Writing Tips 101.07 - Plot-Driven vs Character-Driven Storytelling

Photo from Pexels The terms are pretty self-explanatory, even if you’re not already familiar with them, but here’s a quick definition (mine, at any rate): character-driven means that your story delves into the emotions, goals, and internal conflicts of your characters (your protagonist and antagonist at the least, and hopefully your other characters as well), and uses the action or plot of the story as a framework for the characters to change, grow, or learn. Plot-driven stories, as you can guess, have action and external conflict as the central driving force. The characters can (and should) have individual traits and even internal conflict, but if you decide halfway through your manuscript to trade out Captain Stanley Jones and his set of issues for Captain Keesha Moews and her different set of issues, your story will probably still hold together because the plot twists and conflicts are the core element. For the picture above, you could write a compelling story about either the training, planning, and execution of the stunt, or about the personality, motives, and drive of a person who is drawn to take extreme risks. All stories have (or should have) both character and plot arcs, but the emphasis determines which kind of story you’re writing.

There’s no right or wrong. My writing is character-driven, and I know plenty of successful writers who write plot-driven novels. As the writer, it’s up to you what sort of story you want to tell and how you want to tell it. For those seeking traditional publishing, though, it’s good to know your markets and their preferences. (The same goes for my advice throughout this series: write how you want, but do it with intention and from a place of knowledge rather than through trial and error.) Approach it the same as last week’s tip on atmosphere - think about the kind of story you want to tell before you start, so that you can gear toward a character-driven tale or a plot-driven one from the start. When you’re finished (if you plan to send it to publishers - either via an agent or directly) choose your markets by reading submission guidelines thoroughly, looking at other books and stories that the market has published, and sending to the ones looking for what you write. And whether you plan to self-publish or submit to traditional publishers - read! I said it last week and I’ll say it again. Read a lot. Read well-written books that keep you excited about reading and writing. Take a look back at your favorite books - are they character-driven or are they plot-driven? Tell your own unique story for readers to discover, but write what you love!