character backstory

Eleanor Young – Truly ORIGINAL Characters Series: Part 25

November 2, 2026February 20, 2024 by Industrial Scripts

Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Eleanor Young from Crazy Rich Asians (2018). View all Truly Original Characters + Table of contentsWhat is an original character?Who is Eleanor Young?Eleanor Young – BackgroundSingaporean Matriarch: The Intriguing Life of Eleanor Young in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’Eleanor Young’s CharacterEleanor Young: A Portrait of Elegance, Intelligence, and TraditionFaith, Ambition, and Vulnerability: The Complex World of Eleanor YoungEleanor Young’s

Roman Roy – Truly ORIGINAL Characters Series: Part 22

November 2, 2026April 16, 2023 by Industrial Scripts

Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Roman Roy from Succession. View all Truly Original Characters + Table of ContentsWhat is an Original Character?Who is Roman Roy?What Makes Roman Roy an Original Character?Roman Roy and Logan RoyRoman and the Roy SiblingsRoman and ShivRoman Roy – Uncomfortable PositionsMature Immaturity What is an Original Character? It’s a character that sticks with you even when they’re long gone from

How Do You CREATE and MAINTAIN Empathetic Characters?

November 2, 2026March 30, 2023 by Industrial Scripts

There are many important aspects to writing a great screenplay; good dialogue, interesting settings, unique stories, and good characterisation. However, little is arguably more important than creating and maintaining empathetic characters. Empathetic characters are the cornerstones of most great stories. Without an empathetic protagonist, in particular, the audience may struggle to connect to your story, narrative arcs, themes and even setting. Even the seemingly most unlikeable of characters will have something in the way of empathy; a reason to be

What is Indirect Characterization in Screenwriting? 12 KEY Steps

November 2, 2026January 10, 2023 by Industrial Scripts

The Social Network Indirect Characterization

Indirect characterization is an essential part of constructing a convincing and compelling fictional character. Whether your character is a hero, a villain or a sidekick, they are always more interesting and enjoyable to watch if they are well-rounded and developed with realistic behavior. This is what indirect characterization can add to the writing of your characters. So in this article, we will provide a detailed definition of indirect characterization as well as tips on using it to its best potential. Table of

What is a Mary Sue Character And How Do You Avoid Writing One?

November 2, 2026October 13, 2022 by Industrial Scripts

In recent years, there has been a lot of dialogue around who the term Mary Sue can be ascribed to and what constitutes it. But what, fundamentally, is a Mary Sue character? And perhaps more importantly, with it being seen largely as a negative trait for a screenplay, what can be done to avoid it? In this article, we look into the meaning of a Mary Sue character and how you can protect against writing one in your screenplay. So,

The 10 KEY Building Blocks to Writing Revenge Stories

November 2, 2026September 27, 2022 by Industrial Scripts

Revenge stories are a popular sub-genre almost guaranteed to satisfy an audience. They’re typically a visceral and cathartic response to injustice and consequently something that elicits easy emotion. We love to follow a journey of change and retribution and revenge stories provide us with these essential elements. Writing revenge – defined as the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrongdoing suffered at their hands – can be particularly fun, dark, and, as with writing

Writing Act One: The Setup – An ESSENTIAL and SIMPLE Breakdown

November 2, 2026June 10, 2022 by Industrial Scripts

So you’ve prepared your story idea and want to put pen to paper. But where to start? No matter if you’re preparing to write the beat sheet or redrafting a finished product it’s always worth putting extra care into your first act. While it might not be as exciting as the brilliantly executed plot twist at the end of act two or the satisfying, tear-jerking ending, act one is a vital opportunity for your screenplay to start as it means

How Do You Write Highly Realistic Dialogue? The 10 KEY Steps…

November 2, 2026April 11, 2022 by Industrial Scripts

One of the biggest humps to get over when writing for film or television is dialogue. Even if you have a perfect story, outline, and characters, bad dialogue can bring the whole operation down. 99% of the time, what you need is to have realistic dialogue. Of course, not every project needs realistic dialogue all the time (see: The Grand Budapest Hotel). But unless your premise and tone align along wacky lines or you have a specific stylistic remit, it’s

How to Effectively Weave Character Backstory into Your Screenplay

November 2, 2026April 2, 2022 by Industrial Scripts

So, you made it through one of the hardest parts of writing a screenplay; you created your characters. From childhood trauma to adulthood adventures, you’ve fleshed out your entire character backstory. You should be excited to move forward. Any main character of any compelling story has to have a backstory to match. And anytime you write a character whose story deserves to be told, it’s important for the audience to know your character’s entire history so they love your character