What is a foil character? Is it a character who wears tin-foil on their head? Wait no, that’s Joaquin Phoenix in Signs. Foil characters exist to expose something in the main character of a story. You may have heard the term in reference to the works of William Shakespeare, but he’s not the only writer who uses them. We’re going to show you some examples of foil characters from literature, film, and television. By the end, you’ll know how to recognize foils from a mile away and perhaps hatch an idea for your own foil character.Continue reading What is a…
Mad Men is one of television's best period pieces. It not only uses the 1960s as a backdrop and setting for the show, it imbues its dialogue, story, and characters with the details of the times. Every character reflects the 1960s in one way or another. In this article, we’ll analyze how Betty Draper’s tragic character arc was developed and written to reflect the times. Be warned there are spoilers ahead.Continue reading Betty Draper: How They Wrote Mad Men’s Most Tragic Character
When you think of the most iconic films in cinema, odds are there is a well-rounded, memorable, maybe even complex character attached to it. However, you may be surprised that many of these great films also use simple characters that lack complexity. These are flat characters. What is a flat character arc? In this article, we’ll take a look at the flat character definition, how they differ from round characters, and why writers intentionally use these characters in their stories. Continue reading What is a Flat Character — Types of Character Arcs Explained
What is a Mary Sue? This much-maligned character type is often the subject of fierce online debate, and pinning down a precise definition requires sorting through swaths of debate and disagreement. In this post, we will be explaining everything you need to know about the Mary Sue trope. We’ll get started with a definition, then examine why this type of character is so derided, look at some examples, and attempt to end things on a positive note by searching for a silver lining.Continue reading What is a Mary Sue — Character Types Explained
The best movies have stories that entertain us, connect with us, and keep us glued to the screen. That kind of compelling drama happens on multiple levels, through internal and external conflict. How you implement these tools will determine how effective your story is.Continue reading How Internal Conflict and External Conflict Can Energize Your Story
What is sarcasm? As it turns out, it isn’t exactly what most people think it is. In some cases, what we think is sarcasm is really just your garden variety of verbal irony. For writers, it is crucial to have a precise and firm grasp on language, so this is the perfect opportunity to clear up any misconceptions. We’ll provide an accurate and clear sarcasm definition using examples from movies and television — because Shakespeare is “sooo 16th Century!” Was that sarcasm or verbal irony? You’ll never know unless you keep reading.Continue reading What is Sarcasm? Definition and Examples in…
Looking to brainstorm new characters? Perhaps, you want to flesh out existing characters or pair them against another character to maximize drama and develop deeper character arcs. Writing a compelling character is easier said than done. However, it's helpful to consider tried-and-true character archetypes to ensure every character behaves in a way that is unique, consistent, and believable. In this post, we'll identify the various character archetypes that you can use to enhance your own characters. Plus, we'll include plenty of iconic character archetype examples from your favorite movies and TV shows. Lastly, we'll define which character archetypes can be…
F or a writer, it’s exciting to hatch a new idea. Maybe you even have a rockstar logline. But it’s all too easy to take that idea and run, only to stumble at page 30 without a clue of where to go. Don’t worry - this is avoidable. You just need a firm grasp on how to map out your idea. With the right tools, you can see if your idea has the “legs” to deliver a feature-length film to the finish line. How do you do that? In today’s post, we’ll examine how, with Blake Snyder’s famous "Save…
We all know that conflict is needed to keep viewers engaged, to create an emotional response, and to ultimately, push the story forward. Without conflict in a story, the film, show, or novel, may seem a bit, well, boring. It’s also true that conflict can be defined by all of the “types” that exist — internal, external, people vs people, people vs society, etc. And while all of those things are helpful, it’s not a fully developed definition. This article takes a macro perspective, answering what is conflict in a story by highlighting why we need it in the first…
Writing a great character arc is a challenge. Great characters and their arcs are what drive a plot, make a story relatable, and memorable. In this post, we're going to teach you how to write a great character arc. We'll also discuss some excellent character arc examples along the way. Continue reading How To Write a Compelling Character Arc
