Remember that plays are essentially about characters. A character can drive a plot forward based on the needs and motivation of that character. A well written character is constructed to be believable (human) and so there are a few ways we can ensure this:
1. Characters are often aspects of the writer. Shatter your personality into fragments, with each fragment a part of YOU. Remember that there are opposites to your standard behavior and personality. If you are a quiet, shy person, perhaps your shadow-self is a loud-mouthed bully.
2. Make your characters make decisions. Conflict and plot are driven by decisions. You need characters who are willing to risk everything for what they want/need. Or by contrast, characters, like Chekhov's people, who do nothing but are still interesting characters whose inaction pushes the play forward.
3. Characters have a function. Whether archetypical, stereotypical, as a foil, or as a protagonist or antagonist, characters serve a function and purpose in a play. Characters that do not, should be removed.
4. The better the author knows his/her character, the better he/she can develop the character through characterization.
1. Characters are often aspects of the writer. Shatter your personality into fragments, with each fragment a part of YOU. Remember that there are opposites to your standard behavior and personality. If you are a quiet, shy person, perhaps your shadow-self is a loud-mouthed bully.
2. Make your characters make decisions. Conflict and plot are driven by decisions. You need characters who are willing to risk everything for what they want/need. Or by contrast, characters, like Chekhov's people, who do nothing but are still interesting characters whose inaction pushes the play forward.
3. Characters have a function. Whether archetypical, stereotypical, as a foil, or as a protagonist or antagonist, characters serve a function and purpose in a play. Characters that do not, should be removed.
4. The better the author knows his/her character, the better he/she can develop the character through characterization.
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