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The Art of Dramatic Writing: Character
Last week, in our our examination of the valuable ideas in Lagos Egri’s book The Art of Dramatic Writing, we looked why premises are so important in your script.
This week, let’s look at what Egri has to say about creating characters.
Character
Egri likens characters and their actions to storms. When a hurricane, hits land we experience it as a raging force of wind and water. It didn’t start that way.
It didn’t start at landfall. And it didn’t start then and there. It was created over time and influenced by many factors. It began as a light, cool breeze across warm ocean water. As the water evaporated, the air slowed, creating a churning sensation. As the air and water amassed, it picked up speed and direction until it approaches land where it experience as a raging gale.
Humans are the same. They do not exist fully created in one moment. Our needs, wants, choices and emotions are created over the span of our lives. In order to create believable characters — characters with three dimensions — we must consider all the various factors.
A Character is Constantly in a State of Change.
Everything is in change. Only change is eternal. Nothing is static in nature, least of all man. Great…
