I Just Realized What Character-Driven Writing Actually Means

I had a breakthrough with my screenwriting so I want to share a bit about my process.

I'm currently working on my second feature screenplay (after writing a couple of pilots), and I'm really excited about the new direction I'm heading in after three drafts. I'm basically starting from scratch again with the project, but I really think it's going to be worth it.

Before I get to the big thing that changed for me, lemme take you through how I typically write a screenplay. I don't think any of this is groundbreaking or peculiar, since I'm exploring my own process I'm going to lay out how I tackle writing.

I make it a habit to write every week day.

I don't think this part or writing gets talked about enough. It may be the single most important aspect of being a writer.

I've made it a habit to write at the start of the day every week day. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

Personally, I'm a morning person. I get up and exercise, then I sit down and start writing. I am for 2 - 3 hours per day, but sometimes it's less if I'm really busy. (That whole having a job thing, you know?)

After getting past all the God and "woo woo" stuff (which was a bit of a challenge for me), I found this book an excellent resource.

Since getting into the habit, finishing writing projects has been a breeze. Last year, I finished my first feature screenplay, wrote and directed a short film, and outlined a second feature. I also wrote and directed a stage play. The year before, I wrote two pilots, shot a proof of concept for one of them, and outlined a feature screenplay. (On top of also having a short story published and writing and directing two plays...) All this to say, I write a lot.

For me, writing is more about time at the keyboard than it is latent talent or creative brilliance. I got an idea from The Artists's Way by Julia Cameron that I really like. I focus on quantity. I put the time in. Work on my writing every day. And then I leave quality up for grabs.

I don't wait for inspiration to strike before I write, which means that not every day is a stroke of genius. But I get in the chair and put the time in. Once I made it a habit, writing became easy and much more enjoyable.

The first thing I do with a new project is the "Blue Sky" phase.

The Blue Sky phase for me is just creative brainstorming. This is, by far, my favourite part of writing. It's coming up with ideas—the sky's the limit! No need to worry about budget or structure or anything. If I'm not careful, I could spend too much time at this stage (and probably often do...)

This is where I flesh out characters and world building. Come up with ideas for setting and set pieces. Figure out what I want to write about and why. I think about the theme and tone. Do lots of research. Read lots of screenplays and watch movies. For me, this part of writing is incredibly fulfilling. It's all the fun and none of the stress!

I'm an "Outside In" sort of writer. My story ideas start with the things that interest me the most: usually world building and fantasy or sci-fi elements. It's typically plot stuff.

I've heard other writers say they start with character or theme and then find the rest and that is...a bit baffling to me. How?? I think this is why they Blue Sky phase is so fun, I get to come up with all the elements that made me love storytelling in the first place. Monsters! Other worlds! Different times! Big speculative questions!

Usually, I finalize all my Blue Sky ideas and work into a pitch document. That way I have something concrete to work towards. It also doesn't hurt to have a document that I can start using for reference or to get other people on board.

I always outline before I start writing.

I've heard of people skipping the outlining phase and just going straight to a first draft and I'm always just like... How?!

I mean, don't get me wrong, I think each writing needs to do what's best for their process. But for my process, writing without an outline is excruciating. I tried it once for a play I was commissioned to write and let's just say there's a reason that play never hit the stage...

Outlining is the most important part of writing for me. If the Blue Sky phase is the heart of my project, the outline is the bones. It's keeps everything together. It's how I know if I'm building a cat or a dinosaur.

What does it actually look like? I beat out the story in a three-act structure. Very standard stuff that I first got from Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. (Well, actually, I first read Save the Cat! Writes for TV... by Jamie Nash and find it superior to the original book in almost every way, even for writing features).

Like with The Artist's Way, I took what I found useful from the books and left the rest behind. I've sort of created my own method to structure now that suits my own process. For example, I like thinking about eight sequences (two in each Act 1, Act 2, Act 2b, and Act 3) rather than three acts.

My beat board for the feature screenplay of Strangers.

Once I'm done an outline, it's time for a treatment.

Got an outline and ready to start writing the screenplay? Maybe...

Once I have an outline, I do jump into my screenwriting software (I'm still using Final Draft, if you're curious), but take just one more step before tackling the first draft.

A treatment is where I write out the whole story clearly in one document. I include slug lines and the basic action, but I don't worry about making the prose engaging and I don't put in dialogue (unless I really can't help myself).

This is where I can make sure everything actually makes sense. It's easier for me to read through this and find plot holes than it is just looking at a beat board. The treatment is also where I start giving the story some tone and I try to find its voice.

Then, when I have this document done (for a feature it's about 35 - 50 pages for me), I get ready to really dive in to writing.

The first draft is just to get the story on the page.

I love writing first drafts. It's almost as fun as world building.

And since I have a detailed outline and a treatment that's already typed up in Final Draft, this part is a BREEZE for me.

After months of churning through the ideation, outlining, and treatment, the first draft is just about opening up and finding the story. I try to let myself be surprised by it, even within the structure I've created. Typically, I write a first draft of a feature-length script in 7 - 10 days.

