Character Workbook for Excel

[mscherer]

Folks,

Now that I am hip-deep into planning my next script I am determined to create three dimensional and believable characters. To that end I have created a Character Workbook using an Excel spreadsheet.

Inside the workbook there are tabs for the following character types:
1. Protagonist
2. Antagonist
3. Love Interest
4. Mentor
5. Trickster

In addition, there is a section for you to add a photo of the actor you would most like to see as that character. This way you can 'see' your character at all times.

The intent is for the writer to answer all, or almost all, of the questions presented to learn and understand each character. Hopefully, by the time you write your first draft you will have three dimensional, interesting and unique characters.

Please let me know your thoughts, questions, concerns and please feel free to modify any way that suites your style of writing.

Keep Writing!

Attachments:

[clayjs]

Mscherer,

I downloaded this about a week ago, and I just took my first look at it. It's so incredibly thorough! I'm excited to get started getting to know my characters on levels I had never even considered considering before.

Could you elaborate for me on the section marked Climax Potential? Your description in the file is "capacity to harbor two strong emotions at once", and I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea. Can you give me an example of this, some more explanation, or point me somewhere for further reading?

Thanks!

Clay

[mscherer]

Clay,

To be honest, I don’t remember where I read about Climax Potential (or where I stole it from ;D ), but looking over my notes for Bad Penny, the first script I used this template on, I had this for the Protagonist:

Character’s Climax Potential (capacity to harbor two strong emotions at once): Can't. He is so single-minded he can only focus on one thing at a time. Not a 'Big Picture' kind of guy.

So what this question is asking is this: Can this character see the Big Picture (can he fixate on multiple emotional goals) or is he focused on one emotion (revenge, hate, love, etc.) and one emotion only?

Hope this helps. If not, I will dig deeper into my archives to find the source for this.

Keep Writing!

[clayjs]

M,

Did some research and found one use of the term 'Climax Potential' that makes some sense to me, but it kind of goes in a different direction. I really dislike the way this guy writes, but it's an interesting point, nonetheless. Thought I'd share:

“You set your protagonist up with what I call climax potential. This means the protagonist has two things vitally important to him, not just one – love and security, for example; love being exemplified by a man or woman, security by the job he’s always wanted, one tremendously desirable and with fantastic pay.
“At the climax, your protagonist faces some form of physical or emotional disaster that forces him to choose between the two big things he cares about. The job, the security, offers an easy way out of an impending disaster. To choose the love side of the equation – the man or woman the protagonist years for – can lead only to cataclysm. (Or vice versa, of course. Love doesn’t always triumph, nor does the other factor in the equation). But you plan and plant the story circumstances in such a manner that when Character makes the “right” choice – morally right, that is, in the view of your readers – he’s rewarded with the happiness he sought at the story’s beginning.”
-Dwight V. Swain, Creating Characters: How to Build Story People