Writing Tips For Characters: Three Academy Award Winning Ideas

As the Academy Awards loom ever closer, we are propelled into a state of excitement. What will the leading men and ladies wear? Who will accompany them? Will their outstanding role win them the coveted Oscar? The Academy Awards are a story-in-the-making. Here are three tips to write winning characters of your own, based on what you garner from this illustrious awards show:

Tip #1: Know your characters. Every single person who attends is a character in the vast puzzle that is the Academy Awards. Fit all of their pieces together. See how they interact with each other on the red carpet, and notice who sits next to whom in the theater. Do they look as if they can deal with the rejection of losing their Oscar, or are they genuinely happy for the decided winner? From Jack Black to Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston to Meryl Streep, the lives of each of these celebrities are intoxicating to learn about. Magazines like People and US Weekly thrive on the goings-on of these personalities. What interests you about these people? Write a story that picks at one of the nuances of a celebrity’s appearance or personality – maybe something they did or said at the Oscars will strike an imaginative chord – and explain how it frustrates some or provides comedic relief for others. Maybe you’ll choose to write about Jack Nicholson’s ever-present sunglasses, or Julia Roberts’ laugh. Whatever you think is quirky and interesting will make for great writing.

Tip #2: Write acceptance speeches – or maybe even rejection speeches. Was the winner shocked by their win, or did they look all-too-prepared for it when they pulled out their lengthy list of people to thank? Pretend as if you are interviewing the winners and those who weren’t lucky enough to take an award home. Find ways to capture their elation, grief, or utter puzzlement at the shock of not winning an award they thought they had in the bag. This is a most helpful characterization technique. It allows you to see how shaping characters in your own stories becomes easier when you know whom they are, how they feel, and what the best ways are to portray their individual roles.

Tip #3: Be a seat-filler. Who would you find it most intriguing to sit next to at the Academy Awards? Who would be the person you would least like to share an armrest with for three or more hours of your life? Why are these people so fascinating to you, or conversely, why are they so incredibly dull? Whether they are sitting front and center or way back in the nosebleed section of the theater, it is your job to relate to your readers the thrill or horror of being that celebrity’s “next-door neighbor” for the night. Just remember – even though you may like them or hate them, how they feel about you may be a different story. Make yourself one of the characters you write about. Include your own personality in the writing and figure out how it would mesh with the celebrity personalities you encounter at the awards. You may find that you learn a bit about yourself through this exercise. You’ll gain insight into how you can better write your characters when you recognize redeeming qualities or unavoidable faults within yourself. Learning from your own character is certainly helpful in learning to write others.

Use the Academy Awards as your guide. Watch the pre-show, the after-glow, and the presentations in-between. See the show as your own personal script-writing adventure. Follow the techniques above and in no time at all, you will be giving your characters their very own “screen-test” for your new novel.