I think I'll do a plot arc today. I happened upon a 'how-to' in a book or on-line somewhere. (What did I do with it?!) I've got a well-expounded outline, but my fear is it's too ambitious. A lot I've been reading lately has been tighter, less plotty and more character driven, which frankly, is the way I like it. I enjoy the immersion, not flipping back every few pages to figure out who's that character or wait, when did they get here? (Apologies to G.R.R. Martin and Tolkein, but man, you guys really like to see yourselves type, don't ya?)
So, if anyone's out there, what kind of book do you like? I'll just leave that question flapping in the virtual breeze, just in case I get a follower someday. Off to the races...
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About Me
- CGriffin
- Christine (Cris) Griffin is a mother, wife, writer and artist. For queries, feel free to drop an email to alizarin _ griffin AT yahoo.com. Chin-chin!
What comes first... the character or the plot? This is like that eternal chicken vs. egg quandary. For me, I mix and match both. First I have a vague premise and character. Then I have to know how the thing starts, and a general idea how it ends. The stuff in the middle, and the juicy bits, all the specific plot turns... those all come from character choices. For example, I started thinking about my main POV character (MC2), and had to give him a flaw. What started out as a minor little thing ended up totally changing his role in the book, and the big dramatic ending! Crazy!
ReplyDeleteI like books that do both. I have no patience anymore for languorous literary character pieces, and I also don't like books that are all plot with one dimensional characters just moving around like chess pieces.
I totally agree. It really should be a balance of plot and character. In the case of my once-and-future novel, there was a wisp of plot into which fairly developed characters were inserted, then both aspects grew together. Well, in as much as the story has 'grown'. It's still got a lot of growing to do.
ReplyDeleteI never got that arc finished yesterday; it WILL get done today, dammit! Once every last of the 140 plastic eggs are found, I suspect...heh...