The Monologue

Character Exercises
You will create many different types of characters in order to flesh out your story.
Obviously, the protagonist - hero or anti-hero - is your main character and deserves the most
attention. However, most stories also include an antagonist, hopefully a villain that is complex
and layered, and then there's the plethora of supporting characters - friends and rivals, even
symbolic and nonhuman characters - that are essential to moving the story forward. When
creating characters - main and supporting - it's helpful to explore them through writing exercises.
These five character exercises are designed to help you develop and strengthen your characters.
Give them a try; you never know what treasures you might discover.
1. THE MONOLOGUE
Objective: Learn a characters insights, thoughts, and feelings.
Exercise: Write a monologue (1 page) that accurately portrays your character. What is he/she
feeling at that moment? What is his/her hopes? His/her fears? What does he/she love?
Hate?
Remember: The character is speaking to him/herself.
Hints: Use the characters speech patterns and vocabulary - their voice.
2. THE SPEECH
Objective: Use exposition to learn a characters past experiences.
Exercise: Write a speech (1 page) in which your character describes, explains, tells, or preaches
about a specific event, experience, or idea. Here are some suggestions:
o
o
o
o
o
Explain his/her FIRST LOVE AFFAIR.

Recall his/her experience of DISCOVERING A DEAD BODY.
Describe the BIRTH OF HIS/HER FIRST CHILD.
Lecture on a situation of INTERNATIONAL MILITARY CONFLICT.
Preach about the PRACTICAL VALUE OF ATHEISM.
Remember: The character is speaking to someone or even to a group of people. Decide who
your character is addressing. The specifics of your characters audience will affect word
choice and presentation.
Hints: Use the characters speech patterns and vocabulary - their voice.
3. CHARACTER ENVIRONMENT (ROOMMATES)
Objective: Explore the things people surround themselves with that define character.
Exercise: Describe a bedroom where two people live. They can be college roommates, siblings,
lovers, husband/wife - it's up to you. You are to describe the room three times in script
form (NO DIALOGUE - TWO PAGES MAXIMUM):
1. The first time the two people live in harmony.
2. The second, there has been a fight between the two roommates.
3. The third, one of the roommates has moved out.

Remember: The tricky part is you are to describe only the room. There are no people in any of
these scenes. Use objects, furniture, clothes, etc to differentiate between the two
roommates. Don't just list objects. Write with a sense of discovery. The way in which you
reveal information is important. It affects our understanding as well as our emotions.
Hints: Subtle, but clear, changes should occur to the room as their relationship dissolves. We
should know from the descriptions who these people are, what happened, which one
started the fight, what the fight was about and who moved out.
Questions that should be answered: Who are these two people? What are their ages? What do
they look like? How long have they lived together? What was the argument about? Who
started it? How did they deal with it? Who moved out?
4. CHARACTER BIO: UNABLE TO LOVE
Objective: Dig deep with a character, discovering background history, personality, psychology,
and current goals.
Exercise: Write a character biography (1 page) of a person who is unable to love. Base this on
someone you know. Know everything about this character: looks, family, religion,
childhood, etc. Use the details of real life - the life you know. Then select from what you
know, and describe the character in dramatic, cinematic terms - that is, in ways that are of
use to a screenwriter.
Remember: Most of all, you must know and articulate the reason why this character is unable to
love. What is holding him/her back? What does he or she fear will happen if he/she fear
will happen if he/she falls in love? Rejection? Certain disappointment, e.g., was there
once someone he loved that no one can ever live up to? Finally, how does he imagine
himself at moments when he has a chance to love someone but doesn't? Fragile? Tired?
Protective? Noble? Wise?
Schedule: Use the character seven-day schedule to help you fully develop this character.
5. CHARACTER INTRODUCTION
Objective: Make your character stand out.
Exercise: Write a scene (1-3 pages) that introduces your character. Use description, props,
wardrobe and dialogue that give your character a unique voice.
Remember: Introduction scenes are often scenes of the status quo - the character living his or
her everyday life before the inciting incident propels the character into a new conflict.
Hints: Action speak louder than words. If your character is in a group, have them do something
specific and unique that makes them memorable and interesting.
Example: COOL HAND LUKE (1967) - The opening scene to the screenplay by Donn Pearce
and Frank Pierson originally had two sections of dialogue of Luke talking to himself as
he cut off the parking meters. What you will read here is the way we see the final edit of
the film. Clearly, dialogue was unnecessary to illustrate Lukes tragic flaw: defiance.
FADE IN:
EXT. SOUTHERN CITY STREET EXTREME CLOSEUP PARKING METER (NIGHT)
Its irritating head opens a glaring red eye: the red flag pops across the entire screen:
VIOLATION
INSERT: PARKING METER SUPPORT (NIGHT)
CLOSEUP of a pipe cutter attached to the meter neck, metal slivers curling out.
CLOSEUP PARKING METER (NIGHT)
as the meter head falls out of FRAME.
NEW ANGLE ON METER (NIGHT)
as it falls to the ground amidst a forest of meter stands and Luke's hand comes into the FRAME to
pick it up and we see LUCAS JACKSON in CLOSEUP for the first time. He is cheerful,
drunk, wearing a faded GI Field jacket. A bottle opener hangs on a silver chain around
his neck.
Suddenly the beam of headlights crashes in, FLARING the SCREEN.
ANGLE ON PROWL CAR (NIGHT)
sliding up to us, headlights glaring, red toplight revolving menacingly. TWO OFFICERS, black
shapes, get out and start warily toward Luke.
ON LUKE (NIGHT)
illuminated by the headlights. He grins as the Officers approach, lifts a bottle of beer, opens i t and
drinks, smiling. On his smile, FREEZE FRAME. ON THE FRAME SUPER-IMPOSE
MAIN TITLE.
6. PLAY THE PART OF YOUR CHARACTER

Objective: Discover details about your character by playing the part.
Exercise: Go to a location and make decisions as your character.
Remember: Truly be the character. Even the cold-blooded assassin needs to eat. Everybody goes
to the grocery store, but not everybody shops the same. Choice the act of selecting or
making a decision marks the difference between people. And how a person goes about
making the choice is incredibly revealing.
Hints: Clearly, this exercise can be applied in any location: order a burger as your character
would, pick up some books in the library that only your character would read, walk
through the mall and go into stores that your character would shop in.
SOURCE: http://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting/character/creating-characters/20-character-exercises?showall=1

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Character Exercises

Explain his/her FIRST LOVE AFFAIR.

3. The third, one of the roommates has moved out.

6. PLAY THE PART OF YOUR CHARACTER

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