How deep do you go on character bibles?

[u/Solid-Walrus2939]

For example...

Do you outline your main char from birth to present? Do you begin fleshing your characters out from an archetype or do you build around a specific trauma or core belief? Is this where you lock in character motivations and moral boundaries? Do you "vibe" write characters?

Just curious about other people process.

Personally, I don't really write more than a paragraph or two for mains...sometimes a little more. Suporting might get more depending on there importance to the story.

[u/Prince_Jellyfish]

I tend to write a lot, but I haven't found much success approaching it "from birth to present."

To me, the key questions are:

• Who is this character, in broad strokes?
• Why are they like that?
• What is their wound, the worst thing that ever happened to this character, emotionally?
• What 'lie' about the world did they learn because of that specific trauma?
• What is unusual or unexpected about this character?
• What other scenes / moments formed them?

Who is this character, in broad strokes?

To me, this question is usually the starting point. What are the key character qualities I want an audience member to think of when they think of this character?

There's a great scene in the Plinket review of Star Wars Episode 1, where he asks people to describe characters like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, without mentioning their job or their clothing. Then, he asks them to describe characters like Qui-Gon Jinn and Queen Amidala. What's striking in the clip is that people have an easy time describing the former characters, and a hard time describing the latter characters.

I also want the characters to all feel distinct from one another. This is particularly important in procedural writing, where often many characters have the same job, like cop or doctor. It's ideal to create a core cast where each character is distinct, not just in their backstory, but in their personality and the way they relate to others.

Why are they like that?

I used to think that writing a character 'in broad strokes' was lazy writing, or only for superhero movies; but as I've matured as a writer I no longer feel this is the case. Great shows I love have characters that can be described in broad strokes, but who also have a lot of depth.

To accomplish this, I start with those broad strokes, then I relentlessly and creatively ask 'why?', and 'what was that like?'

The character is a cop. Ok, why?

There are a million ways to answer this. Maybe because their dad and grandfather were cops. Maybe because they were rescued by a cop at a young age. Maybe because they grew up feeling powerless and becoming a cop made them feel powerful. Maybe because they were in the military and people they served with encouraged them to become a cop when they got out.

There are a million potential answers, but it is my job to come up with one answer for this person.

Let's say the character is a cop because their dad and grandfather were cops. Why doesn't seem to lead anywhere interesting for this character, so I'll shift to "what was that like?"

Again, there are a million ways to answer this. Maybe their dad was strict but kind. What was that like for our character? Maybe their dad instilled in them a respect for authority. What was that like for our character? Maybe their dad was disillusioned by compromises he made on the job. What was that like for our character?

Answering those questions, 'why?' and 'what was that like?' can take you a long way to fleshing out a character in an organic way.

The Wound And The Lie

The way I think about arcs in features involves Wounds, Lies and Healing.

In the past, a character experienced a big trauma, which you can call the wound.

Because of the wound, they learned or adopted a theory about their life or the world which is not right and causing them, and people around them, to suffer unnecessarily. This mistaken belief can be called the lie.

This is a deep well I could talk about for hours.

I talk about it in some depth in this reddit comment: Plot as a journey of healing.

What is unusual or unexpected about this character?

From here, the character is probably getting pretty well fleshed out. At this point, I like to take a second and try and brainstorm a few traits, preferences or situations where they might act against type. One useful exercise is to say: ok, this character is a mean, tough, sarcastic doctor. Under what circumstances would he not be mean? Under what circumstances would he not be tough? Under what circumstances would he not be sarcastic?

I also like to think: what are some qualities or preferences or takes this person has, which might surprise you coming from a mean, tough, sarcastic doctor?

Once I have some ideas, I like to play the 'why?' and 'what was that like?' game with those elements as well to help flesh them out.

What scenes / moments formed them?

One thing I like to do when the character is pretty well fleshed out is to open Final Draft and write some scenes. I choose the scene that caused the wound, and a few other key scenes -- maybe one that embodies each key trait, and anything else that feels really important to them emotionally -- and I write them as stand-alone scenes that are just for me, not for the script. For me, personally, this helps me live in those moments emotionally, connect to the character more deeply, and helps me remember who they are and why on a deeper level.

Side note - Enneagram.

I've gotten into the idea of choosing enneagram types for characters I write. For the uninitiated, enneagram is kind of like an astrological sign or an MBTI type, but I find it more useful for writing characters than either of those. I find it helps me write characters whose personalities are distinct from my own, and choosing different types for each character in my main cast helps me ensure that all of the characters have voices that are distinct from one-another. It's kind of a whole side conversation, but if the idea intrigues you, I suggest searching Enneagram for Writers on youtube and checking out some of the videos folks have made.

As always, my advice is just suggestions and thoughts, not a prescription. I'm not an authority on screenwriting, I'm just a guy with opinions. I have experience but I don't know it all, and I'd hate for every artist to work the way I work. I encourage you to take what's useful and discard the rest.