How to Generate Great Story Ideas for a Screenplay/Play Part 1: Using Character Flaws from OEDIPUS R

(Part of the "Best Tips for Scriptwriting" Series)

When you are trying to come up with a story idea for a script, creating a character is a great place to start.

But what kind of character do you start with? A fictional character? A real one? Something combined? What part of the character do you focus on? Their occupation? Their age?

As you can see, it's a bit murky.

But here's one idea that I think will cut through the fog of choices.

I would start with the character flaw.

I define a character flaw as an inner trait that is a weakness of the main character. He or she may not even be aware of it but this flaw is causing them great pain in their life. Think about how you repeat the same mistakes over and over again because you are blind to some character trait you have. It could be an inability to handle money or deal with people, etc.

I'll give you three examples from three different stories.

Thousands of years ago, Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex. This is probably the most famous Greek tragedy and it was about a king (spoiler alert!) who finds out that he has married his mother (i.e. Oedipus complex) and killed his father. But the cool thing about the way Sophocles wrote this play is that it's a detective mystery where Oedipus is trying to find out who is causing all of the problems in his land and it turns out that the person who is doing this is him! So his lack of understanding or blindness to his own problems is his character flaw.

This could be called the beginning of modern drama where the problems of the character are not just external like gods attacking or war but the problems are within the character. Humans really can relate to this because we all have character flaws that we are dealing with. And when you see these problems in a story, it helps us deal with our own problems. Like really cheap therapy.

But here's another, more modern example.

In interviews, the writer and director of Finding Nemo, Andrew Stanton talked about how he came up with the idea of Finding Nemo. It came to him when he was with his young son going to the park. He found himself constantly worrying about what would happen to his son if he got hurt. After the trip was over, he realized he could miss his son's entire childhood by stressing out too much. This is very much the character flaw of the main character of Finding Nemo, Marlin. It's very much the heart of the story of the movie and it is what makes this story so relatable. We all realize that we have to let go at a certain point in order to help those that we love. We can't protect people all of the time but it's human nature to try to.

Finally, I'll give you one last example from my own experience.

My students and I make a film every year and this past year, they wanted to make a film about big foot or ghosts. I was at first incredulous. Secretly, I was thinking that sounded like kind of a dumb idea but I began to think about why I thought this way. I mean ghosts and big foot are things that science tells us don't exist. But there are people who believe in ghosts and big foot anyway. I then thought about what things I believe in that are scientifically unprovable or that other people might see as idiotic. I am a screenwriter and a playwright. I write about people who don't exist and stories that are made up. Many people think this is a waste of time. But I do it anyway. And why do I do it? I do it because it gives my life meaning and I hope it gives other people's lives meaning. So eventually, I realized I was being a hypocrite and that it actually makes a lot of sense to have characters pursue something that many people don't believe in. So I wrote the script for Paranormal Inc based on this premise. You can check out the film here.

So that's it. Here are two exercises to get you started on your own script:

1. Think of one of a favorite film and the main character. Does that main character have a character flaw? (Sometimes the main character acts more like a catalyst for other characters to change, so they might not have one, but typically they do.) What is their character flaw and how is this key to the story idea?

2. If you're working on your own story, think about a character flaw that you have or that someone close to you has and think how that can develop into a story.

And why don't you let me know how it goes in the comment section below.

Happy creating!

Peter