That sounds like the correct sensible approach. I like things boiled down, the way you did here. I read something in one of my writing books recently which I will dig up and post here later.
For me, the core idea or premise has to come first. This isn't a plot or outline so much as it's a one liner on what the book is about. Next comes character and setting. These are by far the most elements of the book. Then comes plot. This is driven entirely by the characters. I tend to dislike books in which the plot drives the characters.
My process amounts to : world plot and setting>character>individual character plot Plots are ultimately character driven, but I don't have time to individually develop every character involved in a major conflict or war.
Follow-up question: Is your story about things happening to the character? Or is your story about what the character will do next?
I'm going to comment here just because it's around my Achilles' heel. Characters that I love come into my head a lot...but I just follow them around and sometimes interesting things happen, sometimes not, but it almost never becomes a plot. I envy the people who can generate those magical things. But then again, I have no publishing ambitions whatsoever, so not sure what my opinion's worth. Gotta have a plot, at least. That'll carry a book better than an interesting character can, I think.
I will agree with several posters on this forum in response to your question about plot coming first. I think that 90% of the time, Plot gets a bad wrap when considering the important elements of narrative structure. For me plot will always come first because philosophically, real-life is plot. Life is always about getting from Point A to Point B. Characters are driven by a want, a wish/ desire, or a need. That want/wish/need cannot be known until a character reacts to an external stimuli created by a pre-existing series of events that put the characters life out of balance. Take 1977's, STAR WARS, for instance. The film opens with a prologue establishing the pre-existing conflicts that all the films characters are going to be forced to react to. Next, we see a tiny spacecraft being fired upon by a much larger craft. People don't usually shoot at one another because they get along, so by the time we meet Princess Leia, the Stormtroopers, and Darth Vader, we already know that these groups are not coexisting peacefully. The plot is therefore established first as "which of these two group will achieve supremacy" before anything deeper is known and the audience is already hooked. Think about the very first human action you engage in every day: waking up. You or your character maybe the most well-put-together person in the world, but as soon as you wake up, the plot of life is rolling along regardless of your amazing character traits. Did you wake up on time? What is the weather like? Do you have clean clothes to wear? Is there gas in your car? These are pre-existing conflicts and stimuli that characters must react to in order to get from Point A to Point B and attain their want/ wish/ need. As a writer/ reader it is about showing vs. telling. If you start with your Character as a foundation, you will be doing a lot of telling and explaining in order for the story to unfold. If you start with Plot first, the plot will provide for itself. Like they say,"Necessity is the mother of Invention."
For me it depends! Both character and plot come to me spontaneously. Sometimes I need to build a character that suits a plot I want to write about; other times I develop from the opposite direction, shaping a plot based on a character I find truly unique and special. In that case, the character harbors special traits that need to be complemented by the plot, making the work more driven by the characters than the story. Good luck!
Yes, and thank you! Critics say that all art majors gain is how to use fancy art words. They're only half wrong...
