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Creating a Character Tree for Steven from Earth X

I’m working on a screenplay about how a new technology is accidentally activated on Earth. I’ve been writing an introduction to the script over the weekend but today I ran into a video on how to build a character using Character Trees. This is my first attempt at a Character Tree but I know finishing one for the main character, Steven, will create a better plot, believable dialog and better underlining story.

So below is a table I put together for Steven. It contains 7 fields that each make up a part of the character.

 CROWN

  • Just a guy who has always been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  • If he didn’t drop out of school, get caught up in drama and could keep a job he might be able to pull out alright.

 LEFT CHEEK

  • Will fight to ensure his own safety (mental or physical)
  • Doesn’t let people talk bad about him

 RIGHT CHEEK

  • Always tries to do the right thing in his mind but never seems to work out for him

 THROAT

  • Slouches due to lack of confidence
  • Only has a few decent looking clothes
  • Speaks in broken slagged english most of the time

 HEART

  • Take a life more seriously
  • Better friends/girlfriend
  • A full time job

 GROIN

  • Smokes when Stressed
  • Needs to make money to get by
  • Wishes he could start life all over

 FEET

  • Average height
  • Average looking

This was actually a really good exercise because I knew I wanted Steven to be a burn out but I didn’t really mold a character yet. I think the most helpful was the Right Cheek (the Ethics and Soul) and the Crown (Who are they). I’ll probably revise this again but here’s the first attempt at a Character Tree.

If this interests you and you’d like to create your own Character Tree, here’s the example I used as a guideline. Thanks RocketJump for creating the Film School and providing these resources.