The importance of character can’t be stressed enough; regardless of how magnificently impressive your epic adventure , nerve-wracking your thriller, or beautiful your drama, your screenplay isn’t going to cut it if your character work sags.

Not only does the audience gain access to the story through the central character, but they also sympathize or side with them as the story unfolds. If the audience can’t understand and side with a character, your story isn’t going to have much of a pull.

As a storyteller, one might say your job is to create situations which bring to light the past, present, or future state of the human condition – you’ve heard this record before.

Consider this series of 10 posts about Character 101 your guide to creating compelling characters.

1. Character Names
2. Character Backstory
3. Character Goal
4. Character Arc