If you noticed I didn’t post last night – thanks for following ScriptXRay! If you didn’t notice, you can follow the daily updates by subscribing via email.

The reason for the missing post last night was a little movie called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I waited in line with my magic wand iPhone app along with all the other Harry Potter nuts and saw the film first thing at 12:01 – highly recommend you see the film and participate in midnight screenings!

Anyway, the film was fantastic and the characters developed even more focused feelings for each other, which added depth to their overall characterscape, but feeling for others is just one of many dynamic aspects of life – especially during the teen years.

With this in mind, I thought it’d be useful to cover the top 50 problems most teenagers face that screenwriters might be able to use to add depth to their own characters.

50 Teenage Problems

1. Grades
2. Friends
3. Popularity
4. Tests
5. Pimples
6. Girlfriends or boyfriends
7. Peer pressure
8. Sex / Virginity
9. Romance
10. Bullies
11. Gangs
12. Communication
13. Trends
14. Dating
15. Drugs
16. Public speaking
17. Detention
18. Dress code
19. Lunch
20. Off campus pass
21. Death
22. Suicide
23. Pregnancy
24. Sports
25. Secret crushes
26. General embarrassment
27. Clothes
28. Weight
29. Enemies
30. Parties
31. Depression
32. Being different
33. Car
34. Parents
35. Divorce
36. Finance limitations
37. Jobs
38. Expectations
39. Elderly parents
40. Alcoholism
41. Abuse
42. Prom
43. Teachers
44. Cell phone
45. Prom dress
46. Hobbies
47. Drop out
48. Saturday school
49. Summer school
50. Summer freedom

I hope those 50 points help you re-explore what it’s like to be a teenager from your character’s point of view. Another way to help add character depth to your characters is to create a backstory – for more on this, read 101: Character Backstory.

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