JCB's Ruminations on the Craft of Fiction #79
December 2, 2021
I don’t remember in what context I heard this story, but it goes something like this: one time, long ago, when Ben Affleck was young and trying out movie-making at home with his brother Casey, Casey was supposed to walk down a hallway and into the living room for a scene. Ben told him to do whatever felt right for the character, and Casey wound up coming halfway down the hall before ducking into a side room out of view of the camera. I think about this story sometimes when I think about the experience some writers report where they "watch the movie in their head" or let their "characters take control" of the story they’re writing. We can let ourselves have a lot of creativity during the writing process, and sometimes we can make some really fun discoveries in doing so, but we probably want to avoid a character running away from the story we intend for them, or seeking out a different story altogether.
Sometimes it’s ok for a character to suggest a different story, but what that usually means is that the character we’re writing isn’t quite the right character for the story at hand. A story is a series of decisions and actions made by a character that drives toward a conclusion, and if the character we envision doesn’t naturally or convincingly make those decisions, they’re probably mismatched to the story. Characterization doesn’t arise merely from physical appearance or interior thought, but also from what a character does when faced with a difficult decision. Sometimes when imagining a character, I’ll think of them as "so-and-so is the kind of person who would make the decision that moves my plot forward." If you find that your character wouldn’t or shouldn’t make that decision, then they’re probably mismatched to the story. One of the two, character or story, has to change.
Of course none of this applies to so-called "discovery" writing, where you want to give the lead to your unconscious concept of character in order to explore the possibilities of story, hoping to stumble upon one. I won’t say too much about this and other obvious caveats. The important thing is that once the cameras are rolling, Casey Affleck needs to portray a character who will in fact walk into the living room.
Next: On a Critique of Poe's "Single Effect in the Prose Tale"