Gandhi’s screenwriting tip

“Become the change you want to see around you”

An aphorism I seem able to remember most days.

“Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.”

Each of these could be the theme of a film – the debate that all the characters have different positions on.

“Carefully watch your thoughts for they will become your words. Manage and watch your words for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions for the will become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits for they will become your values. Understand and embrace your values for they will become your destiny.”

I read this on a marketing/business blog. This looks like a method for exploring character. If we start in the middle, we can get better ideas about the edges of his idea.

If screenplays are about showing actions, not words, work out what each character needs to do in your screenplay.

Gandhi says
1. Character actions are determined by what they usually say, which is defined by how they think
2. Character actions become habits, which modify values which determine destiny

These dependancies will help define your characters as they are in Act 1… when they bump up against each other, you get a film.