Screenwriting: Creating Plot And Characters

Advice From a Hollywood Screenwriter/Director

Jan 13, 2009

Interview with Ray Griggs, Writer and Director of the new movie Super Capers starring Tom Sizemore, Adam West, and Clint Howard.

Suite101 interviewed Ray Griggs about his process in developing plot, how he uses drawings to create his characters and why he doesn't outline.

Suite101: When you tackle a screenplay, do you favor plot over character or vice versa?

Griggs: I think plot comes first to me. What’s the whole story, what are you trying to say, what’s your message? And then you put the character in there to build that up. They are of equal importance, but I do find myself concentrating on plot at first and then character development to get to know these characters and get a feel for them.

Griggs: I’m a visionary so before I start to write I think of my characters and I’ll usually draw them. Before the writing begins I’ll do different sketches. When doing The Wind In The Willows, I’ll sketch how the Badger and Toad look and so all these great ideas pop up around them. I’ll put them next to the computer and start typing away. Of course I’m still following the timeline of the original story, but the image helps.

Suite101: That’s different from most writers who write outlines. Instead you choose to draw characters and scenes.

Griggs: When I wrote Super Capers, I drew the characters first as far as what they’re doing and different action scenes. Even while working on the script, I was still doing some drawings, which helped enhance that. Then I worked with another artist to storyboard the entire film. So when we finished the script, we literally had the whole movie storyboarded soon after. Even with Lucifer, I did some paintings and drawings. I’ll always do some artwork before writing a script.

Griggs: Writing periods change. You can’t say, I’m a thirty-day writer and all of a sudden all of my scripts are done in thirty days. You have to write when it comes out of you. It may take fifteen days, it may take a year. Depending on how fast you move, the time you have to devote to it, how you’re inspired. That can carry a lot of weight to push you to do something. Like Super Capers, I wrote that in three weeks because I was really inspired and driven. In my room I have superhero figures and statues so the room has that creativity in it as far as inspiration.

Ray Griggs is the Director of Super Capers, which stars Justin Whalin, Tom Sizemore, Adam West, and Clint Howard. Ray is also the Award-Winning Director of the short film Lucifer. He is CEO of RG Entertainment, a film production company in Beverly Hills, CA.

The copyright of the article Screenwriting: Creating Plot And Characters in Writing for Stage/Screen is owned by Joe Lam. Permission to republish Screenwriting: Creating Plot And Characters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.