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Blogs by Bill Ward
Characters or Plot? 8/14/2014 6:47:54 AM
Which is most important?
In reality both need to be good to write a best seller. But I would suggest that after finishing a book we have really enjoyed, it is the characters who remain with us, rather than the details of the plot. We miss spending time with the characters.
When I read books, and I read loads, I sometimes find a clever idea for a story but poorly developed characters. Less often, I also find examples of really interesting characters but very weak stories.
As writers we need to know our characters inside out. We need to know their habits and quirks. I would suggest before we start writing the book, we need to have spent time understanding our main characters, so that during the writing process we know how they will react in any given situation. For me this involves a process of making notes about each character, which I can refer to later.
While writing thrillers, I find the characters can often decide for me how the plot should develop, which may be different from my original thought process. I know the characters well enough that they dictate what should happen next. I rarely change my characters too much to fit the plot but will more often find the characters shaping the plot.
We introduce our characters a little at a time to our readers throughout the book rather than write everything down the first minute we introduce them. We should try to reveal our characters more through their actions rather than just describing their characteristics.
For me it is essential at least some of the main characters are likeable. I have read a couple of books recently where I just didn’t like any of the characters and thus didn’t really care what happened to them.
As we progress in our writing skills we develop the ability to reveal characteristics in less obvious ways. For example, we may have a character who on the surface is a good man and we reveal he thinks of himself in that way but small actions reveal to the reader a different truth.
Bad guys can be particularly fun to bring to life. Often the most memorable bad guys are not obviously so. They may have normal families and love their dogs but there is a motivation that turns them bad. I particularly like writing characters such as this as they are often the main ingredient of the twists that make a great thriller.
So for me it is essential to scope our characters before commencing writing in even more detail than the plot. The essence of a great book is the memory of the characters.
