tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3744476144670229998.post6638579895860895728..comments2024-02-06T12:33:57.316+00:00Comments on Stuart Aken: Is The Best Fiction Plot Or Character Driven?stuartaken.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3744476144670229998.post-50549508261887666002010-12-24T19:22:51.972+00:002010-12-24T19:22:51.972+00:00Interesting comment, Laurie: I ask my characters s...Interesting comment, Laurie: I ask my characters some questions, two of which are: What do you want? and another, 'What are you prepared to do to get it?'.stuartaken.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3744476144670229998.post-50001556692835135722010-12-24T19:02:14.535+00:002010-12-24T19:02:14.535+00:00I let my characters dictate the plot through what ...I let my characters dictate the plot through what they want and how badly they want it. In this way, it's character and plot driven. I can't stand heavily plotted novels with no character development.Laurie Borishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01681390917167533117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3744476144670229998.post-61498578077315849692010-12-23T16:44:06.361+00:002010-12-23T16:44:06.361+00:00Good points, Terry, and here I was talking tendenc...Good points, Terry, and here I was talking tendencies, rather than absolutes. A plot driven novel, with no character development at all, would be more or less unreadable - a bit like some of Jeffrey Archer's stuff. Similarly, a character driven novel without any movement in the story could be very tedious to read. I agree, the two are not mutually exclusive, but there is generally a tendency toward one or the other, I think.stuartaken.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3744476144670229998.post-46773019640260855532010-12-23T16:25:47.981+00:002010-12-23T16:25:47.981+00:00I think the mistake is to consider a novel 100% pl...I think the mistake is to consider a novel 100% plot driven or 100% character driven. Both elements/structures are necessary.<br /><br />As a reader, I prefer novels that lean toward plot driven, but that doesn't mean that all the characters that populate the novels are both static and flat. There's no reason dynamic and round characters cannot participate in a plot driven leaning novel, making it an even better read.<br /><br />As a writer, I guess I tend to write that way but, then again, I think most writers write novels they'd like to find on the shelf (if they hadn't written it themself).Terry W. Ervin IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13561009802388207515noreply@blogger.com