I'm thinking of writing a detective pilot and I was wondering what character traits you think a detective should have. Obviously intellegent, analytical etc but I was thinking about how to make him more human e.g. old, addicted to something. Just wondering what everyone else thought?
How about one who takes pleasure in others failure or bad fortune, a very human trait (apparently!)
He could have OCD when chasing a villian before making pursuit he has to turn on and off the light 100 times. Maybe not. Maybe an alcoholic fine whiskys are his weakness. lol. Could be a film lover most people like a good film. A gambler who happens to be good (poker) which means he can work freelance without the restraint of cash flow problem.
OCD's been done, sorry. I suggest watching the greatness that is Monk.
I'll have to have a look out for Monk then. Try short term memory loss that should be intresting.
The problem with characterisation is that if you left it to SlagB the world would be filled with one-legged dwarves speaking in West Country accents, with scars over the left cheek. We have the same problem whenever I let him loose on the props bag. Suddenly he has a moustache of varying lengths. Thank goodness the eye patch met a tragic end in the lav.
Characterisation is the most awkward of all aspects - even more so than plot. There are plenty of hard-drinking cops who are only told apart by the brand of single malt whisky that they favour. So the drinking part isn't distinct as it once was.
Best tip I heard was think of the keywords associated with the character, physical and personality and list them - 55, blonde hair, bossy, vain etc
List stereotypical character traits for the character, tough, streetwise, then avoid giving your character too many from that list. You want the viewer to feel safe in that they can recognise the character but not yawning because he's run-of-the-mill stereotypical. For example giving a dinner lady the traits of a NYPD narcotics undercover cop is different and distinctive but will just scare the viewer rather than make them think that it's a real person.
Next look at yourself or a person you know and think of those things that begin to single you / them out as real individuals. List them and then give that character a few of the positive and negative idiosyncracies but think them through. EG Why does he like rabbits? How does it fit into his background? Avoid SlagB's temptation to give a lead exagerrated and skewed traits / features in abundance - I'm sure Dan Brown was sat in the pub the night B talked about a giant albino monk that he'd devised.
In our PI one-off episode, we went for a guy who was trying to live up to his own preconceptions of the job, suave, great with the ladies, sharp, but in major and minor ways failing to meet his own mental image in each scene. So in some way we set up the stereotype as something he aspired to (to make the reader feel as if it was safe and familiar) but then broke it in that he couldn't match it in his blustering bumbling way.
Making a character 'real' is the hardest balancing act between stereotype and individuality.
Doesn't have to be OCD, but the idea of him having a permanent medical condition is good. Maybe look for something really obscure in a medical dictionary. Something extreme that no-one has heard of, like he has to inject himself in the heart once a day to stay alive. This has the bonus of:
- he feels like an outsider, so he can 'relate' to criminals and psychopaths.
- at a critical point in an episode he can be kidnapped/or just about to arrest the offender, but his weakness is his undoing - he has to do the heart injection and he hasn't got his syringe. Criminal gets away for now, dramatic tension etc.
- People love learning about wierd diseases/conditions that they don't encounter everyday.
- There can be a backstory that is hinted at throughout the series, and eventually comes out, about the origin of his condition (he crashed his car while drunk, his wife died, and he ended up with the condition, or his mum and dad were brother and sister, or he was a drug addict in his teens)
It's not very original, but you could get away with it if the detective is likeable enough.
(Also agree with SlagA's comment which is the more intellectual response than 'find a wierd condition'!)
Only seen a few episodes but Monk is great.
Tourettes? You're under arrest......f**k*r!
Heroin he's an undercover cop.
Quote: SlagA @ August 16, 2007, 9:00 PMThe problem with characterisation is that if you left it to SlagB the world would be filled with one-legged dwarves speaking in West Country accents, with scars over the left cheek.
I'm beggin you leave it to SlagB at least once 
Great suggestions. In fact they were amazing. I think I might go for a medical condition somethin like diabeties but not that. More Life affecting than life threatening. I'l mesh it with SlagA's wise words and come up with something. I'm just trying to avoid having 2 dimensional characters. Thanks again.
Bipolar disorder might be good, where he goes through extremes of highs and lows.
Or multiple personality disorder, where one of the personalities is a cop and all the rest are criminals, so each week he finds out that he is culprit. Again. 
Can you just write me some more Cracker, please?
I miss him. 
Bitterness and malice is good and gives you a lot to play with.
Ruby - I have to ask, where do you get your avatars from? Do you make them yourself?