This article by the superb writer and script consultant, Erik Bork discusses how to write characters that will keep your audinece engaged and entertained:
A writer I work with as a consultant recently shared a phrase with me that came from her friend Craig Hammill (thanks, Craig!), which perfectly encapsulates a point that I often make with writers: “Don’t withhold; reveal, and complicate.”
What that means is this: withholding information — especially information about your main character and what they think, feel, want, plan, and are trying to achieve — tends to distance readers and audiences from your material, rather than drawing them in.
It’s a very common issue I come across in scripts, especially ones that are saving some sort of big reveal or twist for late in the movie.
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