Screenwriting : Share your thoughts please by Craig D Griffiths

I start with character and grow out from there. It think if I have a good understanding of who they are, I'll know how they'll speak and how they'll act.

I usually start with a character in mind. Then I'll write a first draft where the dialogue informs the kind of story I want to tell. When I go back to redraft I think along the lines of "does this dialogue feel true to who this character is?" It's important that the dialogue feels true to whoever that character is, but I also think it's just as important for that dialogue to drive the narrative.

Neither! I start with a character who must have something + an inner obstacle (flaw) + exterior obstacles. I crunch the timeframe. S/he must have it by _____ I envision a few possible endings. THEN I write. Plot is character under stress.

Yea I kinda follow Linda , start with a premise/goal and set my story around it.

Characters and dialogue must do what I need them to do, not the other way.

my first writing Teacher preached, "Character is action."

I think of PLOT and PEOPLE as separate streams of thought. That stops me from bending either to fit my thinking. I started a script with a character and then realised he was the wrong person. So I changed the character in my head. This meant I had to go a rewrite all his dialogue, because he was a different person.

I dunno Craig, seems like your style is writing on the fly. but if youre happy with the end results, it doesn't matter how you start.

I start with what I want to say with the story. Then characters emerge that best help that end. Not always, but plot-driven stories seem to be created this way with me. I have yet to come up with a character-driven story, but even then, the plot must mesh with my character.

Dialogue vs. action is a balance. Too many times I rely on dialogue and I am aware of this. So during editing I always ask if a scene or parts of a scene can be equally or better written by an action sequence. I find by designing action, I gain a deeper understanding of my characters.

I let the character and circumstances dictate dialogue.

The plot/action and character dialogues are determined by the characters. Even in a film where the characters are responding to some external threat....like an erupting volcano, an alien invasion, a great white shark, the devil, etc. etc.....the actions/reactions of the characters still drive the plot to its conclusion. Their dialogues are their dialogues, and the writer writes what he/she deems to be essential to the masterful advancement of their story, and throws out the rest.

I can START a story either way, like "this is a story about an alien invasion...." and then add the types of characters that I want in it; who will serve the story's purpose; and whose traits/characteristics/foibles will drive the plot and affect/determine its outcome. Or I can start like "this is the story about a group of (brave or scared) (crazed or rational) military (veterans or rookies) (with or without vengeful motivations) who must thwart an alien invasion." But the story is ALWAYS driven by those characters, and the dialogues are ALWAYS driven by the purposes deemed necessary in those scenes by me, the writer, whose job is to serve the story masterfully.

Anything else is....well....you know......."we gots to get your mind right, Luke!"

And RIP, "Rules War" forum topic, which sadly succumbed to the Dreadful Depths of Deleteville. Heh-heh.

The Character determines their dialog. Though, sometimes through writing dialog I learn more about the character, or find a different way to do something with the character that I hadn't thought of before hand.

Owen: I would bet that the author of the post didn't like the replies and decided to hit the "delete" button. I doubt it was deleted by the mods, but you never know unless you know, you know?

The "Rules War" thread was not deleted by a moderator. I was puzzled too... I believe the O.P. must have decided to do so.

Regarding this thread topic... Character, dialogue and action are all parts of a whole. The whole being greater than the sum of its parts. So I don't see any one of those elements as being more important than the others. They are all equally important. They all work together. Personally, I consider all three in tandem when starting a story/screenplay. ;)

I don't think one is more important than the other. However, I typically let the character color the dialogue.

Dan M, like most people it is hard to see my own mistakes. I had a character that started as a greasy, unwashed junky, but how he acted during the story was inconsistent with who he was. So I swap people in my mind, he is now a guy who does drugs, sells a bit and thinks he is big time when he isn't. That now fits his involvement in the story, but his action and dialogue needed a complete rewrite. Makes for a better story.

When I was talking about action I was talking from a character context not a story context. Does the person hug or shake hands, do they cry or shake when angry. I heard about an argument in a writer's room (can't remember which show) over if a person would slam a door or just storm out. I find the physicality of a character as fascinating as how they speak.

Robert, yep default, dialogue has to be good. But does a person say "can't" or "cannot", both speak to character. If the "cannot" is perfect would you go back and change the character to make this fit? I am rewriting a character because their look and actions are too dumb compared to how they talk.