A New Story Idea... But Should YOU Start with the CHARACTER or the STORY?

[@passdasalt]

Great stuff. I came up with the story first, but my characters went and changed the plot on me. For the better I might add.

[@thomascrump1165]

Story first has my vote. Guess I'll see if my characters behave lol.

[@ArtcampITStudios]

"And don't tell a story that no one wants to hear." Good one, Jake. Imitations of copies of stories made up by people at keyboards come out inauthentic when people today want things to be 'real'. People want to believe in a story to have it be worth their time.

[@thomascrump1165]

I'm a story first person. Another fire video, usually start getting ideas and disappear into my head and have to watch several times.

[@matthewlavagna6080]

I always begin with the concept and then I tailor the characters to fit within it. I then try to figure out the events of the story and I tailor the characters personalities to fit the kinds of decisions and actions which need to happen in order to make the events occur.

[@thomascrump1165]

😳 That process sounds hard but cool,like some kind of hybrid. Every writer has to find their own.

[@BigRedStripe]

It is definitely a dance to figure out when you need to focus on one or the other and how one informs the other. This is 100% true.

[@mariabonita5471]

1. Consider the end-result FIRST. 2. Investigate MULTIPLE ideas. 3.Go the distance.

[@chriswest8389]

Have u heard of Jeff kitchens cause and effect, starting from the end idea, he got from an old writing book circa 1911.

[@davidmac8081]

I start with theme. But the whole character-story idea is nearly indivisible in my mind ---i.e., whatever pops into mind first, the immediate question is about the other thing anyway. For me, neither gets very far in development without the other.

[@BigRedStripe]

This is also true. Theme is another place to start, but you do kind of have to put a pin in theme once you get going and not revisit it until later because if you aren't careful the story becomes too polemic and preachy.

[@crowdsourceeconomicjustice2106]

Which came first the story or the character? What came first the marble or the chisel? What about the pencil and the eraser?

[@chriswest8389]

What about the brain or the mind?

[@chriswest8389]

I'm more of a plotter by inclination.Non the less, I'm finding my plot has to submit to the emotional authenticity visa vi one of the characters or else I'll lose the audiance.

[@BigRedStripe]

All of it has to be working on all cylinders... that's why writing a screenplay is hard. And why I have this channel. :-)

[@lucianatesta7923]

Is it better character (emotional structure) or story driven story?

[@BigRedStripe]

It depends on the result you are after. Contests = emotional structure Trying to Sell = story driven structure (these are easier to pitch and craft loglines for, so they get requested more often) But to be clear, EVERY story must be character driven. The character has to be the one moving things along, and if they aren't, you have story problems no matter what your end goal is.