The reader follows the story at his own pace – Whether you are Charlie Brown reading the collegiate-level novel War and Peace over a weekend for book report due Monday or reading to relax – the story plays at your pace. When reading a book the power is with the reader. What these die hard potter fans fail to understand is that stage and screen is very different from novels. It’s impossible to fit every single detail written on the page into the frame. When these films bomb, they bomb hard for a good reason – These stories were never written for screen. Hollywood has been putting its eggs into one basket into best selling high concepts such as : the chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the rings and the Golden compass. It takes a level of sophistication and talent to turn a three hundred page novel into ninety minute feature or two hour stage adaptation. OF COURSE THEY ARE ! Harry Potter was never written for the screen it’s a book. Most fans of Harry Potter will tell you that the books are better then the films. It is a universal truth that the transition of a successful book into any other art form is filled with danger at every turn. Describe only those traits of a character that serve as triggers to the plot, and do so succinctlyĢ thoughts on “ Character Description in Screenplays and Novels” To see those long fleshy fingers you’d realize the strength in them.” This description is not only germane to the story but it foreshadows menacing aspects in the plot.Ĭharacter description should be brief and germane. In Modus Operandi she describes a character’s physical size: “A big man, too–he had to duck under doorways. In her wonderful book on the craft of the short story, Inside Stories for Readers and Writers, Trish Nicholson offers us several examples of this skill. This brevity of description extends to the novel and short story too, for much the same reasons. Indeed, one of the best ways to make emotional and physical traits germane to the story is to interweave them and have them explain some aspect of the character’s action(s). This extends to emotional traits as well.
Character description that references physical stature, hair colouring, and weight, therefore, is relevant only if it foreshadows aspects of the plot, such as the stutter that causes the murderer to trip up at the end, or the lack of height that motivates a man to over-achieve in other areas. So, why do so many writers include them in their stores? Because it is far easier to describe a character’s varied physical attributes and traits than to reveal them adroitly through dialogue and action in a scene. Lengthy, unmotivated descriptions slow the thrust of the story and betray the writer’s inexperience. If, for example, one of your characters, say, Bruce Dunn’s graceful movement somehow ends up saving his life then foreshadow this in your description of him: Bruce Dunn was built like an army barracks shithouse but moved with the grace of a ballerina.
If a characteristic is crucial to the story, state this succinctly. Pedantic descriptions about physical attributes, cars and pets, musical instruments played, should be avoided, although, in a novel, lengthier descriptions are more common. In a screenplay, there are only two things to establish about a character from the outset-gender and age. This post looks at this often misunderstood aspect. These descriptions should be brief and to the point.
No character description would be complete in this example without reference to Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile.Ĭharacter Description: In a typical screenplay or novel, character descriptions should be written when the characters first appear on the page.