^ This. So I'd have to say "both". The best stories ever are propelled by unique characters. This said, it's not as simple as that. I've had this discussion before and it was a shock to me that some readers prefer characters over story. As a reader I prefer story over characters, always. The more powerful the story the less I care about the characters. Above all, I'm the type of reader who wants to be told a story. If the story is good enough it can be told by a six-year-old and poorly written and still hold my interest. Still, I will finish it thinking "too bad the characters were so undeveloped, someone should pick up this story and write it with good characters instead". So, back to square one. Both. I give as an example one of my favourite stories ever, The Count of Monte Cristo (by Alexandre Dumas). Edmond Dantes didn't have to seek revenge. He could have grabbed the treasure and gone on his merry way to a life of wealth and pleasure (as would I) but if he had we wouldn't have one of the best revenge stories ever told. Dantes makes the story. The story wouldn't happen without Dantes. Therefore I agree with the quoted poster, the best stories are driven by the characters. Horror is a different case, though, in my opinion. I think the main character in a horror story is always the monster (or threat/ situation / what-have-you). That's what makes horror "horror". All the other characters are there for two reasons: to be eaten by the monster or to kill the monster. I didn't read Dracula because I cared about Mina or Jonathan or Van Helsing. If these characters are good, in horror, I'll welcome it, but I don't go into a horror story expecting to be enthralled by the characters. (Which would be silly of me since I already know most characters will die and I'd be foolish to get attached.) I go into a horror story expecting to be terrified by the monster, which is a very different expectation. Good characters in a horror story are a welcomed bonus. Your thoughts?... I would very much like to see a poll about this, story vs characters. And the same poll by different genres as well. It should be interesting.
Horror is my genre (as a reader, not a writer) and I couldn't disagree more. Yes, the 'monster' has to be interesting, but so do the protagonists. I need to care about what happens to them or else the monster isn't scary. That also marks the difference between a good horror movie and a bad horror movie. Good = I want the protagonists to kill the monster. Bad = I'm only watching so I can see the characters die.
Ha, but you'll be watching either way! I know because I've been there too, rooting for the monster. I'll give you a present example. I hate all the characters in "Game of Thrones" so much (I mean the TV show, not the books) that I find myself rooting for the zombies. Yet, I'm watching. (I don't think "Game of Thrones" to be "pure" horror, it's just an example.) I don't know if it makes the difference between good and bad horror movies/stories (never thought about it, honestly), but I don't think in horror we have to care about the characters as much as in other genres. I''m thinking of the first Alien movie. Did I care about Ripley? A little, because she's human and I have empathy. But I was a lot more worried about the cat Jonesy and fearing she would leave him behind. True! I cared a lot more about Ripley when it was obvious that she was trying to save the cat. Still, what do I know about Ripley, the person? That's she's good at escaping aliens and saving cats. You need a lot more than this in other types of fiction, that was my point. I like your point too. I'll give it some thought, thanks.
Maybe if think about this as more extreme versions of the two... we can clear out some of the fence sitting haha. The extreme version of a character heavy story is a 'character study' novel, say, for example... hmmm... whats a good example? maybe Kafka? Perhaps Nabokov? Lolita is very much a deep character study of Humbert. And the other end is the extreme version of a 'plot driven' novel - Like maybe Dan Brown, or really any novel that relies heavily on the solution of different situations to advance an over-arching storyline (is that vague enough?) - oddly, Freddy Kruger types of characters would fall on this side... oh well. However, in this version of the question, you cannot possibly choose to do both, it just wouldn't work. So you have to choose. Which one would you choose?
As many have already said, I also feel that both are very important. Although I do often find that the stories I write are more character driven than plot driven.
It's true - I love bad horror movies as much as good ones. But books are a different matter; I can't read bad books. Don't ask me why because I don't know!
I my humble opinion, a good character should always support the main plot and allows for some wicked twists that make a very predictable straighforward story al the more interesting. I always enjoy myself tremendously when I know the character's motives and can predict what he / she will do in a certain situation only to see disaster coming his / her way based on that knowledge. If the plot ties it all together it makes me a happy reader, else I wished I've never picked up the book to start with.
I assume you're asking from a writer's point of view? In that case, I'll have to choose characters. (But I don't write horror.) As a reader, I have to choose story. I've watched many movies and read many books (horror and non horror) with two dimensional characters because I was interested in the story. The worst thing you can put in front of me is a book/movie with no story, to fall on the other extreme. As a writer, I try to keep this in mind. No story, you lose me. No story, I lose the reader. The ultimate reader that I have to please is myself, after all. (Good discussion!)
I'd have said plot a few months ago but now characters . Interestingly, the antagonist more than the protagonist. I love a charismatic and evil baddie. Usually that's who I root for, although I end up disappointed most of the time. Am I the only one who wanted Harry Potter to die?
I don't root for my villains, but I do have a lot more fun writing them Especially my villain protagonists, do you ever write those? No, no you are not.
"i don't have a problem with murder, I can stop any time I want" so says my protagonist in 'the bad guy'
I would actually consider the "lovable protagonist with a murdering problem" in my own Doctor Who story to be a villain.
If I don't care about the characters, I rate the book or movie as poor. To get the desired impact of the story, I need to feel something about the characters. Do I like them? Do I hate them? Do I pity them? I have to feel something. My biggest challenge in writing is to get "you" the reader to feel something about my characters. I give my finished work to family and friends to review. The first question I ask is: What did you think about the characters? I'm still working on this aspect of my writing. It's not that easy.
A plot driven story can have just about any character thrown through it and everything come out okay. It's usually based on some sort of formula, where certain things need to happen at the right time, and is designed to get a response out of the average reader/viewer/dog-that-happens-to-be-watching-tv-after-you-fell-asleep. It's a sturdy thing you can plan along. Now a character based story... those can be dangerous. You can't plan what a character will do until you've been there (either physically or mentally) and know the right path. Taking an illegitimate path is disastrous, but is still better than getting lost and never completing the story at all. So the question is, whats more important; finishing a story in a given amount of time in a predictable manner, or potentially falling into a pit of madness where when/if you produce something it can either be great or completely alienate the readers? You could always try and do a mixture of both. Just because everyone is screaming and running away from the building on fire, doesn't mean there aren't a pile of diamonds in there.
Characters all the way. As a writer of fantasy, I can't expect readers to relate to the scenario or plot. The characters, on the other hand, are more tangible and feel more real, even in such a genre.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oP3c1h8v2ZQ The above is a funny video of vonnegut teaching a class on plots, below is a quote from an interview where he mentions their importance: VONNEGUT: I guarantee you that no modern story scheme, even plotlessness, will give a reader genuine satisfaction, unless one of those old fashioned plots is smuggled in somewhere. I don’t praise plots as accurate representations of life, but as ways to keep readers reading. When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away—even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaningless of modern life still have to drink water from time to time. One of my students wrote a story about a nun who got a piece of dental floss stuck between her lower left molars, and who couldn’t get it out all day long. I thought that was wonderful. The story dealt with issues a lot more important than dental floss, but what kept readers going was anxiety about when the dental floss would finally be removed. Nobody could read that story without fishing around in his mouth with a finger. Now, there’s an admirable practical joke for you. When you exclude plot, when you exclude anyone’s wanting anything, you exclude the reader, which is a mean-spirited thing to do. You can also exclude the reader by not telling him immediately where the story is taking place, and who the people are
