Top 5 Quotes by David Corbett

Characterization requires a constant back-and-forth between the exterior events of the story and the inner life of the character.

Characterization requires a constant back-and-forth between the exterior events of the story and the inner life of the character.

David Corbett

Character, Events, Stories

David Corbett (2013). “The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV”, p.41, Penguin

Compelling characters are not cogs in the machine of your plot; they are human beings to whom the story happens.

David Corbett

Character, Cogs, Plot

An intuitive grasp of your character is formed by exploring scenes of profound emotional import-moments of overwhelming shame, joy, fear, pride, regret, forgiveness.

David Corbett

Regret, Character, Pride

"The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV". Book by David Corbett, January 29, 2013.

Whether we know it or not, our minds and hearts are populated by all the characters we will ever need - though we may disassemble them and rearrange the parts into composites for variation.

David Corbett

Heart, Character, Mind

Developing a character with genuine depth requires a focus on not just desire but how the character deals with frustration of her desires, as well as her vulnerabilities, her secrets, and especially her contradictions. This development needs to be forged in scenes, the better to employ your intuition rather than your intellect.

David Corbett

Character, Frustration, Focus

"The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV". Book by David Corbett, January 29, 2013.