Should You Develop Your Villain Before Any Other Character?

Greg Porper is a writer who prides himself on creating stories that push boundaries. His recent indie feature, Don't Tell Larry, features Ed Begley Jr., Dot-Marie Jones, and more well-known comedians in a plot of corporate mishaps.

The film's story centers on Susan (Patty Guggenheim) telling a white lie about not inviting her eccentric coworker Larry (Kiel Kennedy) to a company party, then blaming someone else when the lie spirals out of control.

Porpor and his team adapted the story from a web series and made the film during the pandemic.

Porper has also worked as a development executive and freelance producer for over 10 years, developing shows for Netflix, Fox, ESPN, MTV, Discovery+, and more. His pilots and shorts have been featured on The Black List, College Humor, and Funny or Die.

This summer, he sat down with Film Courage to chat about his writing process. Check out their conversation.

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Develop Your Antagonist Before Your Protagonist?

"It's interesting, because you'd think in horror, to know the antagonist's journey might be more important ... But then it also [applies] in comedy. So they inform each other." (3:54)

Discussing how he developed Don't Tell Larry, Porper said he took an unconventional approach. They knew Larry's character arc before fully understanding the protagonist Susan's journey.

This reverse-engineering approach can work particularly well in dark comedies and thrillers where the antagonist's presence drives the protagonist's choices and creates the central conflict. The best villains will be three-dimensional, so this could be a way to ensure that.

Structure Provides Creative Freedom

"I think if there are no rules or set boundaries, that I'm going to really struggle to find a finished screenplay that I'm proud of, but also that I feel is good enough to then actually get made." (0:30)

Porper said that following the established three-act structure and beat sheets like those in Save the Cat aren't creative limitations. He views them as essential frameworks that enable you to finish strong scripts.

The rules provide the scaffolding that allows you to focus on character and story rather than getting lost in the wilderness of unlimited possibilities.

Check out our resources on structure.

Character Quirks Should Serve a Purpose

In the film, Larry often opts to eat raisins. He does so using the leaded end of a pencil as a fork.

"Him eating that raisin ... him being obsessed with raisins was his way of thinking, 'Well, maybe that's the way I can connect with my dad, who I don't even know.'" (7:55)

Larry's memorable habit of eating raisins with a pencil isn't just random eccentricity—it's rooted in his core wound of abandonment. Larry sees himself as "a grape that was left in the sun and abandoned," and his raisin obsession stems from believing his absent father loved raisins too.

Speaking to Film Courage, Porper pointed out how effective character details work on multiple levels. They're visually memorable and immediately signal that someone is "a little bit off," but they also reveal fundamental psychology and backstory.

The best character quirks might be colorful, but there’s a reason behind them. And you, as a writer, should know what those reasons are.