Romantic Comedy Screenwriting – 4 Ways to Make the Wrong Woman (Realistically) Unattractive

In the 21st Century, the obstacles that your lovers face will often involve a “wrong man” and “wrong woman.” Usually amateur screenwriters (and bad movies) will just make the wrong woman a ***** with no explanation why she behaves that way, but you can do better than that.
It takes a skilled screenwriter to write someone who is clearly not a good match for the man and still make her a fundamentally good person. Usually, this not only makes the romance part of your script more plausible, but lays the groundwork for more comedy as well.

Here are four ways to evoke a funny, effective “wrong woman.”
1. She’s clingy. I’ve read a lot of material on dating and attraction (not to mention written some of my own), and if there’s one thing that all of the experts agree on, it’s that women who get clingy and needy are super unattractive! This is a great screenwriting tool to whip out because it will quickly turn off audience members, but because clinginess stems from insecurity, it doesn’t make her come across as evil.

2. She assumes control. A woman who assumes control tends to make all the decisions in a relationship, using subtle tricks to get the man to always go along with what she has in mind. Making all the plans and decisions is actually very masculine, so a woman who assumes control is taking on a more masculine energy, and will quickly look much less attractive next to a leading lady who is radiating sensual female energy. (This doesn’t mean that your leading lady has no control over herself or her life; it means that she has no need to control the man). A woman who assumes control in a situation does so because she doesn’t trust her man to do the planning/decision making himself – in other words, she doesn’t respect him. However, this is subtle – and will spare your script from any on-the-nose dialogue that you might have written otherwise to convey that disrespect.

3. She complains about everything. When a woman can’t be pleased by anything a man does, there’s little hope for the relationship. However, complaining can be done in a non-evil-bitch kind of way. When a woman complains all the time, it’s because she “isn’t feeling it” and mistakenly believes that it’s because the man isn’t doing something (that if he did do, she would “feel it.”) Of course, the real issue is a lack of chemistry (hence, why she’s the wrong woman).

4. She is a downer. A woman who is negative about herself and her life is completely unattractive. However, again, this comes from insecurity – we’ve all felt like we weren’t enough and we are screwing up our lives. If you do your job, the audience will feel her insecurity, and we won’t think she is completely evil because we will get where her negativity comes from, but we will still root for the more positive, upbeat leading lady.

In case you noticed a theme here, it’s that the wrong woman is INSECURE, and her unattractive behavior stems from insecurities. When you understand this principle, it will be easy to create a compelling, realistic wrong woman. The audience won’t **** her because they will sympathize – we’ve all felt insecure. However, the audience won’t root for her, because the leading lady will be clearly a better choice.

By: Liz Peters

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