Characters or Plot? What Do You Prefer?

[TetRefine]

Which do you prefer be the driving force in a story? The book's plot or the book's character? I usually prefer plot to be the main driving force in a story and don't mind if the characters aren't deep, insightful beings. I love reading technothriller authors like Harold Coyle, Tom Clancy, and Larry Bond who get accused with every book they write of having cardboard characters. Its true to some extent, but they write amazing plots. I can't stand books with deeply insightful characters, but nothing ever happens to them (aka A Seperate Peace by John Knowles).

[K.C.]

A good plot will boost weaker characters but a bad plot and it's circling the drain. I prefer more well rounded charcters, I mean c'mon who doesn't but it the plot holds up good and has interesting twist and turns I'll read it even if the characters are a tad wimpy.

[K.C.]

I can't stand books with deeply insightful characters, but nothing ever happens to them (aka A Seperate Peace by John Knowles).

 

What? A story where nothing happens? A Seperate Peace is not a non-stop action adventure but to state that nothing happened....well, what about when Finny died? The angst of adolescence and coming of age.

[methodwriter85]

I generally prefer it when the characters drive the plot. I'm a beta reader for two stories, and you can bet that they get ripped if they have a plotline for a character that doesn't feel right for it for the sake of having plot.

 

I think CAP does a good balance of being plot-driven, but at the same time, having characters that feel and react like real people. It's a soap, and by nature it's always going to be plot-driven, but I think Mark has developed the characters to the point where you have a sense of where they'd be if they were real people.

Edited February 20, 2012 by methodwriter85

[TetRefine]

What? A story where nothing happens? A Seperate Peace is not a non-stop action adventure but to state that nothing happened....well, what about when Finny died? The angst of adolescence and coming of age.

 

Finny dying was about the only noteworthy thing that happened. The rest was just mundane stuff that never kept my attention. Granted, I read it in 10th grade English class, so maybe I'd have a different perspective on it now. But still, I remember how boring that damn book was.

[methodwriter85]

Finny dying was about the only noteworthy thing that happened. The rest was just mundane stuff that never kept my attention. Granted, I read it in 10th grade English class, so maybe I'd have a different perspective on it now. But still, I remember how boring that damn book was.

 

See, I liked reading the book because I read it like Gene was madly in love with Finny but couldn't admit it to himself. Dudes came off as so, so gay.

[K.C.]

See, I liked reading the book because I read it like Gene was madly in love with Finny but couldn't admit it to himself. Dudes came off as so, so gay.

 

i had the same thought, I kept wondering...what if...? But it that happened it so would not be a 9th grade reading assignment but it was one of those stories that stuck with me. I had a messed up childhood so I remember thinking 'is anyone's life really like this?'

[W_L]

Depends on the story,

 

I would say characters if the story has a rich setting and dynamic issues coming into play. For me a good story is based on character growth and plot outgrowth.

 

As for the significance of death in fiction, it depends on what you want in your story. You can repeat the topic of death over and over again to add a psychological reference in your character. You can keep it in the back of your mind and the characters minds, eating away at them, until they snap or find peace with themselves over the death (I'm planning that right now).

 

Plot stories are fun, but need to be grand and greater than life to work with weaker characters.

[Y_B]

Plot.

I voted Character at first but then changed it when I remembered how fast I went through books that was so heavily plot plot plot you coulda replaced the main character with BonQuiQui from King Burger and the story woulda been exactly the same.

 

But when it comes to gay-themed story, it's all about characters. There's no point in reading a gay story if I don't get to know who's in it and what they're all about.

[Graeme]

I generally prefer it when the characters drive the plot.

 

This wasn't one of the poll options, so I can't vote for it there, but I can say it here that that's what I prefer.

 

A plot is necessary, but so is characterisation. Tom Clancy does have a lot of cardboard characters, but he has enough fully fleshed characters that they, combined with the plot, make a story that's great to read. A plot without good characterisations is just hard to believe, and, for me, sometimes too hard to believe for me to be able to get absorbed in the story.

 

So, my preference is character-driven plots. That is, plots that evolved from the characterisations in the story. That doesn't mean you can't do plot-driven stories where the characterisations take second place... but they're not my preference.