I'm really just focusing on getting the story on the page (which is why I love the term "barf draft" for this stage of writing). Writing 20 pages in a day is pretty average for me. And then once it's done, it feels so good to have something finished.

The second draft is all about making it make sense.

But, of course, the story isn't finished after the first draft.

I like to print out my scripts from time to time because I like make notes on physical paper and it stops me from making changes as I go.

Once I'm done a first draft, I let it sit for a bit. A few days, a week. Whatever. Then I read over what I've got. I often have quite a few of those "Who wrote this??" moments because I was moving so quickly in the first draft and totally forgot how I wrote something. I love when that happens.

Where draft one was about writing from the heart, draft two is about writing from the head for me. I tighten up plot holes, flesh out character motivations, spruce up the action lines and dialogue, do copy editing. All that fun stuff. I start at the Blue Sky phase then work through and update my outline again. Then I tackle the actual script.

Typically, this also cuts down the page count quite a bit, so I'm left with something much leaner and stronger. This is where I like to have people start reading it and providing feedback. Or, if possible, have actors read it out loud! That way I can get a sense of what the thing actually is, rather than just what I think it is.

The third draft is about making the script really sing.

I've got the story on the page. I've taken the time to make sure it make sense. Draft three is really about making the story cool.

I start by going back to my Blue Sky material again. Why did I write this in the first place? Where can I punch up my scenes? Crank up the stakes? Make the choices harder for the characters? I make sure this is all reflected in the outline then tackle it in the script again.

This is where I start really thinking about the audience. I mean, I do consider the audience from the beginning, but for draft three I'm really focused on the experience of the reader and imagining what people would experience in the cinema.

Usually by the end of the third draft (*whew*), I'm starting to feel pretty good about my script. Like, I'd typically give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. There's always more room to grow. So where do I go from here?

After draft three, it's all about finding what's necessary for the specific project and addressing it. Each project is different and has its own unique challenges. Which leads me to screenwriting breakthrough I had recently.

So what is my major screenwriting breakthrough?

Draft three is how far I got in my most recent writing project (called Strangers—it's a working title). As I mentioned in my last post, I got a few industry friends to read the script and the notes all boiled down about the same thing: the characters need work.

As I mentioned above, I start writing projects with BIG ideas. For Strangers, I really wanted to write a sci-fi creature feature so I spent a lot of time building the monsters and the setting. Starting with characters is counterintuitive for me. But getting all that great feedback make me realize something:

I need to spend as much time and effort building out the characters as I do building out the cool genre elements I love.

I know. I know. It sounds so simple. It's probably so obvious to people, but it hit me like a tidal wave.

I spent months working on the monster and the mystery. The world building. The plot. I thought I was writing a character-driven story, but really... the story was driven by the genre elements that got me excited to write the project in the first place.

Character-driven has become a sort of buzz word. "Ooh, this is a character-driving drama." I think I fell prey to that. My characters weren't fully driving the story. At times they are, but the things I love about storytelling (like having an excuse to build a giant monster puppet) were taking the forefront.

A still frame of the creature puppet from my short film of Strangers. For me, this is what filmmaking is all about! Who wouldn't want to play with a cool puppet like this?

I did spend quite a lot of time fleshing out the character, but not nearly as much time I spent on the other elements. The feedback I got was that the writing was really sharp, the set pieces were cool, the monster was unique, but the characters were flat. Or their motivations weren't strong enough. Or they didn't have to make hard enough choices.

Ah! All things I know (intellectually) that a screenplay needs, but I struggled to them into my own project this time. So...what's the plan?

I'm starting the whole process again with

a focus on character and theme.

I'm pretty happy with where my story is at right now. I think I've got a reasonably strong screenplay. But even a 7/10 isn't close to good enough for me. So the last couple weeks I went back to the beginning—right to the Blue Sky phase. I've been really digging into the theme, the characters, their relationships. All that juicy stuff.

And I've found a way to make that just as exciting as the fun thriller and horror pieces. I've got a theme that's interesting and personal to me and I'm just digging and digging deeper into it.

You ever watch a movie that had a fun premise and some cool effects or set pieces but was just... not good?

Well, that's the last thing I want to happen with my story. My goal is to make the characters and their dilemmas as interesting as any space ship or dragon would be (not that my script has either of those things, but you know what I mean).

If this is sounding super obvious to you, maybe try reversing it for your own work. If you start with characters that interest you and build out from there, do you spend as much time on your world, plot, set pieces, or genre elements as you do on your characters? If not...maybe try that out.

A balance of rich characters and interesting stories is why things like Game of Thrones are so compelling. Say what you will about George R. R. Martin, but he's one of the best character writers alive today. Yes, dragons are cool. Sword fights are exciting. But this series has some of the best characters in fiction—on the screen or otherwise.

Whatever you think about its final season, Game of Thrones is still one of the most successful and groundbreaking TV shows of all time.

I "knew" I needed both rich characters and rich world building for a story to be great, but until my realization a couple weeks ago, I didn't really understand what that meant.

So for the next couple months I'm going to be working through an outline, treatment, and first draft of the story again. And I'm going to actually let the characters drive the story. Wish me luck!

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I write about the process of making movies and my filmmaking journey. And screenwriting too!