Screenwriting : Creating Better Characters by Kenneth W. Wood

Okay. So, are you asking how do you create better characters? Or rather, what makes a character great? Do you agree with this advice given by a pro screenwriter? ;)

Like all things, it depends. Sometimes it's the right call to utilize an extreme character; others not. For example, the "boy next door" is much more relate-able.

Fantastic point, Regina. :) I thought the "pro screenwriter" advice given above was a bit incomplete. An additional point: if your character is too perfect or too extreme, they aren't relate-able either—hence the need for flaws or relate-able aspects to humanize a character, ground them, to not just admire them but to empathize with them as well. Sure, we want characters to be compelling and interesting, but being relate-able is certainly key.

I can see where a protagonist in a comedy would have some extreme attribute - then the world reacts to his/her extremism in comedic ways (Will Ferrell has made a career out of it). And buddy films seem to have one or the other with an extreme case of something. I like the relate-able angle, with one addition. All of us have some kind of "best" or extreme facet of our situation or personality. It could be anything from ego to shoes. So writing relate-able main characters with one extreme facet can be accomplished. When I create characters in drama, I stay away from extremes - unless it is the extreme motivation to want something. That, to me, is what pushes the story so I don't pull back on that story aspect.

Yes, Beth, I think the advice was not presented with any context. It can be appropriate, or not.

What Regina said. This seems like advice for a subset of screenplays.