[Cia]

What is one without the other? Could a reader truly enjoy something a crime drama, for example, if he isn't drawn into the main character's drive to discover the culprit and bring them to justice? Can a plot actually EXIST without a character to bring it to life? Without a plot, some idea behind the story to influence their reactions and yours, do you care about the character? They are nothing without the events occuring in their lives and/or the emotional and physical responses they have to those events.

 

The question here shouldn't be about which you prefer to 'drive' the story, plot or character, as if they are independent of each other in some way. In my case, I need both and I strive to write both. I want to identify with the characters in some way, to feel for them - like or dislike, love or hate, amusement or disdain; I also want to see more than them going about their day to day life. I want a reason to examine the essence of what makes them tick; it could be through a new romance, or an adventure they didn't expect, a tragedy they can't avoid . . . just about anything. A writer should bring their character to life through the story they tell OF their life; whatever that happens to be.

[MJ85]

I prefer characters to plot.

 

What is one without the other? Could a reader truly enjoy something a crime drama, for example, if he isn't drawn into the main character's drive to discover the culprit and bring them to justice? Can a plot actually EXIST without a character to bring it to life? Without a plot, some idea behind the story to influence their reactions and yours, do you care about the character? They are nothing without the events occuring in their lives and/or the emotional and physical responses they have to those events.

 

The question here shouldn't be about which you prefer to 'drive' the story, plot or character, as if they are independent of each other in some way. In my case, I need both and I strive to write both. I want to identify with the characters in some way, to feel for them - like or dislike, love or hate, amusement or disdain; I also want to see more than them going about their day to day life. I want a reason to examine the essence of what makes them tick; it could be through a new romance, or an adventure they didn't expect, a tragedy they can't avoid . . . just about anything. A writer should bring their character to life through the story they tell OF their life; whatever that happens to be.

 

It's funny that you mention crime dramas...the big reason I prefers characters is that at the very least, their histories, the things they are feeling - they can serve to "create" a plot if one does not otherwise exist, or if essentially all it is is the characters going through life day to day. A strong plot can have the side effect of "bending" characters to fit within its structure, to act in ways and say things that are just not fitting of who they are...and that bugs the hell out of me. I say it's funny you mention crime dramas because Law & Order: SVU has been VERY guilty of this at times.

[Cia]

Ahh, but as a reader, how do you determine that the character is acting OUT of character for that type of plot? The author has to decide how the events will shape the story, and the character. Will a character react 'in type' to the stimulus written, or out of type? Do people not change in real life depending on the circumstances they find themselves in?

 

Can't a brave person, say a firefighter who is willing to risk his life to rescue someone in a burning building be unable to do face something that requires equal amounts of bravery, say rescuing someone who falls overboard a ship into shark infested water, due to a phobia of sharks? That characteristic of someone in that profession, bravery, is integral to many people's views of them but take them out of that type of 'adventure' plot and put the same character into a different adventure one and it's not the same thing at all, is it? What if that change in the perception of the character and how they react is exactly what the author wants, and he uses that type of character AND plot on purpose?

 

What if that event is a catalyst to springboard another character you didn't think was brave, or as 'good', into the situation and change your opinion of them? I'll stand by my opinion that the plot and character in a story I think is GREAT should be interwoven together so that it wouldn't exist as one without the other. Yes, there are a lot of 'type cast' characters cookie cuttered out to fit the story the author writes in every genre, including lot of that in gay fiction I've read online too, but I personally tend to be drawn to the stories that aren't that type. I also like to think I try to avoid that in my writing as well. My preferences in those regards do heavily influence my thinking I guess.

[Cyhort]

It depends what I'm in the mood for. If I'm in the mood for a straight up romance then definitely characters. I actually prefer the romances where the leads just get to know each other and interact and work out relationship stuff over the ones where they meet in the middle of, like say, a treasure hunt or an expedition to Tasmania or something like that. Not saying I don't like those kinds of things if I'm in the mood, but most of the time I'd rather have strong characters that have personality over an engaging plot.

 

On the other hand, if I'm in the mood for something more actiony like a fantasy adventure or a space opera or an urban fantasy I want a good plot. I still want the characters with personality, but at the end of the day I don't give a crap if Harry Dresden gets a girlfriend, I wanna see him blow up a bad guy and save the world.

[MJ85]

(Responding to Cia)

 

I'll agree, and that I think is the fatal flaw in the poll question. (No offense to TetRefine... ) I do think it's very difficult to have a really great story with out well-thought out characters and plot interwoven together.

