#plot-driven stories

[anewwriter3]

Plot-Driven vs Character-Driven Stories: Which One Suits You?

Stories can transport us into new worlds, introduce us to unforgettable characters, and make us feel deeply. But have you ever wondered why you love certain books more than others? It often comes down to plot-driven vs character-driven storytelling. Whether you’re a casual reader or a book enthusiast, understanding the difference can help you choose books that truly captivate you. What is a…

[stardustedknuckles]

It's looking like there's a growing divide between Campaign watchers and Tlovm watchers in terms of like. We're here for the characters. 12-episode seasons aren't. They can't be. I'm already making peace with everything we'll lose in the Mighty Nein show, and I know I will enjoy it for what it is but I also know that almost nothing that made the story so special will translate to the screen, because turning it into a show automatically means (in this day and age) that plot must be the number one priority. They've already come out and told us it's going to be different, the characters we know and love but new stories.

Because that's how this has to work. And I feel bad for campaign one lovers, because while it is certainly the easier of the two to translate to a big, overarching story, even though it's a more "traditional" high fantasy story with easier archetypal characters, the archetypes and the plot aren't what cemented most people's love for the campaign. So much of the love for critical role is stored in the interpersonal dynamics and the payoff that comes from hundreds of hours of tiny interactions that one day become cornerstones of development and even affect or dictate the plot.

There's no room for that. There's no room for Bard's Lament in a story that cannot afford to remove and replace a main character. A lot of tlovm is for people who have been here for all of campaign one. Most of it, however, isn't. It's for a new crowd. While CR may have creative control, you can bet your ass that there were months and years devoted to figuring out how to map a character-focused love of the show into a plot that hits the right beats to be viable in the show market.

And it worked. Tlovm has consistently high viewing numbers, and its popularity has brought and will continue to bring new people into the universe who have never interacted with CR previously. That's not a bad thing - imagine finishing your favorite show and discovering it has another FIVE HUNDRED HOURS of the equivalent of behind the scenes content. That's incredible for these newcomers. But man, it is in many ways a loss for us.

[morninkim]

As a show of good faith toward the remaining Decepticons at the beginning of a new, united Cybertron, newly appointed Senators Bumblebee and Soundwave allowed Shatter and Dropkick to enlist into Autobot City's Defense Team.

These two turned out to be... not the best choices.

The city may have fallen to Insurgent Decepticon occupation had it not been for young recruits Hot Rod and Arcee's accidental interception of Shatter's communication with the fugitive Starscream.

To replace the errant Defense Team members, Springer and Blurr were reassigned from Iacon to Autobot City in their stead.

[svtskneecaps]

see everyone worried and fretted and panicked and yet quesadilla island looked at pepito and went

[pointlessjey]

Goodbye spaceguy chapter 2 releases tomorrow!

In the mean time, you can read the first chapter here!

[rebouks]

These changes in the hair of some members of the Finch family got me thinking... will Oscar become a silver fox someday? 👀 I can't even imagine it but I know it'll be historic when he loses his iconic red hair!

ohhhh what a day that'd be!! but idk if we'll ever progress past the point where he'd become totally grey tbh.. thank god?! but IF we do i suppose his gingerness shall just have to live on in his children 🧡 if i can find some cc that goes with his hair or ea finally decides that ginger people go grey/white too i'd definitely give him some streaks tho 🤸‍♀️

[thetraingotsetonfireonmidnight]

Ugh stopping everything to write for a roblox fish was not my plan for the day

[professorjirt]

*grinds my teeth together and pretends to be normal about people reducing Bilbo taking Frodo in to simply a Bagginshield thing with zero regard to Frodo as a character save how he can be compared to Thorin or Bilbo and zero regard for the deeper reasons why Bilbo might have been compelled to take in a young hobbit at that stage in his life*

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Actually kind of tired of seeing people qualify shows as QL or queer coming-of-age instead of BL when they’re perceived to depict any aspect of the gay experience beyond two guys just falling in love.

[your-highking]

unpopular opinion vielleicht aber ich mich störts null dass Tatort Saarbrücken mehr sad drama als Krimiplot hat. Ich seh da einige Beschwerden zu? Gimme all the sad gays, idc about logic! So langsam sollten sich die Jungs zwar mal zusammenreißen und zusammenkommen, ja, I'm for that! Aber realistische Cop Story? Couldn't care less!

