: Re: Writing garbage to see if the characters do something interesting? I need a change ~ 80% of the way through my story. At the moment, I'm just throwing my characters into different combinations

@Barnes643

Yes using characters to create a story on-the-fly as you described is a valid way to write and create.

The longer answer:

In Improv Theatre (or just improv for short) a similar technique is used all the time.

In Improv Theatre there are many ways to create a story (or scene) and two popular ways of creating a story are:


to focus on the "what" (i.e. something happened, an event like dinosaurs escaping)
to focus on the "character"


When you focus on the "character" to create the story/scene:


develop a robust character in your mind
watch the scene for an appropriate time to enter
when you enter the scene, all your decisions/actions are driven by your character


The story/scene is then created. And in a way the story/scene is created by the character on the fly. Similar to how you proposed "writing garbage".

Additionally I will add that the improv group The Second City does many scenes before the show. Picks the best ones. Refines those scenes. Then presents the best ones in their show.

The steps Second City takes to get good product would be similar to your writing style where you spend lots of time writing... and then you pick the best writing and refine that writing to get good writing.

Vote Up Vote Down

0 Reactions   React

Replies (0) Report

Login to post a comment!