 

BUT, the question asks which we prefer, and so I also based my answer off of, "what if I can't have both?" Given that scenario, I'd prefer it if the characters are able to decide to act within their nature, or decide that they'll go against their nature, like say if the firefighter you describe above acts to help in spite of his fear or sharks. The alternative is if all they do is react given whatever the situation is. If that's the case, then all the characters really are are puppets, which they very well could be - but how does that work very well unless character description tells us so?

[Nephylim]

Everything I write is totally character driven. The character comes alive before the plot and walks me through it. I don't think my stories are boring and mundane, but they are all about the characters.

[Daddydavek]

Characters can be too self-absorbed and overly drawn with a rationalization to justify any action and then they become less interesting. Plot can be the be all and end all of a story and then it isn't much of anyone's story but a happening.

 

A good story has to have a some balance between plot and characters. The really good writers test that balance in new and novel ways to hook their audience and critics. Further, styles do change. Best sellers of the 1940's and 1950's are quite different than the 1990's and 2000's.

 

The type of story has demands too. An action adventure story will need an exciting plot line. A romance novel will need interesting and empathetic characters and scoundrels for a little spice.

 

Because I like all kinds of genres, I guess I don't have a particular bias toward plot or character. I just like a well told story that in some way illuminates the human condition.

[Ashi]

Character.

 

I like reading characters with layers, much like I like stories with layers. I like seeing people's nature change for better or worse, but if a character remained unchanged through out the entire story span, I would start picking nose while trying to finish the story... (figuratively speaking, I don't actually do that.., kind of eww).

 

From writer's point of view, I let my characters determine the story. Trying too hard to prop the character into a storyline would make the story unnatural more easily. It's jarring when reading such story. Yes, I do care about the storyline very much, and ironically that's why my stories are character-driven. I started out as plot-driven but now it's exclusively character-driven. Also, I don't like dramatic monologue, so I try my best to make sure characters are different enough so dialogues don't become "thinking out loud, with added response for effect." That I find to be a big challenge as I prefer certain types of character, so I have to be conscious about it when I write.

 

Anyways, to curb from a flat, dragging storyline, which can happen more easily with character-driven scheme, I start out developing characters and review it from plot-driven point of view and see if it fits a drama curve properly. I tweak both characters and plot, and iron out unnatural stuff as often as I like (usually when the story hits a milestone).

 

That said, I do have some story outline before I even start..., but it's usually very fuzzy and vague, nothing concrete. If my characters decide they want to live their own lives, I shift my story a little bit, as long as the main objectives are met.

[Rakuten06]

Plot

 

I prefer to read stories that has an interesting plot that can attract me instead of a boring, bad plot anyway. For example, if any story takes place on a farm, I'm interested because of any possible connections between the farm and the plot. So I'm a little biased when I prefer farm boys or jocks but I like the plot better because it will help the writer guide his/her way into writing a good and solid story.

[Riley Jericho]

I'm a scratch and sniff kinda guy! And before you take that the wrong way, let me explain.

 

I have to live my storyline. I have to be there and smell the humus. If I can't experience it through my characters, I can't write it. So, I'm with Nephy. Characters are - almost - everything. Good characterisation can take something out of this world, and make it totally believable.

 

Riley

[Andy78]

I like a good plot, but I need to feel a connection to the characters.

 

If the characters are one-dimensional, I don't care how good the plot is I'll put the story down. A plot, no matter how brilliant, can't support characters who have no depth to them.

[CassieQ]

Characters. If I don't care about the characters, I'm certainly not going to care about all the events in the story that are happening around them.

[ToddYoung]

I'm more interested in characters. I like to relate to a character that I can follow through a novel. Sure the plot has to be decent, but to my mind character comes first.

[AnimalMorph]

Um, my answers is 'Plot' although I still couldn't stand it if the character is too stoic and well, bland.

 

The reason I pick Plot is because I often see myself in those stories I've read.I often think myself as the main character for the plot. What I would do in those situation. That's why the plot has to be good for me to fantasize myself inside those stories.

 

I know it's kinda weird but that's how I enjoy the stories.

[Zombie]

If the characters are one-dimensional, I don't care how good the plot is I'll put the story down. A plot, no matter how brilliant, can't support characters who have no depth to them.

 

That's the mystery of Agatha Christie - that she sells so many books containing cardboard cutout characters. Well obviously not her personally - not with being dead an' all.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Zombie