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Your screenplay must be compelling. It’s your job to keep the audience wanting more.

To do this, it’s imperative that your lead character drives the action and makes decisions that propel the story forward. If your character doesn’t do this, your story will stall.

It’s a general rule that the more difficult the choices your character is faced with, the more interesting your character will become. In 99 out of 100 stories, the situation your character is faced with and the choices they make when faced with the situation, will dictate how your audience receives that character. These tough choices play an important role in how much your audience cares about the character.

On the flipside, the more passive your character is the further your story will venture from mainstream film into art-house. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you have to know who you’re writing for and why they’re watching.

NB – The following post is based on notes from the “screenwriting for writers and producers” workshop run by FilmFlyn in June 2011.