When I originally started writing and directing (keep in mind, this is on video and I was still a kid) I was always acting in my films because I knew that at least I would show up that day so no concerns about the leading man not being there.

Eventually I thought it would be good to take an acting class at the local community college to understand the actor’s process and how to write for them. This ended up in sidelining me for a few years with a pursuit and absolute love for acting which has, in turn, made me much more aware of what I’m writing.

Someone has to say these lines.
Someone has to convey these emotions.
Someone has to bring to life my words.

How can I write that in as clear and concise and (more importantly) as entertaining a read as possible?

I'm an actor/screenwriter and for the past year-and-a-half I've been taking a scene study class. I have to honestly say, that I really recommend writers take an acting class (or even an improv class! those are also helpful, especially when trying to create characters).

In my acting class, we're always told that the script given to us is a blueprint, a road map. As actors, we take what the writer gives us (the plot, the words) and find the STORY behind it all. The words are the writer's domain, the feelings are the actor's. After reading the script, we need to find what's underneath all these words.

As an actor, I have to figure out what my character's goal is. What is it that I want and how am I going to get this from this other person? And I agree with James' response that each actor will play a character differently. There will be different choices being made because each actor is different. No two actors can duplicate the same performance.

Before I started my acting class, I was basically just writing words, and I'd think that I had something. But after doing these scenes in my scene study class, my approach to writing has changed. For each character I write, I'm always thinking about what this person truly wants and how badly they need to get that. Characters are always in trouble - what do I need to write to be able to show this? And so, you end up writing a variety of successes and failures for these characters.

I am also constantly asking myself "Why?" - why is she this way, why is he doing that to her, etc. At the heart of every character, I've learned that they are almost always driven by having a fear of something. And it's usually the fear of being unloved, or of being alone (if it's a love story/love goal).

Basically, the most important lesson I took from acting class is that each character has a goal they are struggling to obtain. Once you figure that out, the other details like intent and obstacles will come along.

@Erin and Bianca: This is precisely the type of response I was hoping this week's series would generate. Any other reactions you have to the series posts, I'd welcome your comments.

Taking acting is the best advice I ever got. I write plays mostly. Theaters see I've written parts actors would love to do. If you don't have access to a good acting class think about Improv. While it can be done it's almost impossible to teach a bad Improv class.