The professor in my writing for film class recently gave a lecture to our class about the types of characters we should and could create. He mentioned to us that we could do anything and everything to them. I thought to myself, imagine all of the vast possibilities that statement holds. I realized that we can turn our characters into heroes, villains, nerds, beauty queens, quiet gems, outspoken advocates, gender-confused males or females, disease stricken children, unloving parents, Mother Teresa type figures, or even the first female president of the United States. What ever it may be, they are our characters. No one can really tell us whom we can and cannot create.
As writers, it is important to remember that it is our writing and nobody else’s. The process of creating a character should not be a people pleasing one; characters are meant to invoke emotion, and in that process, timid writing will just not do. Whilst creating characters, one must be bold. The writer should be willing to stand up for that character in their darkest times, not because he or she agrees with the character’s actions, but because the writer has fallen in love with that character. It is so crucial to fall in love with the character you are writing about.
My professor also continued to say that, “If you’re in love with your character, the audience will love them. If you love your character, the audience will like them. If you like your character, the audience will think they are just mediocre.” Loving your character is more than just appreciating their actions. Loving your character is about creating an entire detailed back-story for them and loving every single bit of it.
The characters we create can ultimately be a reflection of our selves and the people who watch our films. Saying our characters are ‘just okay,’ will just not work. The stories we create, the people we bring to life, and the stories we tell all have the potential to impact lives. Ingmar Bergman once said “No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.” This is true, film has that power; power that lies within the characters we create and essentially power that lies within us to create them.