for a series, the focus should be on how the attempted acquisition of that goal changes for the character, who is involved in those changes, and why. Does the character have control over this goal? What outside forces affect this goal and maybe keep the character from obtaining it? Also, does there come a point at which the goal can or must change for the character? Why? Is there a reason this goal should change or simply be abandoned for another goal? I think a great series to watch is a show called Gilmore Girls, because the mother, Lorelai, has a clear goal of wanting to be independent of her parents, and you see throughout the series how that goal is affected by her changing situations. It's a brilliantly written series. In fact, it's very helpful to watch the relationship between Lorelai and her mother compared to Lorelai and her daughter and ask how the relationship with her mother affects how she raises her daughter and also how Lorelai reacts to the relationship between her daughter and her mother. There's a lot going on there.

[@cosmicprison9819]

Somehow all this advice about what a character wants never seems to work if the character aims to *preserve* something they have, rather than *pursue* something they don’t have. 🤔

[@leonoradompor8706]

I claim as the Modern day Virgin Mary***

[@IIHooch]

this woman hasnt written anything in 20plus years

[@billyalarie929]

Is that why movies have sucked since 2002 or so?