Story – Robert McKee's Creative Storytelling Magazine Issue 005 – Drew Carey | Page 42
CHARACTER
CREATION
Part 4: Build a Complex Character
Around a Need
BY ROBERT MCKEE
In his ongoing series on character creation, Robert McKee explains how a character’s need
will affect the character’s choices.
The second major directive is to
build a complex character around
a need. If you’re working in one of
the five character-driven genres,
such as the redemption plot or the
disillusionment plot, you will soon
realize that relatively uncomplicated characters of one or two dimensions cannot carry these stories to satisfaction. They demand
Story Magazine // Issue 005
the three, four, five, or more dimensions of a richly complicated
protagonist. To achieve such complexity, you must imagi