A recent client told me that talking to me was like a talking to a clinical psychologist. He’d written a feature screenplay but told me he had an aversion to going deep on characters. I urged him to face his fears. Any serious writer will tell you that storytelling requires you to understand your character’s motivations and wants and hopes and dreams.
Understanding a character's psychology is crucial for a fiction writer because it drives authentic behavior and decision-making, ensuring that the character's actions are consistent and believable. It allows the writer to create deep, relatable characters whose motivations resonate with readers. Even non-fiction writers delve deep into psychology. We wouldn’t have 4.3 million books about Abe Lincoln if writers weren’t exploring his psyche as well as his hat.
I believe we are all capable of writing at a level that can at least provide us with valuable moments of reflection or solace. At its best, writing helps us understand the experience of being human and connect people across time and space. I mean, even a well crafted poop joke can touch our shared humanity.
From a craft point of view, this talk of psychology falls in the bucket of character development, an actual screenwriting buzz word if that’s what you’re looking for. When I talk to students, clients, friends or myself about character development, I sometimes give them this thought experiment: imagine a person sitting on the bus when someone steps on their brand new and expensive shoes. How do they react? Different people will react differently; one person will brawl while another will apologize for being in the way. As a writer, a Creator, you must know your characters well to know how they will react to the litany of challenging situations you’ve (hopefully) put in your plot. You can bet Charles Shultz would know how each of his characters would react on that bus. Do you know how your various characters would react?
I hope my recent client decides to dig further into the psychology of his characters. I know it would help his script. If not that, maybe he can schedule an appointment with Lucy. I hear she’s good, but don’t step on her shoes. She does not play.
My story consulting business is called This Time/Next Time because of pig snouts. I help people with stories they’re writing and stories they want to write. Fiction, non-fiction, short and feature screenplays and murder ballads. If you are looking for fresh eyes, suggestions, guidance on a piece of writing please be in touch.
And a shout out to Andrew Condell @picturecardstories for replacing Lucy’s face with my pretty mug!