Wisehart - How to Write Great Characters: The Key to Your Heros Growth and Transformation

How to Write Great Characters The Key to Your Heros Growth and Transformation David Wisehart How to Write Great Characters The Key to Your Heros Growth and Transformation Copyright 2015 by David Wisehart All Rights Reserved Published by Wisehart Productions CharacterChange.com Welcome Years ago I was a video game producer at Twentieth Century Fox. One day, a writer walks into my office. Pitches me a story. I ask him, "So, who's the bad guy?" The writer thinks for a moment. Then says, "I don't know." Quick tip: If you're writing a story, and you don't know who your bad guy is, it's you. You have got to know your characters.

I'm not just talking about character descriptions:

• appearance
• dialect
• occupation
• ethnicity
• socio-economic class
• etc.

And Im not just talking about character traits:

• faith
• health
• intelligence
• sense of humor
• morality
• etc.

Im not even talking about character function:

• hero
• villain
• mentor
• ally
• trickster
• etc.

Yes, those are all important. But you need more. Much more. You've got to know your characters on a deep level. From the inside out. You've got to know them better than you know your friends.

Better than you know your family. Better than you know yourself. You can learn to do that. And I can help you. Welcome to my book on How to Write Great Characters. Who Is This Guy? My name is David Wisehart.

I am a writer, director, and producer in Hollywood. I was a video game producer at Twentieth Century Fox. I've written, directed, and produced stage plays, a musical, and an opera. I've directed a feature film. I've been hired to re-write more than a dozen movie scripts. I'm the bestselling author of an epic fantasy novel.

And I am truly excited about this opportunity to help you master the art of writing great characters. Who Is This Book For? Are you a writer? Do you want to achieve your greatest possible success? Then this book is for you. By reading this book, you will gain a better understanding of human nature. You will acquire a set of tools that you can use to create compelling characters. You will learn the ancient secrets of human psychology:

• the nine fundamental fears that motivate human behavior
• the nine core character types
• the nine stages of character change
• and so much more

The ideal reader for this book is a writer who wants to complete their best possible screenplay or novel. There are no pre-requisites.

Complete beginners and seasoned veterans will both benefit greatly from this material. You dont even have to be a writer. I only ask that you come open-minded, and ready to learn. About story. About character. And about yourself.

Please join me on this great adventure. What Is a Story? My favorite definition of a story is: Someone wants something and has a hard time getting it. Its simple, clear, and easy to remember. No, it doesnt cover everything. And yes, its oversimplified. But this short sentence is a great way to wrap our heads around what a story really is.

Lets break it down. Someone Story comes from character. In most stories, that character is a person, a human being. But a story could be about something personified:

• an animal
• an alien
• a robot
• a toaster
• a toy

If a non-human character acts recognizably human, then we as an audience can relate to them. Audiences go to stories to learn about:

• themselves
• other people
• how to survive in the world

They do this by following a character who acts human. Even gods, when they are the subjects of stories, act like human beings.

As Alexander Pope wrote: Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,The proper study of mankind is Man. To write great characters, then, we must study human nature. But people are unique, complex, and unpredictable. To get a deeper understanding of people, we need a model of human personality that rings true. For writers of fiction, the model doesnt need to be scientifically validated, but it does need to be useful. To be useful as a writing tool, the model must help us to:

• understand ourselves
• understand other people
• create characters
• create a character arc

The most useful model that I have found is called the Enneagram. The Enneagram is an ancient symbol and system of thought.

It seems to have developed over many centuries, and has been influenced by many cultures and philosophies. Its true origins are shrouded in the sands of time, but early influencers may include the Pythagoreans, the Neoplatonists, and the Desert Fathers. In the twentieth century these traditions were combined with modern psychology and popularized by various New Age teachers and North American Jesuits. Given this history, or lack thereof, it should come as no surprise that most scientists and many therapists view the Enneagram with great skepticism. Which, for a writer of fiction, is neither here nor there. For us, the Enneagram passes the test for usefulness.

It is a workable model of human personality and behavior that can help us to better understand ourselves and other people, and can help us to create compelling characters who undergo a believable and satisfying character change. The Enneagram classifies people into nine basic types, with various subtypes. Each type is dominated by a fear, and that fear creates a recognizable style of thinking, feeling, and acting. Its simple enough to understand, yet complex enough to be true-to-life. You can grasp the basics in a few hours, and plumb the depths for a lifetime. So if you want to write great characters, I recommend that you study the Enneagram.

Which we will continue to do in the upcoming chapters. Okay, moving on. Whats next in our description of story? Someone wants something The character has a goal. The goal is what the character knows he wants. It drives the plot of the story. But the truth is, the character doesnt know what he really wants, because he doesnt know himself.

Hes been living a lie, wearing a mask, presenting a false self to the world. His true self wants something that his false self has forgotten. Lets call it his need. So his want is the outer goal, which he is aware of at or near the beginning of the story. And his need is the inner goal, which he is not aware of until at or near the end of the story. I thought what I wanted was X, but now I know that what I really wanted all along was Y. The character learns something about himself.

And so, the audience learns something about themselves. Lets look at some examples: 1. She wants to win her case before the U.S. Supreme Court, but she needs prove shes a good person. 2. 3. 3.

She wants to win the state championship game, but she needs to feel valued. 4. He wants to play in Carnegie Hall, but he needs to feel significant. 5. She wants to outwit the Russian hacker, but she needs to prove she hasnt lost her skills. 6.

He wants to find love, but he needs to feel secure. 7. She wants to find the lost treasure of the Incas, but she needs to escape her dull job at the bank. 8. He wants to launch a high-tech startup company, but he needs to feel in control. 9.

She wants to stop her parents from divorcing, but she needs to feel like a whole person. Is there a reason I gave nine examples? Yes. Because, as we will discuss in an upcoming chapter, there are nine secret fears that motivate characters. What the character needs most is to overcome their secret fear. And thats what the story is for.