by Mae McKinnon
As much as it sounds like one, no, that isn’t a trick question. And we’re not talking about ghost-writers either.
There are many voices involved when writing. Some of these we’re aware of, others are more ambiguous. We all bring with us, after all, however subconsciously, our prior experiences (whether we remember them or not).
As such, there are many ways a story can come together, but most of them can be boiled down to being either a) author driven or b) character driven.
Author driven stories are probably the easier to define. They are typed, scribbled or otherwise find their way onto paper or into a word-program – just like the character driven stories – by an author.
Everything put down on paper, every revision, every idea, comes from the conscious thoughts of the author himself or herself. They may be inspired by anything, take on suggestions, and change their minds about what is happening as the story goes along, but, ultimately, they’re the definitive decision-maker as to what they choose to put into said story.
There’s a good chance this type of author will plan out the story in advance, separately, and go into it knowing – more or less – what is going to happen, because they’re the ones who have decided that it is what should happen. They’ve sat down and carefully thought about who the characters are, what motivates them, what happened to one of them when they were five that gave them the drive to actually survive the story in the first place, and they actively create the settings, the scenery and the plots.
If you ask a writer who writes author driven stories what their story is about, there’s a good chance you’ll be given a detailed explanation (if they’re the kind of person who likes sharing, not everyone does).
However, if you ask a writer of character driven stories the same question, you’re much more likely to get their favoured version of “ummm…” at least if you do it while they’re in the middle of writing it? Why?
Character driven stories are, just like their siblings, typed or put on paper, by an actual author. Unlike those, this is because the characters simply can’t type it themselves.
This type of writer, usually, doesn’t plot out the details of the story beforehand (on paper, anyway), because it’s fluid and changes – a lot – as each new scene, setting or character reveals more about what is happening.
If they’re fortunate, the characters are easy to work with, show up on time, and know their lines. If they’re not so lucky, they end up with the chrono-hopping, ooops forget what I just told you it was an alternate reality, stubborn ones who, when they’ve finally reached that all-important event that has been planned (yes, even this type of author tries to make plans) from the start, decide that instead of saving the planet from alien invaders, they should go home and have lunch (or, occasionally, die).
Prior knowledge and experiences count as much for these as for their counterparts, but it tends to be applied more unconsciously and the details of the story and the characters will grow organically over time.
One way isn’t better than the other, but the two types of authors often have difficulty in understanding where the other is coming from.
There’s also a good chance if you’re looking for feedback, that if your stories are character driven, you will get a better response from your beta readers if you show them your work at a later (and more refined) stage than an author driven story (unless you’re really lucky, and they too are character driven).
Guest post contributed by Mae McKinnon. Writer. Reader. Feverent hunter of the muse and nightowl.
After reading this I wondered to myself which kind of writer I am, and I think I’m theme driven.
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Totally character driven and I’m often apologizing for annoying my alpha readers with thousands of edits after the fact. I owe one about $50 for changing the book blurb several times.
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Reblogged this on Sharon E. Cathcart and commented:
I am definitely character-driven; sometimes they have ideas that are better than mine. 😉 In fact, that happened again just this morning. Great article here.
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Thanks 🙂
The only downside is that when they ‘don’t’ have ideas, you end up staring at a blank page forever – or maybe that’s just me.
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Definitely character-driven – my characters are the boss of me! 🙂
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When I first stumbled on to you article, I thought it was simple to answer. It’s my dog, Bekah that writes my stories. But once I got into it I realized that I’m more of an author-driven writer. This then makes Bekah, my POV.
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Reblogged this on Nesie's Place and commented:
Is your work author-driven or character-driven?
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Character-driven through and through, though the rascals do seem to leave all the typing-up to me lol.
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Now I know why I always say “Ummm. . .” whenever someone asks me what my story is about. I am definitely character driven. Whenever I try to plot out my stories. . . poof, they go the opposite direction. Glad I’m not the only one who does this. . .
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Likewise 🙂
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Giggling. Did anyone else start humming ‘Barry Manilow’??? :0)
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Cool. I’m paneling on Planners versus Pantsers next weekend, and I hadn’t thought of this aspect. I said umm for a long time.
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And, in case more of you wonder (should have added it in the actual article) I’m one of the character driven lot… between the muse and the characters, I stand no chance lol.
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Lovely discussion. It’s marvellous how authors find parts, or bits, or even nano particles of themselves in their characters. You read about authors being healed, but I wonder, mischievously, if anyone finds a monster? Jessie Flowers
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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I’m a combination of both. I develop the characters and the plot, with a destination in mind. Then I allow my characters to grow and change throughout the story. Often, I do feel I’m along for the ride, but we’re always traveling in the same direction.
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio.
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Interesting post, Ryan. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Ahhh–I think I my writing is..I’ll get back to this later!
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Good thought provoking article. Thanks
On Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 1:00 PM, A Writer’s Path wrote:
> theryanlanz posted: ” by Mae McKinnon As much as it sounds like one, no, > that isn’t a trick question. And we’re not talking about ghost-writers > either. There are many voices involved when writing. Some of these we’re > aware of, others are more ambiguous. We ” >
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Reblogged this on WILDsound Writing and Film Festival Review.
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