Make a list of your top ten favorite books of all time, and then ask yourself why? What made those books so great that they made your list? Chances are high that your reasoning for all of them had something to do with incredible characters that you connected with and rooted for throughout the story. Chances are also high there was a great plot that intrigued your intellect and propelled you to turn the page to learn what was going to happen next to your beloved character.
The best stories are the ones that have interesting plots AND engaging characters that readers connect with on a personal level. As a writer, your writing preference will affect how well you balance the plot and characters of your story.
The two main types of writing style are plot-driven or character-driven. Whether you realize it or not, you most likely lean towards one of these two styles. One style is not better than the other, what matters is that you know which direction you lean.
There was a time when I thought of these two styles and two different types of stories. There are solid arguments for that if you think about what events propel a story forward. In some stories, an external event occurs that forces the character to act and do something they ordinarily wouldn’t have done. We call that plot-driven action. In other stories, the character has choices and based on the choice the character makes determines which direction the story takes. These internal choices are called character-driven action.
Does this mean all stories have to fall within these two structures? No, of course not. I would argue that the best stories will be a combination of both types of action. This leads to my earlier point. Identifying your style preference will help you balance these two critical story components.
I, without a doubt, lean towards a plot-driven style of writing. I am an outlining nut and will work out every single plot point and major event that needs to happen to round out the plot of my story. I spend time creating characters and work up full character sketches, but this task always comes second in my process. Through understanding this preference, I know I need to work extra hard on my characters to make sure my readers will connect to them in the same way they love the plot.
Which one are you? Do you prefer to build elaborate worlds focused entirely on action or mystery? Or do you prefer to dive deep into the human psyche and torment the emotional state of your character?
There is no right or wrong answer, only your preference and process. If you’re not sure what story action drives your writing process, here is a little test I found to help you discover you story strengths and where you need to focus to round out your story.
Story Process Test
Take this test—modified from Writers Store—to determine if you’re strongest at developing character-driven stories or plot-driven stories.
Below is a short list of items you might find on a character profile sheet. Fill in this profile for your protagonists (the character who is most changed by the action of your story). Feel free to add information from any other major viewpoint characters, especially the antagonist and how they impact the emotional state and decision process of your protagonist. Answer each question as quickly as possible. If you’re struggling with answer, skip it. Be honest with yourself, this is your process and the results will help you improve your story.
- What is the protagonist’s overall story goal?
- What stands in his/her way of achieving this goal?
- What does he/she stand to lose, if not successful?
- What is your protagonist’s major flaw or greatest fault?
- What is your protagonist’s greatest strength?
- What does you protagonist hate the most?
- What does you protagonist love the most?
- What does you protagonist fear the most?
- What is your protagonist’s biggest secret?
- What is your protagonist’s greatest dream?
Now that you’ve had the chance to think about these questions and fill in your answers as best you can, let’s interpret what the results may mean. There is no hard line here; this is simply a guideline to help you learn what you need to spend more time in developing to create killer stories.
- Writers who filled out 1-3 of these questions easily lean towards a plot-driven writing process.
- Writers who filled in 4- 10 these questions easily lean towards a character-driven writing process.
- Writers who filled in everything easily already have a well-balanced writing style and consider both character action and plot action important components of a story.
Angelique Bochnak is a dreamer and believes all things are possible with a lot of hard work, persistence, and determination. She writes science fiction and fantasy under her pen name A.M. Bochnak, with her focus on epic fantasies, apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. Fortitude Rising, a sci-fi dystopian fantasy, is her first published novel. Angelique writes contemporary romance under the pen name Aria Bliss. Aria’s first novel is In Charge: An After Hours Affair. Angelique is also the founder of the indie publishing company Misadventure Press, where she offers several author services including cover design and interior layout. You can follow A.M. Bochnak on her various social media platforms, and Aria Bliss by signing up for her newsletter. She is an American author and publisher, born and raised in southern Ohio and now lives in Gainesville, Florida.
