Starting with Character vs. Plot

Posted by annastan on January 29th, 2013. Filed under: Character, Craft, Revision, Writing Process.

I’m over at Cherie Coyler’s blog today looking at the evolution of the opening of My Epic Fairy Tale Fail–stop by to read the book’s (terrible) original first page!

Also, I was at the Enchanted Inkpot yesterday talking with my fellow Inkies about the BIG things we’ve learned about writing fantasy.

When it comes to starting a story, I usually start with plot. I create a premise and then think about the different ways that premise can play out. After that, I consider what kind of character would work best for this type of story. Plot helps me get into a project, but character helps me make that project work.

Case in point: As I’m revising UnFairy 3 and really digging into the characters, it’s making me rethink certain aspects of the plot. That’s not to say I ignored the characters in previous revisions, but I think I was focusing more on making the whole story work and less on making sure the characters felt unique and interesting. Now, as I’m trying to make the supporting cast more fleshed out, it’s giving me ideas that will force the plot to change a bit.

As I strive to put more humor into the story, it also comes back to character. The more layered the characters are, the more fun I can have with their quirks. Humor can come through in plot, but character makes that humor feel richer and more organic.

So there you go. In the age-old character vs. plot debate, I guess my answer is: both.

 How do you get into a story? With character? With plot? With brownies?

And now, apropos of nothing, a funny cat picture:

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4 Responses to Starting with Character vs. Plot

  1. Mirka Breen
    January 29th, 2013 at 9:38 am

    I recall reading an editor saying that IF he had to choose he prefers a writer start with character. I felt dislocated for a bit, as I usually have a theme before anything else. Now I’d say-: just *start*, period…

  2. Karen Strong
    January 29th, 2013 at 11:59 am

    I always start with “What If?” and then come back to character. This is just the way I work being a plot chick. When I weave in the characters, it makes it interesting — and deepens the plot.

  3. Anne M Leone
    January 29th, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    Unfortunately, I usually start with setting, which is absolutely useless for getting much of anywhere. ;)

    I have to say, though, I love how we all approach story from different routes. Starting with plot is utterly foreign to me, like starting in the middle of the book and then jumping to the end, then the beginning. But I know writers who do both, and all sorts of other weird things.

    Right now I’m in the midst of revising by adding plot to my characters.

  4. Liz
    February 5th, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    I usually have an inkling of a plot, but just enough to start with characters – typically I think of the protagonist first and why her for this story. That usually leads me right into the plot details, which leads to secondary characters and why they’re right for this particular story.

    Now that I read it out loud, that sounds like a REALLY messed up process. It’s not as messy as it sounds. :)