[cctinsleybaxter]

Hmm. Once again learning why people prefer fanfic to books and no one can write worth a damn 👍🏻

[seijorhi]

I love all of your stories so much! I’m a new writer, can you tell me a little bit about your writing process? Do you do a lot of drafts lol?

ok i am a bad writer in that my process is 'cool, here is this one specific scene that will not leave ur head, now sit down at ur laptop and try to form a fic around it' which works like seven percent of the time lol

so yes, my wip graveyard is massive and tragic. sometimes i have really cool plot ideas that i just can't get to work, ideas i've turned over a bunch of times and just get stuck on. sometimes they're put on the back-burner because i have every intention of finishing them and other times... that doesn't happen.

i do feel kinda bad cuz sometimes i hype up my wips on here and then for whatever reason get stuck or lose interest so they either take a lifetime to publish or make a quiet exit to the graveyard lmao.

i try. that's my writing process. i sit down and i try :))

[not-poignant]

Hi!

Do you write stories for your characters or characters for your stories?

Thank you!

Sending good vibes your way 💛

Hi anon,

I've always been a character driven writer. And even if I have the seed of a plot (like, one sentence), nothing happens until I have the characters to participate in that plot and drive it forward.

There are authors who are plot forward, I am absolutely character forward. A lot of my stories are more character studies than anything. And the genre most of my stuff falls into is 'psychological (insert conventional genre here)' (psychological romance, psychological fantasy etc.) because it focuses so heavily on deep psychological issues etc. within the characters and prioritises that above everything else.

I do like interesting plots, but for me personally, I prefer when most of that is created by the characters themselves. I feel like this is also pretty obvious in my stories! If you know what to look for, the characters themselves are constantly generating the plot/s we read, through their responses to events outside of their control, and to each other through their own actions. A lot of my stories could not exist without the characters creating them through determination, stupidity, fear, strength etc.

[leahjcastle]

how to build a character-driven story: an essential tip ⚜️ (wattpad: leahjcastle)

first, you design their personality. the traits. the essence. and from the essence, which is their point of convergence, you have all the answers.

my intention with each book was to psychologically explain why they were the way they were. it’s like building a case study.

like what kind of background story makes a man turn out rational, controlling, fearful, introspective?

or what kind of story explains one's impulses, explosive emotions, rage, passion, straightforwardness?

the events naturally surge once you have their essence clear in your head. for instance, i wanted Cade COLD. i wanted Traviz HOT. so their stories revolved around their respective essence.

start from that premise.

Cade's life was cold in every sense. socially, physically. it was a world of hierarchy, rules, expectations.

Traviz's life was hot in every sense. brimmed with emotions, with too much love and too much revolt, dance, hyperactivity.

the environment shapes who you are.

so whenever you’re writing a character-driven story, don’t obsess over plots. no. have their traits defined to a point it is natural to spot their background story (a collection of experiences that range from core memories to trauma).

my books: S.CHORIANS 💙 https://books2read.com/u/bPXR07 and RED PARALLEL ❤️ https://books2read.com/u/3JpAeQ you can read them for free on my Wattpad (link pinned on my page).

[everysinglepheel]

screenshots grabbed from this video

my favorite gen 6 quote dfgsfdg the writing in this game was definitely an experience

[sabookey]

I have a thought, about character creation. I hesitate to claim this thought is some sort of advice, it's just a thought, though I think it merits further exploration and practice to see how it goes. The thought is this:

I think sometimes, when a writer struggles to actually sit down and write, but has a lot of OCs, it's because you think of your characters too much as people. I think some people struggle to tell stories because they are more interested in coming up with people.

Let me elaborate.

I've always been very focused on character creation as the foundation of good writing. When I was younger, and just starting to write, I remember someone proposing the question - which is more vital to creating a good story - a strong plot, or a strong character? At the time, I answered strong characters, hands down. My argument was that a strong character can still carry a weak plot, but a strong plot can still be boring af if the characters are weak. I do still see some merit to that line of thinking.

