Is Plot Development More Important Than Character Development?
July 13, 2020
Plot versus character. Two heavyweight wrestlers stepping into the ring. The question on many writers’ lips is: who will win?
It’s a common conundrum, with many writers wondering where they should place their focus as they start out with their first stories.
We can all think of examples where the plot led the way or where character development was at the forefront, but is one more important than the other?Â
Do literary agents prefer plot over character or vice versa? Perhaps more importantly, do readers prefer one over the other?
The answers to these questions are a little more nuanced than we might expect.
To keep the answer short and sweet, the truth is that when it comes to fiction, both plot and character are important. The relationship between the two is incredibly symbiotic.
You can have a powerful idea for a plot (the imminent destruction of our planet as an alien asteroid hurtles towards it, for example), but if you have no compelling characters reacting to or engaging with the event, it’ll be pretty bland to read.
Likewise, to develop a character and show your reader who they are, how they feel, and what motivates them, you need to have a plot: things happening to and around them that allow you to turn them into someone the reader should care (or not care) about.
Both elements are required for any story to reach its full potential. Despite this, there’s still an ongoing debate around the literary scene as to which is better: plot-driven narratives or character-driven narratives?
You’ll find that many authors tend to lean towards one or the other. There are some great examples of how both can be done effectively to create engaging stories that readers love.
First things first: what do we mean by plot-driven narratives?
In a plot-driven story, the author places a larger emphasis on the things happening to the characters. These books tend to focus on factors like plot twists, action and activity, as well as external conflict.
We don’t get as much of an in-depth look into how the characters feel, or a deeper analysis of their motivations for behaving in specific ways.
A simple way to determine whether a story is plot-driven is to see whether you can interchange a character or two. If you swap characters around, does the plot itself stay relatively the same? Does it progress in the same way?
If so, you’ve got a plot-driven narrative on your hands.
Commercial or genre fiction is well suited to plot-driven narratives. These tend to fall into niches such as fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, and romance genres.
Essentially, any book where the things that happen to the characters are focused on more strongly than the characters themselves.
As you’ve probably guessed, in a character-driven narrative, the roles of plot and character are reversed. In character-driven narratives, the author will focus on developing their character (or characters) on a deeper level.
These stories tend to examine personal and inner transformations, the development of relationships and how these change characters, and internal and interpersonal conflicts.Â
When we read character-driven novels, we find ourselves feeling more emotionally connected to a specific character because we’re given the opportunity to build a relationship with them.
We get to know the characters, flaws and all, in so doing we can empathise with their journeys, often discovering parts of our own journeys in them.
Plot still exists in these stories, but it plays a more low-key role. It’s usually used to encourage characters to reflect, or to reveal deeper insights into why a character reacts or behaves in specific ways.Â
Literary fiction lends itself well to character-driven narratives. Due to the simpler nature of the plot, short stories also tend to be more character-driven.
We’d be remiss to detail examples of plot and character narratives without also taking a look at some examples that blend both.
Books that find a strong balance between both plot and character tend to focus on a small group of characters and the events that happen to them over a course of time.
These tend to be longer novels or series, allowing the author room to explore the plot and develop characters simultaneously.
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There really is no wrong or right answer about whether you should focus on plot or character, or place equal importance on both.
Different types of stories need to be told in different ways, and there are exciting examples that demonstrate how both publishers and readers love books that cover all three structures.
What’s more important is to focus on the type of story you want to tell. As a writer, it’s crucial to understand which path you’re taking your story down.
Great writers have a knack for finding the balance between their plot and their characters, regardless of whether they lean towards one more than the other.Â