1. Give Your Characters Great Names
This point might seem entirely redundant because it's not necessarily something that can be taught, but I've read so many speculative screenplays over the years that are packed to the brim with awfully-named characters. For somebody reading a script, it's really hard to absorb yourself in a story if you can't take the characters seriously. One of the best ways to create a memorable character, though, is through their name: genuinely, if you give your character a great name, you'll naturally write them a better and more interesting personality. Don't ask me
how that works, but take a look at Tarantino's entire body of work: the man seriously knows how to name his characters, doesn't he? You're not going to forget Dr. King Schultz or Calvin Candie or Broomhilda or Django anytime soon, are you? Even when Tarantino bestows his characters with plain names, they still work perfectly: take "Stephen" - it's simple, sure, but you certainly couldn't change it. In this case, Stephen's seemingly simple name is a great juxtaposition on his actual character, which we know to be scheming and eventually terrifying. I can't tell you how to name your characters well, but here are a couple of suggestions, courtesy of Tarantino. The man likes alliteration and that certainly helps to make names more memorable: Calvin Candie, Vincent Vega etc. Most importantly, though, don't try too hard: I've read so many scripts imbued with characters who sound as though they've been named by a 10-year-old: "Jackson Malorey" springs to mind, for some reason, which I recall from an old spec I read online once. I mean, it's just so horribly contrived. Tarantino's trick seems to be to pick a fairly regular first name and give it a punch with a strange or unlikely second name. Calvin is pretty standard, but Candie is a rarity, right? Though this might seem like a minor concern, names are more important than you might think. It's hard to take Jackson Malorey seriously. But there's
something about King Schultz.
Like this article? Which tips did you pick up from Django Unchained? Let us know in the comments section below.