Sharon Grace Badia teaches screenwriting
Why Your Characters Feel Fake (Even If You Know Their Backstory)
Jade sits with her back to the wall. Every time.
You've done the character bios. So why do they still feel like strangers reading lines in your scenes? The problem isn't your ideas. It's the invisible trap every writer falls into. Stop telling who your character is. Start showing it.
One-time payment · lifetime access · instant email delivery
Same character. Same backstory.
One version tells you. The other lets you find out.
This is the whole course in one page. Flip the switch.
INT. ROADSIDE DINER - NIGHT
JADE (34) is a tough ex-soldier, haunted by her past. She doesn't trust anyone, and she's lonely, even if she'd never admit it.
Jade
I've seen things you wouldn't believe. I don't let people in anymore.
INT. ROADSIDE DINER - NIGHT
JADE (34) takes the booth facing the door. Back to the wall.
A tray CRASHES in the kitchen. Her hand is already under the table. Nobody else looked up.
Waitress
Waiting on someone?
Jade
No.
She keeps checking the door anyway.
Telling: the reader is informed. Nothing happens, so nobody cares.
Sneak peek
Your lessons are waiting for you
This is the real course. Everything is ready: the lessons, the quizzes, the scene examples, the exercises. The only thing missing is you.
You're one click away from watching it.
Character bio: 12 pages. On screen: nothing.
Your characters are talking. Is anyone listening?
You know the wound, the secret, the childhood. On the page they still feel like strangers reading lines. Knowing isn't showing.
Scroll to bring them to lifeJADE is a tough ex-soldier, haunted by her past.
She sits with her back to the wall. Every time.
Stop pasting the bio into the scene. Turn biography into behavior the audience can see.
MARCUS is arrogant, but charming.
He corrects the sommelier. Then tips him double, so everyone sees.
The secret to on-screen personality, and a 3-part code for instant character depth.
ANNA lost her son in a fire, ten years ago.
At the birthday party, Anna is the only one not watching the candles.
The 3 functions of backstory, the Iceberg Rule, and the trigger that makes the past leak out and hooks the audience's curiosity.
LEO is loyal to his brother.
One name and he walks free. He says nothing.
Words are cheap. Character is the choice made when the stakes are real, driven by a hidden loop you'll learn to see.
SARA is confident, but secretly terrified.
She pitches the board without notes. Under the table, she's shredding a napkin.
Micro actions and contradictions: the small details that stop your character from sounding like a robot.
Stop telling. Start showing.
3 chapters and 10 core lessons, with 7 quizzes, 4 scene examples and 4 exercises that turn the people in your head into characters that breathe on the page.
Bring them to life: $39
Your instructor
Sharon Grace Badia
Award-winning filmmaker and screenwriting coach
-
Winner of the Mass Indie Spirit AwardMassachusetts Independent Film Festival
-
Director of A is for AliceFeature film
-
Graduate of RUFARome University of Fine Arts
"This course is the system that bridges the gap between the complex people in your head and the flat characters on your page."
Sharon created this class with the Kraken International Film Festival to fix the trap that flattens so many scripts: characters we know everything about, and feel nothing for.
The Iceberg Rule
She doesn't answer. She tilts the umbrella, just enough to hide her eyes.
What she hides tells us more than anything she could say.
Your audience doesn't need her backstory. They need a reason to lean in.
Class lesson plan
3 chapters, 10 lessons, characters that breathe
Tap a chapter to see every lesson, quiz and exercise.
01
Why Knowing Isn't Showing
11 steps · 10:11 of video · includes a free quiz+
Why Knowing Isn't Showing
11 steps · 10:11 of video · includes a free quiz- Lesson 1: The Biography Trap5:42
- Did You Get It? Free quiz
- How To Use This Course
- Lesson 2: The Secret to "On-Screen" Personality4:29
- The Secret to "On-Screen" Personality Quiz
- Watch the Scene Case study
- Your Exercise for Lesson 2 Exercise
- Lesson 3: The 3-Part Code for Instant Depth
- Watch the Scene: The 3-Part Code Scene example
- Practice the 3-Part Personality Code Exercise
- The 3-Part Code for Instant Depth Quiz
02
How To Show Backstory
6 steps · 6:18 of video + an audio lesson+
How To Show Backstory
6 steps · 6:18 of video + an audio lesson- Lesson 4: The 3 Functions of Backstory3:57
- Watch the Scene: The 3 Functions of Backstory Scene example
- Lesson 5: The Iceberg Rule Audio lesson
- The Iceberg Rule Quiz
- Lesson 6: The Trigger & the Audience's Curiosity2:21
- Watch the Scene: The Trigger Scene example
03
Action!
10 steps · 3:13 of video+
Action!
10 steps · 3:13 of video- Lesson 7: The Choice That Reveals You1:17
- The Choice That Reveals You Quiz
- Lesson 8: The Hidden Loop1:56
- Your Hidden Loop Quiz
- Lesson 9: Micro Actions
- Practice the Micro Actions Exercise
- Lesson 10: Contradiction
- How to Use Contradiction Quiz
- Practice Contradictions Exercise
- Congratulations! Your characters, now live
What's included
Everything you need to make them breathe
Video & audio lessons10 short, focused lessons at your own pace
7 interactive quizzesCheck you really got it
4 scene examplesSee each principle at work in real films
4 hands-on exercisesApply every lesson to your own characters
Downloadable PDFsKeep the material forever
The 3-Part Personality CodeA repeatable tool for instant depth
Enroll today
The last time you'll struggle with flat characters
Instant access. No subscription. Yours for life.
You save $60
- 10 core lessons across 3 chapters
- Video lessons + an exclusive audio lesson
- 7 quizzes & 4 scene examples
- 4 exercises on your own characters
- Downloadable PDFs
- Lifetime access, instant email delivery
Questions? Write to krakenfilmfest@gmail.com
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who is this course for?
Screenwriters, novelists and filmmakers at any stage whose characters feel flat on the page, even with detailed bios. If you know everything about your characters but readers still don't connect with them, this course is for you.
How is it different from "Why We Don't Care About Your Villain"?
The villain course is about your antagonist: motive, logic and stakes. This one works on every character in your script, showing how personality, backstory and emotion come through behavior, choices and dialogue instead of description. They work great together.
How do I access the course after buying?
Access is instant: you receive everything by email right after purchase.
How long do I have access?
Forever. It's a one-time payment of $39 with lifetime access.
How long does it take to finish?
About 20 minutes of video plus an audio lesson, so you can go through it in a weekend. The exercises are where the real work happens, and you can take as long as your script needs.
Can I use it on a script I'm already writing?
Yes, that's the best way to take it. Every exercise is built around your own characters.
Your characters are waiting
Write characters that breathe.
Every day you wait is another day your characters stay stuck in your head instead of leaping off the page.
Your Characters Are Talking. But is anyone listening? You’ve done the character bios. So why do they still feel like strangers reading lines in your scenes? The problem isn't your ideas. This course gives you the proven system to bridge the gap between the complex people in your head and the flat characters on your page. Enroll today and finally write characters that breathe.