I recently stumbled upon Michael Hauge (author or Sell Your Story in 60 Seconds) and found these wonderful tips.
If you would recollect I was searching for ways to make my hero more likable a few months ago. He has elaborated these in this above mentioned book too.
- Introduce the hero within the first ten pages and create immediate IDENTIFICATION using:
- sympathy,
- jeopardy,
- likability,
- humor or power.
- Give the hero a compelling DESIRE, with a clear, visible goal for her to reach by the end of the movie.
- Provide seemingly insurmountable OBSTACLES the hero must overcome to achieve that goal.
- Make the story CREDIBLE: your characters must behave the way people with their backgrounds would logically behave in whatever situation you have created.
- EMPLOY SUBTEXT: avoid clichéd, on-the-nose, or “announcing” dialogue, or speeches that duplicate the action.
- Create GROWTH for your hero by giving her an emotional fear to overcome as she pursues her goal.
- Give the story a clear, satisfying ENDING.
Here is what I would add: After you have written a script following all the above ask yourself whose story it is, ask if there is a singular protagonist and singular antagonist, ask if there is enough conflict all through, and ask if there is a tangible event to mark the ending.
Remember: Movie is a Character's (protagonist) journey (plot) towards a Goal which the character desperately wants against all odds (antagonist).
