Look, I will be straight with you: between plot and characters, I will always choose plot. Perhaps you have heard stories described as being plot-driven or character-driven. Plot-driven stories are built around events, and characters serve as a vehicle to experience those events. Character-driven stories are driven by characters' actions and interactions, with the plot being informed by this. There are good and bad examples of both. My preference for plot-driven stories is merely taste (both in writing and reading), though I can certainly appreciate well-told character stories (the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin is an excellent example of this), and of course plot-driven stories can have well built characters and vice versa. So, which is your style? Certainly, your reading habits can dictate your preference for 'PS' or 'CS', but not always, and it's not always easy to tell what stories are what type because as mentioned it is very possible to have both engaging characters and drama. The telltale signs may be your planning stages. How do you put your stories together? Writers inspired by plot tend to see and think their stories as an order of events, and can visualize their story in a clear and logical structure with escalating action and/or tension. Writers inspired by character see the planning stage as less of a structuring phase and more of an intuitive exploration of the principal characters, learning their personalities and envisioning them in certain scenarios, most importantly with each other and engineering conflict of interest between the two. From here the story grows from this conflict. Since we are focusing on characters for now, I will stick to character-related advice, or more importantly how to not lose sight of your characters when you are building your plot. Because, from past experience, I have suffered when I get so engrossed in world-building and imagining epic set pieces that characters that will inevitably inhabit that world will seem flat and helpless, as if they are on rails through the plot - because they are. Now, there is nothing wrong with a rollercoaster ride novel with buckets of fun and action - in fact it should be encouraged - but it is certainly better to have characters in that novel that make the ride all the more meaningful and memorable. One of my favorite little tips is to insert a character that will be deliberately ill-suited to the plot you have created. So you're going to send your protagonist on an epic journey spanning the stars? Great! Why not make your protagonist an anti-social homebody? Or why not make your main character a blundering buffoon with a heart of gold in that crime noir novel of yours? Are they going to be out of place at first? You betcha! This allows scope for character growth and for tension with the other, more well-suited cast of characters. I'm painting in broad strokes of course: it's not just about mismatching sterotypes to stories. Bascially, if you have a protagonist who is already perfectly equipped to deal with the events they will face, then what's the point? Take a look at what your novel is demanding of your protagonist, and make absolutely sure that they don't have the means to do that at first. The satisfaction of reading comes not from experiencing the set pieces themselves but seeing your protagonist fight, fail, retreat, become wiser, and return again with scars but more determined, more equipped to overcome. A nice way to think of how your novel will impact your reader is that the story matters during the act of reading, but it's the chracters that stay with you long after the back cover is shut or the credits roll. So if you have a plot-driven story, make sure your characters get to stand out and make their impact. If done right, what they have to say will stay with your readers for a lot longer.
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Off the ShelfHere I share my ideas, musings and advice on the writing process. I also analyse some of my own writing for examples to show how I work. ShowcaseHere I will show off of some of my favorite good and great stories, gushing lovingly over why I adore them and why you should too. I will also show you the other side of the spectrum: bad examples of stories and what we can learn from them.
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