I did this once for a story I was working on, and it really helped.

Perhaps I’ve got Alzheimer's or something, as I’ve not done it since. How could I forget such a useful tool?

Will look over some of my recent work and apply this technique.

I guess a strong, focused fear will make for a cleaner, tighter need/want.

Sean, it really is excellent advice. People construct their psyche in a myriad number of ways, but a huge influence - typically - is doing what we can to avoid that which we fear. So right there, if you can answer the question -- what does this character fear most -- you have a foundation upon which to build their psyche, the defenses they create to make a buffer between their day-to-day experience and the source of their fear.

Beyond that, it opens the door to what Jung calls the shadow, those dark impulses / feelings we all have, but do our best to repress and ignore. The problem is even though the shadow may not be apparent to the casual eye, its influence is present in the subtext of who we are. And typically in movies, a major part of a Protagonist's metamorphosis is breaking through their resistance to get in touch with their shadow influences and confront the source of their fear.

I couldn't agree more, Scott.

This reminds me of something I read about re. character creation in Dwight V. Swain's little know book, Film Scriptwriting: a practical manual.

He talks about how each person creates a set of coping mechanisms for dealing with their life, their environment, and how all this coping takes its toll on us all, and can lead to feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, insecurity and frustration. Kinda like the shadow you mentioned.

A characters arc usually ends with said character recognising that their specific coping mechanisms aren't working (or even healthy in some cases), smashing them down (confronting their fear), and replacing them with something better, or realising that they don't need that particular mechanism at all.

Sean: Sounds like Swain has taken one of my screenwriting classes! ;)

That's precisely a key dynamic in how I teach the concept of 'metamorphosis,' whereby the Protagonist typically goes through a process of Deconstruction (1st half of Act 2) where their belief systems, coping skills, and defense mechanisms come under 'assault,' then go through a period of Reconstruction (2nd half of Act 2) where they build up a new Self based on more of their Core Essence, key authentic spects of their psyche which have emerged as a result of Deconstruction, the events they have experienced in the Plotline, the wisdom they have learned from Mentors and Attractors, and so on. And again much of the process of understanding your Protagonist and their journey can be sourced by asking, "What are they afraid of?"