Character vs. Characterization
Lesson from "Story" by Robert McKee
Characters are not defined by how they look.
They are defined by what they do.
There’s a difference between character and characterization.
Characterization:
When you encounter someone, what qualities do you notice?
Age
Gender
Style of speech
Clothing
Choice of home, car, etc.
That’s characterization— all the observable, surface-level details.
But this doesn’t give us the full picture.
Character:
“As he chooses, he is.”
Character is revealed in the choices someone makes under pressure.
Choices made when nothing is at risk mean little.
The greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character’s essential nature.
What Great Characters Have In Common:
The most compelling characters have a characterization that contradicts their true nature.
Think about Walter White from Breaking Bad.
When you first look at him, you’d never guess the actions he’s capable of as the story progresses.
Why is Jay Gatsby so compelling?
Because his confident appearance doesn’t match the desperate, borderline juvenile actions he takes in an attempt to win Daisy.
When characterization and character match, the character becomes a list of repetitious, predictable behaviors.
For minor characters this is fine, but your major characters should have more dimension.
Give them a hidden nature that contradicts their appearance.
This was a lesson from Story by Robert McKee.
If you want to pick up your own copy of the book, click here.
Or save time by reading my full summary.
Interesting. And I think it is clear even when the author appears as a character too. Some of Borges short tales play with the idea. But is not any of our selves a character playing in a 'biography' we (forced) call 'real'?