Create Great Characters -- Lessons from Game of Thrones

I have to admit I'm hooked on HBO's series "Game of Thrones." This adaptation of the popular George R.R. Martin has built audience steadily since HBO ran the first series last year. Viewership for the first episodes was below expectations, but increased steadily throughout the run. The premieres of the first two episodes this season rated even higher. What's the secret? The premise is familiar to any fan of Sword and Sorcery epics -- a bewildering cast of royals, nobles, and pretennders to the throne fight over the fictional land of Westeros. Meanwhile, across the narrow sea a former member of an ousted royal family plots to take back the throne -- and she has dragons! There have been many other series of sword and sorcery books that have mined this territory for material. What makes Game of Thrones cut through the clutter? It's the characters. We are fascinated not by the medieval backdrop of castles, ships, and swords, but by the characters in the foreground. Every character consists of unforgettable traits and hidden motives. Each of them is in relentless pursuit of their character's objective, whether it's power, pleasure, or a combination of both. The television Game of Thrones cast wonderful actors in every part, who are able to make the characters on the page live for us in the audience. Particularly memorable are Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lanaster, a dwarf who uses his brain and knowledge of people to gain power, and Richard Madden as Robb Stark, leading the forces of the north against the Lanasters to avenge his father. If you watch the series you probably have your own favorites; it's difficult to pick one. Plot is never enough. In order for your program or content to work, a great plot must be matched by a great character. A great character can even make up for a poor plot. So the lesson of Game of Thrones is: take time to develop your characters. Make the stakes high for them, so they have to strive hard to achieve their goals. Give them interesting traits and identifiable habits. Tyrion, for example, has a marvelous sense of humor. Then, get the best actors you can find. They don't have to be stars, but they need to be able to inhabit the characters so they live for the audience. A good actor will develop behavior that even the author didn't think of, but is still true to the character. There are other lessons from Game of Thrones I will blog about in a future post.