I'm just waiting for someone to come along and be like, "Characters are boring to me. I write for the plot." They've got to be out there, right??
Never had though of it on that way... whoa... Is it even feasible to get a plot without characters, or better, a good plot with crappy characters can make a good story?
Well, I've heard that the original Blade Runner is more about the plot and the world than the characters themselves. I know the question wasn't about movies, but yeah. Also, isn't, like, almost every action movie more about the plot than the characters? Am I wrong there? More about books and stuff, I think a lot of Old World myths were more about the plot instead of characters, with the MCs being vessels that are just there to drive the story. Like, the Iliad was about the Trojan War, and the characters were just there to drive the plot. As well as the Aeneid, which was about how Rome was founded (Kind of). Same with Dante's Divine Comedy, which was about Dante's interpretations of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and God, not about the characters, Dante and Virgil. The Journey to the West definitely had a big focus on the characters and goes in-depth into their characters, but it was ultimately an allegorical story about the journey towards enlightenment, with the characters just being plot-drivers. Now, I know very well I may be wrong, as has already been proven in this very thread, so please correct me if I've made any mistakes, this is just the stuff I got off the top of my head.
I mean, "plot-driven" is a thing, I just feel like I've never met a writer who claims to work that way. We always say it's all about the characters for us. Maybe plot-driven vs. character-driven is in the eye of the beholder.
I have met a few writers here who say they focus on plot and not the characters and are bored by the characters. Dig into the threads. They're here.
My characters are everything. I want them to be your enemy, your familiar friend, your lover, and even you.
Yes, it's really a cool name. I like a lot Slavic names in general, and since I have characters from that background, I use them a lot.
You're overthinking this man. I just lie down on the floor, chain smoke for hours, and stare up at the ceiling until I come up with something.
What style writer are you? Broad question! I suppose I would characterise my style as lean and simple. I prefer to be invisible as an author rather than show off my linguistic skills. Do you use character spreadsheets? Are you a note taker? I tried a character interview sheet once and didn't find it useful. I write maybe half a page of notes when I'm first thinking about the idea, but that's it. Do you immerse yourself in otherwise uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations to glean important research information? No. Do you start at the beginning of your novel and plow through until the end? Or do you write sections to be put in order later? I write from beginning to end. I've tried to skip difficult scenes and come back to them later, but I can't concentrate knowing there's a hole in my manuscript. Do you wake up in the middle of the night with ideas...or maybe do they dawn on you in the shower or someplace serene? Maybe you need Metallica, or Bach...or Waylan Jennings? I hardly ever get ideas, and when I do it takes a lot of conscious thought. I can't relate to all those writers who have too many ideas to choose from.
