Some authors put plot before characterization; others reverse that. I always ask the question in my interviews with other authors. It’s a trick question, you see. You have character-driven plots and plots that aren’t. For the first, the author has to make sure the characters (even if there’s only one) are well-developed and interesting enough. Note that I didn’t add “…to support the plot.” Their development and the interest that generates among readers carries the plot forward, but it can work both ways—the plot must also nurture that development.

Plots that aren’t character-driven often occur in mystery, suspense, and thriller novel. Characterization is still important, but there are many characters covering a wide range of importance. These novels are often perfect for the minimalist writer (sometimes called the “hard-boiled style” in mystery and suspense). The characters’ descriptions are just enough for the reader to fill in details and thus participate in the creative process.

Character-driven plots often have a lot of narrative—description of the characters and their situations with readers often being able to get inside their heads to see what they see and what they think about what’s going on. The fiction usually has less action and more introspection, i.e. psychology plays a more fundamental role.

I often observe a mix in many novels that I read where the author uses the character-driven part as a respite from intense action or suspense, even in minimalist writing. The plot flows, but these quiet sections are eddies in the flowing waters and maybe dark pools as well, hiding the characters’ secret thoughts. Creating all this takes some skill, and how readers react to it widely varies.

Reading tastes are subjective. Likes and dislikes of readers are impossible to predict, so an author shouldn’t try. Her first audience is herself; she must write first in a way that her story is the kind she’d read, looking at it objectively, of course.

In that sense, there is no choice to make between plot and characterization. Authors can begin their novel-writing marathons by thinking about the main characters, or they can focus on the plot, which usually starts with a what-if, and add characters as needed. Whether there’s any emphasis after the novel is finished is merely a reflection about how the authors’ stories evolve. There’s really no choice to be made. Each story must contain themes, plot, characters, dialogue, narrative, settings, and other elements of good storytelling.

I suppose one point could be made for putting characters above plot, though. There are only so many plots, no matter the genre. The way the author evolves the plot makes it unique; but the many possible characters reflect the diversity of human beings, and those possibilities make it easier to make the plot unique.

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Comments are always welcome.

Rembrandt’s Angel. What if Dame Agatha had brought together Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to solve a crime? She never did, but in this novel, Scotland Yard Inspector Esther Brookstone, from the Art and Antiques Division, and Bastiann van Coevorden, Interpol agent, become 21^st century versions of Christie’s famous characters. Esther becomes obsessed with recovering a Rembrandt the Nazis stole in World War Two. Bastiann has to rein her in at times. A romance blossoms between the two as the pursuit of the painting turns into a lot more. Available in ebook format at Amazon and Smashwords and all the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc) and in print format at Amazon and your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it).

The sequel, Son of Thunder, will be out this year, also published by Penmore Press.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

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