When it comes to actually writing down my stories, though, I've always really struggled with first drafts. I would fill notebook after notebook with detailed notes on plot points, worldbuilding, and most of all, on characters. Elaborate backstories, personality breakdowns, strengths and weaknesses, hopes and dreams and fears and every other thing that you've seen on a character profile template. I would take my time with things like choosing names, and I would flesh out their families and the people around them because to know their relationships is to know them. I've been protective of my characters, cherishing them, as many of us do, as if they were my children, as if they were dear friends of mine.

But I have yet to complete any long form projects. I have yet to complete any rough drafts for novels. When I was younger, it was because I was determined to do my stories justice. I was determined to do my beloved OCs justice. I didn't feel my writing was strong enough so I just... didn't write for my original works. I would play around with fanfiction, and I read a lot, and eventually I got into writing RP. But I didn't do anything concrete with my OCs beyond making plans for their stories.

Then I entered a short story contest — NYCMidnight's short story contest. They go in four rounds, and give you a prompt, a word limit, and a time limit in which to write your story. You get a week and 2500 words for round 1, three days and 2000 words for Round 2, two days and 1500 words for Round 3, and 24 hours and 1250 words for Round 4. The first year I participated, I went 3 rounds before being knocked out. Last year, I wrote for the first 2.

Which means I've produced five completely original short stories for the prompts given. I was absolutely shocked by how productive I was in such a short span of time. You are given your prompt the moment your clock starts ticking for each round, so you don't have time to prepare ahead. Which means that not only did I have to come up with a plot very quickly, I was also creating characters on the spot.

When you have three days to write a story, you can't spend months carefully crafting a character. So when it came to drafting, I just started slapping very quick characters together that could do what was needed for the plot. My prompt is genre: ghost story, character: a best man, and subject: temporary? Okay, then I need a bride, a groom, a best man, and a ghost. My bride is (picking a random name) Victoria, she's checking out venues with her fiance, and she realizes the place they're checking out is haunted. And off we go.

And you know what? I figured out who Victoria is as I wrote. She's conflicted, she's on the verge of breaking things off. The ghost is reaching out to her, helping her come to terms with the end of her relationship. I didn't need to know her favorite color or her childhood trauma or her blood type to write the story. Some of those things might come out in the writing. Many of them just never become relevant.

Now, I'm not saying that character profiles are trash. I don't hold with blanket advice, and this isn't advice, remember, this is just a thought. But for me, doing these fast exercises even though I always had thought of myself as a planner not a pantser, showed me that I can still write a damn good story even without writing a novel's worth of notes and plans alone.

Getting back to the original thought... I guess what I'm trying to get at here is, sometimes I think authors can get so tangled up in the create-a-character stage, or the world-building stage, that we forget that we aren't meant to be writing a travel guide, or designing a fully-realized person.

At some point, you have to say okay, now lets put that person in some situations and see what they do. You gotta stick them in a scenario where they are not just spouting backstory at another character, but are making a choice. Okay, they have trauma. They have complex personalities. But what are they doing? What choices are they making and what waves are they making? That's where the plot comes from, and how you make it go. That's plot. And the plot is where the story happens. And you're just writing it all down as it goes, and that's your rough draft.

Every time i get stuck on a story, I instinctively reach for the background notes. I just need to know what makes them tick, I think, and that's how I'll fix it. But nine times out of ten, I don't, actually. That way leads to Not Writing (tm). And I still struggle with that more than I'd like for my bigger projects.

Trying (again) to bring it back to the initial thought... I just think it's interesting that the stories that were easiest to complete were ones where the characters were made up as I went along. I just wrote. Added new characters when needed. Oh, protag needs a friend to carry out a conversation? Guess we have a new character. They continue on their merry way, surprise, someone's stalking them, new character! Meanwhile the stories where I've outlined every character and know who each of them are, still sit unwritten.

That's not the sole factor in why a story has or hasn't been written out, mind you. It's more a comment on, if your OCs are too dear and you're taking too much time with designing them, you are losing valuable time that you could figure out who they are as you write their story. By you I really mean me. Or whoever might find this useful, I suppose.

Anyways. That's my thought. If anyone has any thoughts of their own about this, I'd love to hear them!