Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Character On The Screen [Part 4]

“Character development means a change in character taking place during the story… Any change of character during the story is legitimate, but it must be the logical outcome of events in the plot.”

If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early stages of American cinema, associated with 136 film projects per IMDb.

Married to writer John Emerson, the pair wrote one of the first books on screenwriting in 1920: “How to Write Photoplays”. I have been running a weekly series based on the book.

Today: Character on the Screen [P. 67].

Character development means a change in character taking place during the story. For example, many stories have been built about the vampirical woman who is gradually reformed through love until in the end she is shown in plain, but becoming frocks, plucking daisies, instead of souls. In the same way, a weak man might be gradually strengthened through force of circumstances until in the end he is able to make a sacrifice of which he would have been incapable at the start of the story.

While there is a great demand for such stories in the motion picture field, they are most difficult to write. Any change of character during the story is legitimate, but it must be the logical outcome of events in the plot. The author must present to the audience sufficiently strong reasons why his crook should reform.

Even back in 1920, the idea of a Protagonist going through a transformation was a staple of the film writing business. And note how this change has to be perceived as “legitimate.” Once again, a message from the past that resonates with our task as writers in the present.

Tomorrow: More screenwriting advice from the past.

You can read “How to Write Photoplays” via Google books online here.

For the rest of the series articles:

Introduction
Getting Ideas
Conflict and Crisis
Situation
Theme
Star Sympathy
Action: Part 1
Action: Part 2
Action: Part 3
Action: Part 4
Action: Part 5
Story Synopsis
Continuity: Part 1
Continuity: Part 2
The Title
Marketing the Script
Writing for the Camera
Scenery for Scenarios
The Actor’s Angle: Part 1
The Actor’s Angle: Part 2
Character On The Screen: Part 1
Character On The Screen: Part 2
Character On The Screen: Part 3

Note: I ran this series originally in 2012. Unfortunately, the individual articles got bungled up on the site in some sort of technical snafu. So, I am recovering them one by one in this reprise of the series.