Why Your Video’s Character Should Be *Weird*

Flashback to a weird moment:

It was during one of my last years of college when I met Frank, my 6’4” Dominican husband. 

We weren’t dating yet, but in that stage of “talking” a lot and interested in each other.

He was walking me to a dorm and everything was normal, but then when he said goodbye at the door he made this super weird expression and body movement and swung his body back as he open the door to leave. I don’t know how else to explain it but I was WEIRDED OUT. 

I learned later that he was doing an impression of Kramer from Seinfeld, but I’d never watched the show so I was just like 🤨?!

That moment is easy to remember because it was so WEIRD. And that’s what we’re going to talk about when it comes to our main characters in our stories! 

FIND THE “WEIRD” IN YOUR MAIN CHARACTER

We all want our main characters in our stories to be strong and memorable. We want the audience to connect with them emotionally and relate to them in some way so they care about the storyline. 

And ONE way to make sure we have strong characters is to find something interesting or different about them. 

This is what I call “THE WEIRD.”

It doesn’t mean this trait is actually weird or negative, it just means it’s unique and different. Different enough that it peaks the audience’s interest in that character. 

For instance:

If I take myself as an example and pretend I’m the main character, I’d think about something that’s different and unique about me that’s not common in most people. 

Like the fact that I was born and raised in Spain, my parents are missionaries and I lived there until I was 18. 

That’s something that not everyone experiences, so it could be my “weird.”

“THE WEIRD” in your main character doesn’t have to be an experience though, it could be a personality trait or even a physical trait. It just needs to be something to set your character apart from the crowd, so your audience can find them interesting and memorable. 

Now that’s only a part of how to create a strong character, but it’s important nonetheless. 

THINK ABOUT IT:

If you were the main character, what would be your “weird”?