Screenwriting : Character before plot? by Joe Bousquin

Yes, most definitely. What happens in a story - the plot - happens because of characters. Well-rounded and memorable characters make films memorable, too. Boring, flat characters make for a boring, flat film. Motivations that aren't "true" to character make for unbelievable/generic/badly-written films. We root for "characters", and not "plot."

Characters are the most valuable asset and tool. However the world's best and well rounded character with nothing to do or achieve is a waste. They are symbiotic. It is like Ingredients and chefs.

premise & character. That's chapter 1 & 2 from Lajos Egri. Characters proving your premise. The best movies have simple, clear plots.

Dan, so true on simplicity. I recently re-read and then watched Michael Mann's Collateral. The plot is so simple -- an assassin gets into a cab and forces the driver to take him to five hits in one night. But the character of Max (Jamie Foxx) carries it.

Ugh ... :) Plot is what your characters do on the page... what they do on the page is determined by who they are as people... in other words, plot is characterization in action ... sooooo... plot is character and character is plot. There is no practical difference. There's no such thing as a "plot driven story" vs. a "character driven" story, there is just story. My 2 cents ... now let the feathers fly.

Jeff, thanks for those 2 cents... :) I'm thinking I may have just gotten a preview of Anatomy of a Premise Line, which I downloaded to my Kindle last night. I'm looking forward to digging into it this weekend! (DISCLAIMER: No feathers were harmed in writing this post.)

HA! Shhhhh... don't tell anybody but you're right :) (much appreciate the download.. .pls leave a review if you like it!!!)

I agree with Jeff. Though usually people do start in one place or another.

Hey Jon, I've got a background in journalism, so I've always been very "story" oriented, and I've got to say, it's been a hard habit to break. I'm just now having a breakthrough on character, thanks in no small part to William C. Martell's Blue Book on Creating Strong Protagonists. It was recommended in the discussion following Courtney's post about the best screenwriting books last week, which in turn inspired me to ask this question here!

I'm not sure you can entirely separate plot from character. Sometimes character drives plot and sometimes plot drives character just as sometimes we are the masters of our own destiny and sometimes destiny masters us.

Hi Eric, Great point. Robert McKee makes an argument in his STORY class that the question is moot, that character flows from story, and story from character. Not to be (too) crass and commercial, but I wonder how it translates at the box office. Do audiences go to movies to see character? Or are they attracted by the story? I saw a stat recently that the most requested genre of movies by producers is thrillers, which are presumably story-first creations. I wonder, from a marketability standpoint, whether thrillers or character-driven dramas are an easier sell from a production standpoint. Cue the aforementioned feathers.

The way it translates at the box office is "situations." :) Most commercial movies aren't stories, they are situations, i.e., what Eric was describing "sometimes destiny masters us." A lot of commercial fiction as well. Not bad or wrong, just not stories. I wrote a whole blog post here a while back on S32 about stories vs. situations. You might find that interesting : https://www.stage32.com/blog/Stories-vs-Situations-How-to-Know-Your-Stor...

Chicken or egg marketing. Nobody knows. People with 7-figure salary Studio jobs throw darts at their production boards or ask 6-year old Kids. Last month at the Box Office, Tyler Perry beat the Grand Slam of Hollywood's top paid Actors: Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck, Johnny Depp. Robert McKee is a great teacher but he is not running a Studio or making $1bil+ franchise movies.

Dan--- you are 100% right my friend... darts and all.

Thanks, guys, great stuff. And Jeff, that blog post is pure gold -- thanks so much for sharing, highly recommended to folks who haven't read it yet. I'm continually blown away by the level of the dialogue here on Stage 32 since I joined just a few short weeks ago. Thanks to everyone for your lucid, thoughtful posts!

Character is plot.

I've always struggled with this personally, especially since they are both so important. Overall, I always focus on story and premise first and then I figure out the characters. I've tried writing exercises where I have to create a character out of the blue, but I find that I struggle without a premise and an idea of what the story is and the characters feel bland to me. I guess I really take to heart the Pixar model of "Story is King." I've just found that that's my creative process.

I'm with Chris on this one... and yet. Recently, and please don't ask why, I revisited 'Speed' for the first time since it came out in '94. On the commentary Graham Yost plainly states his "characters" are paper thin. Why? Because it was a concept film. Who the hell needs characters in a concept film? Unless of course you're writing something people should remember for things other than jumping a bus across an unfinished piece of concrete.

Loved this article. Thanks for sharing it, JOE.

Tivoli, Ditto that for me. I've been writing for 20+ years, mostly as a journalist, and sitting down and writing a character profile, with traits, fears, character arc, etc., simply leaves me at a loss for words. It's not a feeling I'm accustomed to. But sit me down with just a smidge of an idea for a story, and my mind jumps right in. So, I'm trying to exercise that character muscle more to catch up to the story side of my brain.

The characters I write feel real real to me, so I write from their world.

Hey Desiree, As William C. Martell says in this Protagonist blue book, that's because your characters are you! It has been a real breakthrough for me reading his views on what brings our characters to life -- the real emotion from actual experiences we've had in our own lives. Thinking about how I can relate to my characters based on what I've actually lived myself has been a big help for me.

Hey Boomer! Great, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've got to say, thinking about character in this way over the last week has really given me a lot of revelation into my scripts that I didn't see before. These are all great tips! Also, I must extend a belated thanks -- it was our profile on ScreenwritingU that led me here to Stage 32. I've been having a great time with it since. So thanks!