--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The characters created cannot just be a…" description: "\"The characters created cannot just be a mouthpiece for the writer. When you look at a piece of writing, and it's genuine and it doesn't feel like every..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/kevin-spacey-931_character_the-characters-created-cannot-just-be-a_877876.jpg" --- # The characters created cannot just be a mouthpiece for the… ![“The characters created cannot just be a mouthpiece for the writer. When you look at a piece of writing, and it's genuine and it doesn't feel like every character is just a mouthpiece for the writer, but that they've been created in such a way that they're expressing an idea that a writer wants to…” quote by Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/kevin-spacey-931_character_the-characters-created-cannot-just-be-a_877876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/kevin-spacey-931_character_the-characters-created-cannot-just-be-a_877876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/kevin-spacey-931_character_the-characters-created-cannot-just-be-a_877876.jpg) > “The characters created cannot just be a mouthpiece for the writer. When you look at a piece of writing, and it's genuine and it doesn't feel like every character is just a mouthpiece for the writer, but that they've been created in such a way that they're expressing an idea that a writer wants to get across, that's when a story succeeds.” [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters should act independently, embodying ideas beyond the author's voice, making the story authentic. **In simple terms:** Characters must feel real, not author’s mouthpieces. Key Takeaway Create characters with their own motivations. Themes authenticity character storytelling Mood thoughtful analytical Type advice literary When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - character development - literary analysis Key Concepts narrative voice authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - Do your characters have distinct goals? - How does this affect reader engagement? A Different Perspective Balancing author intent with character autonomy is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mouthpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouthpiece/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Before you start production, you have characters you have created without actors in mind, then all of a sudden you've got actors. 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They pre-exist and have to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/characters-are-not-created-by-writers-they-pre-exist-and-have-to-be/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Characters are not created on paper or laptop alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mani-ratnam/characters-are-not-created-on-paper-or-laptop-alone/) [Mani Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mani-ratnam/) > [After my first book, many of my readers came back to tell me that the female characters I had created were not strong enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/after-my-first-book-many-of-my-readers-came-back-to-tell-me-that-the/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [I do not think I will ever write screenplays based on my books. I would not know what to cut out and what portions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/i-do-not-think-i-will-ever-write-screenplays-based-on-my-books-i/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [The town is as full as ever of 'characters,' all created by each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/the-town-is-as-full-as-ever-of-characters-all-created-by-each-other/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [In fiction writing ideas have to be handled extremely carefully. You can't let your characters just be mouthpieces for your ideas. They have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-fiction-writing-ideas-have-to-be-handled-extremely-carefully-you/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [There comes a time when you've got to bite down on the mouthpiece and go for it, and it doesn't matter whether it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-perry/there-comes-a-time-when-you-ve-got-to-bite-down-on-the-mouthpiece-and/) [Mike Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-perry/) > [But you don't need to worry. The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-g-romney/but-you-don-t-need-to-worry-the-lord-will-never-let-his-mouthpiece/) [Marion G. Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-g-romney/) > [There ain't nothing like being in the corner, and the trainer is whispering in your ear and another guy is putting in your mouthpiece.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/there-ain-t-nothing-like-being-in-the-corner-and-the-trainer-is/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I used to always wear a mouthpiece my whole life - a big pacifier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalen-ramsey/i-used-to-always-wear-a-mouthpiece-my-whole-life-a-big-pacifier/) [Jalen Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalen-ramsey/) > [Clarinets, like lawyers, have cases, mouthpieces, and they need a constant supply of hot air in order to function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/clarinets-like-lawyers-have-cases-mouthpieces-and-they-need-a/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [The mouthpiece of the half-inarticulate, all-suggesting music that is at once the very soul and the inseparable garment of romance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walther-von-der-vogelweide/the-mouthpiece-of-the-half-inarticulate-all-suggesting-music-that-is/) Walther von der Vogelweide ## More by Kevin Spacey > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Theres nothing like standing in a place and wanting nothing so much as to change but simply not being able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/theres-nothing-like-standing-in-a-place-and-wanting-nothing-so-much/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Clarence Darrow was a unique and courageous man. Several of my favourite actors have played Darrow... Henry Fonda, Orson Welles and Spencer Tracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/clarence-darrow-was-a-unique-and-courageous-man-several-of-my/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [If you look back through history in the United States, there have been very few landslide elections. Half the country always voted for someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/if-you-look-back-through-history-in-the-united-states-there-have-been/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [I'm a relatively ugly character who's done pretty damn well in film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/i-m-a-relatively-ugly-character-who-s-done-pretty-damn-well-in-film/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [The audience has spoken, they want stories. They're dying for them. 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I don't believe them, I don't believe what they say, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/washington-dc-feels-like-you-re-watching-performance-art-a-lot-of-the/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [For years, particularly with the advent of the Internet, people have been griping about lessening attention spans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/for-years-particularly-with-the-advent-of-the-internet-people-have/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [If you wanna compete, you've got to get into the original content game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/if-you-wanna-compete-you-ve-got-to-get-into-the-original-content-game/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) [Explore all 327 Kevin Spacey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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