This Is The Question That Helps Me Unlock A Character - Sarah T. Schwab

[@Fecabs1]

Another great one from Sarah. It would be amazing if you could give us the full interview with her, she's truly amazing.

[@cliffsofmoherfilmreviews]

Another great insightful video. Love your channel. Its helped me so much.

[@familycorvette]

Top marks for "oubliette," which comes from a French word meaning "to forget," so it's the perfect metaphor for locking something away inside you. I often run into the advice to discover the reasons why characters act badly. Those reasons are always assumed to be sympathetic and usually lean on some variation of "hurt people hurt people." However, living in the age we live in, I think artists have a moral obligation to grapple with the problem of evil. I've seen (for the few minutes I could stand to watch) videos of the atrocities committed on October 7, 2023, and the perpetrators are gleeful in their cruelty and hatreds. I don't think "hurt people hurt people" is even close to an adequate explanation. Do people in a police state betray their neighbors out of fear (something we all can sympathize with) or do they do it out of the same cruel and petty motives that possessed the woman who was jealous of P'nut the Squirrel's follower count, boasted she was going to "fix that little rat" and then took the actions that resulted in the euthanizing of P'nut and Fred the Raccoon? Maybe a stranger is just a friend you haven't met, but not every monster is a hurt person you have yet to understand.

[@thehappyyoyo]

Wow, Sarah. Such great insights into how story is constructed. And such a human heart understanding the inevitable failings we live with, and experience. I can not think anything other than this woman is going to tell amazing stories going forward. Thank you - so much. Each answer you gave was very precise and showed the depth of your knowledge. A great video, which I will return to many times in future.

[@desareadoodles9446]

I love these videos?! So happy

[@spectremanLIVE1]

Labyrinth, starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie, had an oubliette.

[@pikiwiki]

"lock away their secrets in an oubliette inside of them" whew

[@filmcourage]

What are the key character questions you ask yourself during the writing process?

[@familycorvette]

You're supposed to ask, "What does this character want?" but I think real-world human beings operate at cross-purposes with themselves. I usually find myself asking, "Knowing what this character wants, how do they manage to get in their own way?"

[@mskimlouise]

What is this character‘s greatest fear? I think people are more motivated by what they are terrified of than by what they want-as expressed in perhaps a goal or an objective.

[@ryanhowell4492]

Cool

[@spectremanLIVE1]

🥳🎉🎂

[@familycorvette]

First!