BBC4 Radio - Word of Mouth: 'Character Invasion'

I attended the BBC4 Word of Mouth: Creating Character, 'Character Invasion' radio talk recording at the Arnolfini in Bristol. I thought that this talk was an insightful exercise into creating character and hearing from professionals what they themselves find makes a good character in stories, film and television. The guest speakers who after the recording opened the floor to a Q&A included Michael Rosen, Andrew Hilton, Helen Cross and Paul Dodgson.

Each had a unique insight as to what it is that makes up a character. Helen Cross believed that making the character relatable and seem real was important, taking sentences such as "He told me to go away" and actually writing them as they would be spoken "He said like just go away" and to draw characters from real people and your own experiences. Andrew Hilton said that understanding our own failures as humans helps him to make great characters that people will like and understand.