In a series of short articles, Helen Jacey offers advice and writing tips to help you craft or refine a script to submit to the WOFFF Short Script Competition 2025.
Helen is an author and founder of Sheddunnit, sponsors of our Short Script Competition.
The Short Script Competition is open for entries until 22 June 2025, all entries must be submitted through our FilmFreeway page, where you’ll also find detailed guidelines.
Making your character memorable
Some characters, from books, films and TV shows (and even adverts!), are simply unforgettable and not just because they feature in famous books or films.
I’m talking about the lesser-known stories where the character (protagonist, co-protagonist, antagonist, or even the secondary character who should have been the protagonist!), stays with us; an unforgettably dazzling being, sometimes even more brilliant than the story itself!
As one of the judges of the WOFFF Short Script Competition sponsored by Shedunnit, I’m always struck by those scripts that I don’t ever forget – and I read a lot of scripts and stories each year! It is nearly always due to the memorability of the main character.
This can be due to three key areas:
- The character’s personality – they are someone we just haven’t ever seen on screen.
- Something the character does in the story. An incredible decision, or brave step in the face of significant challenges.
- The character’s experience explores a gripping idea powerfully, a fascinating take on a theme.
Often, a script reveals a combination of all three, which makes a very powerful read.
For those of you entering the WOFFF Short Script Competition, the chances are you’ll be full of intentions to create an outstanding script with a memorable character!
To inspire you, I’m sharing some tips about that may help you achieve 1,2 and 3 above in a series of blogs. The first focuses on 1, making a character’s personality memorable.
I’m talking about a character that is precious to you, and to your reader, all because of how the character makes you and the reader feel. A character who is memorable, leaves an indelible impression and one of which you are very proud.
This is the high value character, rich in assets (eg. character traits), that is very precious to you, their creator. So how do we find (and create) this worthwhile, memorable being?
I’d like to share an exercise which may help inspire your process. You can read it here on my blog here.
The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters, Helen Jacey
(2nd ed 2017, Michael Wiese Productions)
For a decade, The Woman in the Story has been the go-to resource for writers due to its inspirational and illuminating insights on female character development in storytelling. With a foreword by Hollywood producer Susan Cartsonis (What Women Want, Carrie Pilby), this new edition provides new case studies, a focus on the heroine’s journey, and is packed with even more creative exercises to expand your mind.
Venturing where other screenwriting guides fear to tread, The Woman in the Story provides screenwriters and storytellers with a ground-breaking creative paradigm for the creation of memorable female characters.
