Well, Hello, there, gang. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving I did. Gonna be riding a tryptophan high (or low, depending on how you wanna look at it) for another week or so. Just in time for all the Christmas calories to start rolling in! Heh.
Anyway, I wanted to talk a bit about the difference between plot driven and character driven storytelling, and why I think it matters. As the term suggests, in plot-driven stories it is the plot itself which moves the story forward. A series of events happens, and the characters react until a resolution is reached. You see this a lot in some genre fiction, especially romance and fantasy, where character development is less important than external forces that move the characters, and the story to its conclusion.
In character-driven storytelling, however, the emphasis is on the internal development (or crumbling) of the main character as he, she, or they attempt to overcome whatever obstacles form the crux of the story. In this type of storytelling, what's going on inside the character's mind is as important as what's going on around her. In my opinion, this is why some of the movie adaptations of Stephen King's early work fell a bit flat for me. King's stories are largely character-driven, and what's so frightening about most of his work is what happens internally with the characters. Think about Jack Torrance in "The Shining," and Louis Creed in "Pet Sematary." What's truly terrifying about those stories is not the ghosts, the visions, the dead animals come back to life (okay, yes, point taken: they're no picnic on a sunny day, either), but the madness that takes over Jack, as he gives in to the twin voices of the hotel, and his own inner demons, and Louis, as he realizes that he cannot accept the death of his son...and doesn't have to. Yes, you can show Jack or Louis staring at nothing as they lose their minds in a movie, but it's not the same as hearing the conversations these men have within themselves as you would in reading the books. And without that, it just ain't the same, folks. (That being said, does anybody else think the new Pet Sematary movie looks lit AF?)
Anyway, the reason this is important, is that it is another light to shine on your work as a writer. Do you sit around hatching mind blowing plots guaranteed to leave jaws hanging and eyes bulging? Or do you focus on a character, putting them through the wringer, imagining them growing, developing, learning, as they run a gauntlet of heart-stopping terrors. Either way, you can use this knowledge to better write the story you meant to (or possibly, to help get you out of a jam, if you find yourself stuck in your writing).
I hope this helps in some small way, as it did me (I'm a character-driven writer all the way, btw). Now get outta here. Go write a masterpiece, or something.
Peace,
Chris
Anyway, I wanted to talk a bit about the difference between plot driven and character driven storytelling, and why I think it matters. As the term suggests, in plot-driven stories it is the plot itself which moves the story forward. A series of events happens, and the characters react until a resolution is reached. You see this a lot in some genre fiction, especially romance and fantasy, where character development is less important than external forces that move the characters, and the story to its conclusion.
In character-driven storytelling, however, the emphasis is on the internal development (or crumbling) of the main character as he, she, or they attempt to overcome whatever obstacles form the crux of the story. In this type of storytelling, what's going on inside the character's mind is as important as what's going on around her. In my opinion, this is why some of the movie adaptations of Stephen King's early work fell a bit flat for me. King's stories are largely character-driven, and what's so frightening about most of his work is what happens internally with the characters. Think about Jack Torrance in "The Shining," and Louis Creed in "Pet Sematary." What's truly terrifying about those stories is not the ghosts, the visions, the dead animals come back to life (okay, yes, point taken: they're no picnic on a sunny day, either), but the madness that takes over Jack, as he gives in to the twin voices of the hotel, and his own inner demons, and Louis, as he realizes that he cannot accept the death of his son...and doesn't have to. Yes, you can show Jack or Louis staring at nothing as they lose their minds in a movie, but it's not the same as hearing the conversations these men have within themselves as you would in reading the books. And without that, it just ain't the same, folks. (That being said, does anybody else think the new Pet Sematary movie looks lit AF?)
Anyway, the reason this is important, is that it is another light to shine on your work as a writer. Do you sit around hatching mind blowing plots guaranteed to leave jaws hanging and eyes bulging? Or do you focus on a character, putting them through the wringer, imagining them growing, developing, learning, as they run a gauntlet of heart-stopping terrors. Either way, you can use this knowledge to better write the story you meant to (or possibly, to help get you out of a jam, if you find yourself stuck in your writing).
I hope this helps in some small way, as it did me (I'm a character-driven writer all the way, btw). Now get outta here. Go write a masterpiece, or something.
Peace,
Chris
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