Screenwriting : Do characters control you? by Jorge J Prieto

You're not alone. I find I run into the most roadblocks when I try to force my characters to do things they don't naturally want to do.

yeah, they kinda do what they want in the book

That's what I'm using as my defense in court...

When you finish some writings, it can take ages for some characters to move out of your house. They follow you around making comments. So it's better to give them a sense of humor and to humor them.

Bill, you are a riot! LOL. Thanks everyone.

I was writing this creature feature where I had planned to kill a character by mid act 2. She kept telling me "not yet not yet". I was frustrated and kept going. Then at the end of act 3 she said "ok now kill now do it,". it made for a heartfelt death scene.

no, they never control me.

You don't know what you're missing, Cherie. Try it, you might like it or even learn something. I can tell you that being a part of this website and not having a Bio, it's not very smart. Cheers from NYC !

I think it's vital that your characters take control rather than you control them. It's better if they're individuals.

Excuse me? I don't bother with a bio because I don't believe this site is going to give me a career and honestly it's none of your business what I do or don't do with my profile. I come here off and on for the forum when I am really bored. It's a casual thing. I don't need to try letting my characters do whatever. That's not how I work. And in fact I think it's ridiculous. If you don't know what you're doing maybe you should try outlining a bit more. It just seems like the smart thing to do. Cheers from Melbourne.

So @Jorge, not having a bio is a bad career move, but insulting strangers on a message board is SMART? I'm with Cherie, who I know to be pretty smart. My characters don't control me. Sometimes aspects of their personality crystallize as I write, but my characters and story tend to cooperate pretty well with me, at least when everything's flowing correctly. That's what's nice about writing: everyone has a different way of getting there. It's the results that matter. Oh, and being polite. That matters too.

Back to the original question. I would have to say it depends on what you mean by "controlling you." I have a story line and as I develop the characters, that story may change to some degree. Sometimes I do find that the original path of the story does alter because it would not seem organic for someone with that background or in that situation to end up where I had planned. Other times I drop the character and/or create another. If the purpose they serve in the story cannot be served, I will bench them and bring in the stunt double. I keep those characters as they may serve in another story.

I'm a detailed outliner who marches resolutely to a beat sheet - but every so often I find a character will break for the border and I find myself going along for the ride.

My characters are pretty well fleshed out before I even start writing; I create bios, backstory, resolutions, and back doors for them before the pen hits the page. But, I think this is because my writing process is more ... novelized .. is that a word? The characters are going somewhere, which means I have to know where they started. For me, it's the 'story' that seems to be in control.

Jorge: Though I write a story outline, I'm a big believer in letting my characters lead me where they want to go.

My characters sit on top of me at night with a gun to my head saying, "Write the scene asshole!" After a few weeks of this I took out a protective order, but it was a very productive few weeks.

Preston: You are letting your characters take control.

My characters don't control me. Rather my own sense of honesty does. If you write honest, the characters will only be able to do what they can and would do. If you force them to do otherwise, the story goes to shit. I personally find that kind of "controlling me" talk a little pretentious, as though what we're doing is magical, rather than simply expressing ourselves honestly and trying to illuminate some part of life.

Since I'm converting my screenplay into a comic, and since I'm using the cover of said comic as my profile background, my characters now stare at me every time I log into Stage32. I think they're taking over.

@Preston, DUDE! are you drawing and paneling it? I have a screenplay I want to turn in to a manga.

DUDE, I can only draw stick figures. I'm paying top level talent on this one. :)

Preston: Stick figures? That's good! I like a lean narrative.

My characters don't control me, but they do come "alive" and feed me some great dialogue and story which I write down and take the credit, lol - it's an odd sensation when your characters begin to talk to you.

Exactly my point. I was alluding to what the late Ms. Collins , once said about her characters as it related to sex (as she has many of her characters having sex) she said that her characters control her, if they want to have sex, she let's them. I think she meant, that they become a life force of their own, but ultimately we as writers have final say and if their actions serve and make the story better, I go along. Thanks, Chanel!

Yeah, but if you let your characters have complete control, there's no telling where they may end up taking your story. Let them have a little freedom of expression but keep them on the path to your destination.

I completely agree, Jorge, my characters do become a life-force of their own, I let them dictate any story they wish, but as you say, I/we the writer/s have the final say on the matter and their actions in my case certainly serve and make my stories better - Keith, I allow my characters to create their own destination - sure, I had a preconceived notion of a destination, but so often my characters have taken me somewhere completely unexpected, and always superior to my initial expectation - I can only speak for myself and my own characters and way of writing, most would have their own way of adhering to whatever rules apply to their writing and storytelling.

Couldn't agree with you more, Chanel and with, Ms. Collins, who we all know was a very successful novelist, which everyone here continues to ignore, as well as what she said about her characters controlling her. I'll share another experience. I'm just finishing a crime-drama, where I have four possible murderers and I don't even know, who the murderer is. I want to be as surprised and shocked as my audience. This is what's exiting and thrilling for me as a writer, whether many of you agree with me or not . I know for sure I (like Jackie Collins or Agatha Christie, with whom I share a birthday) both agree with me and I with them. I have a road map, set for my characters, but I led the mind of my characters take me of how ever they want to the final outcome, which is the climax. Here's an example I just found on YouTube, that not only backs up what I said weeks ago, but better explains it. Click link below if anyone if interested. It sure made sense to me what the speaker is talking about and I hope it helps you all as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7EWDSqnSN0 Thanks to EVERYONE for your comments. Great things are happening at Stage 32 every day.

Haha, gold, not knowing who the murderer is yourself - I love it when the characters take the lead and you yourself don't know what lies in store re the story outcome, watching/feeling the tension and excitement build, the anticipation, finally see it all unfold before you, it's such a buzz when that occurs - great fan of Jackie Collins, you're right, probably not as appreciated as much as she deserved, cheers.

Hey, Chanel, you get me, you get what I say word for word. Thanks for your perception, girlfriend . There are writers and there are gifted writers, you are among the latter. Cheers!!

The Screenwriter is God.

My characters don't control me, but I find certain scenes, moments or characters distracting me days or months after I've finished writing about them. Maybe it's a hint to write a sequel.

Chris, you got no argument from me, mate.