tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post5937692480424467976..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Quick tips #5 - CharacterizationThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-65524384432074088962010-06-12T16:54:46.828-07:002010-06-12T16:54:46.828-07:00Thanks for the answer, Bitter. That makes sense. I...Thanks for the answer, Bitter. That makes sense. I have one script where I do it, but it answers questions about certain actions on the part of the protagonist. <br /><br />In another script I feel all we need to know is unfolding on the page, but I started to worry that I'd have to throw in a cat-killing past.<br /><br />Good to hear only do backstory if it answers a present question.Jake Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630288121554160502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-64725050643591942002010-06-10T10:56:34.189-07:002010-06-10T10:56:34.189-07:00Jake - I'm pretty sure that somewhere in these...Jake - I'm pretty sure that somewhere in these archives I've touched on the exact problem you mention and I'll admit that it usually gets a groan from me. Like I said about the example above, it feels like a patch job unless there's been stuff building up to it.<br /><br />I always try to look at it like this - that "revelation" scene should play like an answer. The trick is making sure that the audience has had reason to ask the question before you feed it to them.<br /><br />Sometimes, good acting might be able to save a rote scene like that. An actor's performance might foreshadow certain revelations in that scene so that when this backstory is made plain, it feels like the final piece snapping into a puzzle.<br /><br />But yeah, 4 out of 5 times it ends up feeling like the writer knew they had to accomodate this exposition, but had no idea where to put it.The Bitter Script Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-6816306385261758162010-06-10T08:59:04.252-07:002010-06-10T08:59:04.252-07:00I'm curious, Bitter, if you think a script alw...I'm curious, Bitter, if you think a script always needs to divulge a character's back story. You know the scene I'm talking about -- somewhere in Act 2 the protagonist and the love interest are holed up in a hotel having evaded the bay guys for the night and as they awkwardly brush past each other the protagonist lets slip he ran over the family cat which has turned him into the emotionless shell he is today.<br /><br />In other words, even if the back story sheds real light on the current situation, does it elicit a groan from the reader or is it considered fairly de rigeur?Jake Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630288121554160502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-47473517043380154482010-06-09T08:12:03.673-07:002010-06-09T08:12:03.673-07:00I usually just start writing, then get about 30-40...I usually just start writing, then get about 30-40 pages in before I know who my character really is. Then I go back and rewrite with my knew feelings in mind.Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.com