The Big 3 Things: Qualities of a Remarkable Character

In this tutorial. we discuss the qualities of a remarkable character in the Storyfinding process. The People Pillar of a story is what leads the audience to feel emotionally connected, and the three main qualities that make for a strong character are Desire, Motivation, and Uniqueness.

A strong Desire draws the audience in and creates a sense of oneness with the character.

Motivation is the why behind the Desire and helps the audience connect more deeply to the character.

Uniqueness is important because humans are drawn to novelty, and it's essential to understand the uniqueness of the person you are talking to and bring that into your story.

Key takeaways in this lesson

1. The Big 3 Things that make for a strong character are Desire, Motivation, and Uniqueness.
   
   

2. A strong Desire draws the audience in and can create Character Identification.
   
   

3. Motivation is the why behind the Desire and helps the audience connect more deeply to the character.
   
   

4. Uniqueness is essential as humans are drawn to novelty.
   
   

5. The goal of Storyfinding is to screen or flag characters who might be especially strong for your story, and to use the Big 3 Things as a way of making those decisions.
   
   

6. The Heart of your story is the emotional core, the primary emotional connection for your audience.