“I think the guy in the street thinks that the novelist, first of all, decides on his subject, what should be addressed; then he thinks of his theme and his plot and then jots down the various characters that will illustrate these various themes.” (Elmore Leonard, Killshot)
Trusting Character to Lead the Way
1. Character-Driven Narrative Discovery – Strong fiction doesn’t begin with abstract themes or rigid plots but emerges from characters acting within their circumstances.
2. Organic Plot Development – Instead of imposing structure first, let character choices and motivations shape events.
3. Authenticity in Voice and Action – Characters shouldn’t feel like placeholders for themes but like real people with independent, sometimes unpredictable, agency.
Writing Prompt: “No One Told Him to Run”
A man walking home from work sees something that makes him start running. He doesn’t know why—he just does. Write a scene that explores who he is, what he sees, and what compels him to act. Do not outline or preplan the scene beyond that initial impulse. Let the character’s voice, thoughts, and interactions with the world guide what happens next. Resist forcing a predetermined outcome. The goal is to discover the scene’s natural shape by staying inside the character’s experience rather than controlling it from the outside.
Evaluation Criteria:
• Character-Driven Action: The protagonist’s decisions feel personal, specific, and inevitable rather than dictated by external authorial intention.
• Emotional and Psychological Authenticity: His thoughts and reactions should reflect an inner life that unfolds in real-time rather than serving a thematic purpose.
• Narrative Momentum: The scene should develop dynamically, with events unfolding logically from character motivation rather than imposed structure.
• Immersive Detail: The setting and sensory elements should reinforce the character’s experience rather than functioning as generic scenery.
Weak vs. Strong Examples:
Weak:
He saw a group of men in dark coats standing near a car. His mind immediately went to the stories he’d read about kidnappings, so he started running. He ran as fast as he could, knowing that if he stopped, they might catch him. He had always feared something like this would happen.
• The action is dictated by external logic rather than internal experience.
• The character reacts generically to a generic threat rather than as an individual with unique fears, history, or context.
• The scene lacks discovery; it follows a predictable, pre-plotted structure.
Strong:
The bus had let him off a block early, something about construction up ahead. His feet hurt. He’d been thinking about the argument at work, whether he should’ve said something else, whether he should apologize. A plastic bag fluttered across the sidewalk, and he almost didn’t notice the thing on the curb—a shoe, no, a whole leg, twisted the wrong way. The body was facedown, the arm reaching just past the gutter. He stopped. The streetlight flickered. No one else was around. He should call 911. That was the obvious thing. Instead, he turned and ran. He didn’t decide to; his body just went.
• The action emerges from a combination of context and the character’s subconscious response.
• There is an element of discovery, both for the character and the writer.
• The moment is specific, lived-in, rather than a broad idea of fear or escape.
Follow-Up Questions for Workshopping/Revision:
• Does the character’s decision-making feel like it arises naturally from their perspective, or does it feel imposed by the writer?
• Are there any moments where the writing explains the character’s emotions rather than letting them emerge through action, dialogue, or sensory experience?
• Does the scene maintain tension and immediacy, or does it fall into summary or over-explanation?
• What unexpected developments arise from the character’s choices? If the writer can predict every beat before writing, how can they push deeper into discovery?
Recommended Reading:
• Reunion by John Cheever – Demonstrates how a scene can develop through a character’s spontaneous actions and emotional reactions rather than thematic intention.
• Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (any story from the collection) – Captures raw, unfiltered character perspectives that shape the flow of narrative events.
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins – Showcases how character voice and motivation drive the unfolding of plot without forced structure.
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