Why don’t people like my characters? Screenwriting advice

​Because they suck. Kidding… but maybe they do. Characters carry your script. There is no way to get around that. It doesn’t matter if you have the best plot ever. If people don’t like your characters, then no one cares about what they’re doing or how they’re affected by what’s happening in your screenplay. So let’s talk about what makes characters likeable.

1. CHANGE IS GOOD – Your characters should always change.  By the time your story ends, your character needs to have changed. Somehow. Someway. Period. There should be a noticeable difference in the character that we meet at the top of the story and the character that we bid adeau at the end of the story. If not, you will have pissed off a lot of people.
2. FLAWS AND ALL –Your characters should be flawed. This should be obvious but let’s discuss anyway. No one is perfect. I hate to burst your bubble (not really) but you’re not perfect. But for some reason writers think that audiences/readers want perfect characters as an escape from reality. Word to the wise, reality is inescapable. Readers want relatable characters. The only way to relate is through flaws and perseverance regardless of those flaws. Whether people will say it out loud or not, they know they’re flawed and they’re looking for someone who is on their side. It’s comforting to know they’re not in the world alone.
3. REDEEMING QUALITIES – Does your character have any? Even unlikeable people have redeeming qualities. This means that not all of your characters have to be “likeable” in the general sense. They can be mean people, evil people, bad people, but they must still be liked enough to care about their journey in your story. For example, in “Up” (the beautifully made Pixar movie), Mr. Frederickson is a grumpy old man. Without the opening montage he’d be totally unlikeable. No one likes a sour puss. But because we understood why he was sour, we gave him a pass and ultimately went with him on his greatest adventure. Another example is Heath Ledger as the Joker was an antagonist that you loved to hate. You wanted him to lose because obviously Batman is the good guy. But there was a small part of you that wanted him to win because you cared about him. He shares a bit of his story making him relatable to those who come from abuse. If he’s relatable, then we can understand his actions because we know his motives. Bad guys don’t consider themselves bad guys.  AND all bad guys are good guys to someone. Never forget that.

 
Character is everything. Take time to build them. Show their vulnerability.  And then ask your self a simple question. Do my characters suck? If so, go back to the drawing board. You’ll thank yourself later.

Want to write dynamic characters? Check out our Guide to Writing Three-Dimensional Characters!
​

---

AUTHOR

Shannan E. Johnson is a former creative executive at The Syfy Channel turned CEO + Head Consultant of The Professional Pen, a script consultancy that develops screenwriters from idea to pitch to become more confident storytellers ready for a professional screenwriting career, and consults with scripted development teams at entertainment companies to streamline their notes process to get to pre-production more efficiently.