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How To Write a Character that Undergoes Change in Your Screenplay

By Eric Owusu · November 13, 2014

Some of the most interesting movies I’ve ever seen are also great examinations of character development. Buzz Lightyear and Woody change their attitudes and worldviews throughout Toy Story the same way Ron Woodroof changes his views by the end of Dallas Buyers Club. No matter the type of movie, audiences enjoy seeing characters change because people actually go through conflict and situations in life that changes thinking and reasoning.

When penning a screenplay, it’s effective having characters make some sort of transition; to be changed by the narrative of the screenplay. It doesn’t always have to be a good change. There are plenty of examples of compelling characters that get morally murky as their plots advance. The change that occurs is the more important aspect of the character development, not so much whether or not they become good or bad people.

It’s a tall task to take on. The story of your screenplay may not be an easy one to use to take your character down a transformative path. But it can and should be done if a writer wants to create a compelling character whose development will capture the audience’s interest for the length of a movie and a large box of popcorn.

Clearly define the characters you intend to have change by showing how they act with people who are different. We can't really see a character change if we never know who they are to begin with. The character Danny Vinyard in American History X (played by Edward Norton) has dinner with his family early in the movie and establishes himself to the audience as someone who isn't sympathetic to minorities who experience police violence. Early on, we are introduced through dialogue to this character that has different beliefs and table manners than the rest of his family and, after several conflicts and time jumps throughout the movie, becomes a genuinely changed man.

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Write scenes for your changing character where they deal with conflicts and demonstrate how they handle winning and losing. If you have a character go from bad to good for example, the audience will really soak in how much they are changing if they had been a hot head earlier and then, later in the screenplay, they experience a setback and don’t throw a fit. How they deal with the plot should make them weaker or stronger, but always exhibiting a change.

Make sure to write in the action lines of your screenplay what the audience will see, not what we should know about the character. Say NO to internalization! Include instances of them doing things that display changes to their character and have other characters notice them. Employing this method really helps show who your character is by showing the things they do. Remember, SEE and HEAR. 

A very clear example of showing clear character change through action is in The Karate Kid reboot starring Jaden Smith. In the beginning his mother chastises him for leaving his jacket on the floor near the coat rack. After training with his martial arts teacher, Smith’s character hangs his coat up without his mother asking him to, which leaves her uncharacteristically speechless.

By the end of it, the character doesn’t have to make an Ebenezer Scrooge-type transformation. But the events of the plot should make them different than they were when they started. Show change with interaction between them and people from earlier in the screenplay. In the end of many movies, the character that has undergone change ends up with another character that has been around the whole movie.

The character that has changed is now what the other character wanted them to be and they can ride off into the sunset together. The end of Groundhog Day (starring Bill Murray) is a prime example of the protagonist changing and being with the person they desire. Especially since that character didn’t want to be with Murray’s character in the beginning.

Change can be scary. If you’re writing a screenplay that transforms characters, you should count on it being scary. Or enthralling. Whatever it takes to bring your audience along for a memorable ride. But most of all, it will be interesting. And it might inspire your audience members to have a change of heart.

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