Actors have their own way of “getting into character”, we all know that. Depending on which technique they are using, or mixture of techniques, they will follow their own method to “get there”. Regardless of the method of choice, something that all techniques/methods suggest is to understand the want. Not only on a script level (like “what does the character want to achieve in this film?”) but also on a scene-by-scene level. That’s something writers should also think about.

Let me explain.

You have your two characters, Jody and Mike. You open on an INT scene, an office, where Mike is sitting at a desk, monitor in front of him, clicking furiously on the keyboard. Enter Jody, moving swiftly towards her desk, dropping her bag. A dialogue starts, Jody engages with Mike and they start a discussion…

Now… Why did Jody enter the office? It’s where she works. That’s not enough. What is her objective? What would Jody have done if Mike wasn’t there? That’s the key question.

In the same way, what would Mike have done if Jody didn’t come? What was his want at the beginning of the scene?

You should ask yourself these questions every time you put a character in play.

Why?

Because you will get real, living characters that have a purpose. You will end up with rounder characters, that actors will want to play. You will end up with more interesting entities, that the audience will want to follow.

Sometimes we watch something and it feels dull but we can’t really tell why. Most of the times the reason is that there are characters who are just bouncing around the space being themselves. They are acting out the characters, without a clear reason. They are just “there”. Sure they talk, discuss, fight, do stuff. But there is just the writer’s hand pushing them around and no real motivation behind them.

Give your characters a want, every time they appear, and you will solve this. It will also help you to develop more interesting dialogues and scenes, because knowing that they have a pre-existing state of mind will make them react differently. Too often writers make characters enter the scene as blank sheets. Don’t make that mistake.

Make your character live giving them a clear “want”. At any level.