Plot Vs. Character

 Time has again gotten away from me, but I am back with another nugget of creative wisdom. Well at least I hope it is wisdom. It should at least get your creative juices flowing as we talk about what some feel is the inherit conflict in priorities between Characters and Plot. Personally, I believe that the idea of conflict between these two components in your stories is a fallacy. The two actually work together to accentuate  the dramatic points of your story. Some people claim that Plot is most important, because a story is about something happening. Others claim that you can have a story if it showcases enough character development.

In my mind, there is no need to chose between the two. A piece of writing that is strictly character based, where there is little to know action or change to the setting/environs is typically called a vignette. Prior to the 1990s, most dramatic television shows were vignettes, but for a different reason. You can also consider a story a vignette if the entry point and the exit point are, for all major purposes, identical. If the character did not change, they did not change their environment or other characters through their action or inaction. Then that is a vignette. Prior to the 1990s and shows like Babylon 5 and a lesser extent the X-Files prime time dramas always returned you to the status quo by the end of the hour. This was a function of syndication process and the desire of networks to be able to run television shows in any episode order with disrupting the viewer. The story ended back where everyone was and then the next story could start. Almost like a reset button.

Sure there are examples of true serialized television prior to the 1990s, Dr. Who did it within each story arch, but outside the arc things went back to status quo until new Who was released in this century. Daytime Soap Operas actually were some of the most reliable serialized stories for decades. Dark Shadows, a great favorite of mind led from one episode to the next and carried on the tension and story and character arcs not only from episode to episode, but over seasons.

What does all this talk of syndication and serialization have to do with the argument about Plot and Character? Character can exits without plot. The story can be simply introspection, but typically that ends up being a vignette because there is no movement or change. A plot can exist without character development, but not with characters themselves. Characters can go the motions of the plot with event being played out and affected them, but not effecting any change in them, sure. But how boring is that. All this drama, agony, destruction, romance, etc. is going on all around and none of it impacts the characters, their view of the, themselves or how they interact. A snoozefest for sure.

The key point I am making is that if you start with a mildly interesting character and put them in a mildly interesting setting and things start to happen that impacts the character and makes them grow or change. Or perhaps through their actions they cause the events in the environment to occur that is where the magic happens. You have heard the argument of nature versus nurture. A character without plot is a wholly natural thing because there are no outside influences on it. But if you take that same character and provide opportunities to interact with others, or the environment now you introduces a potentially fascinating set of variables that can inform the nurturing of the character into someone infinitely more interesting. By extension, that character, like a pebble in a still pool cats out ripples into the environment that affects other characters, situation and may cause additional chains of events otherwise known as plot. 

So in the end, Plot and Character serve each other in the best stories. They feed each other and by doing so they become the greater for it. 

Next time we'll dive into creating an interesting, even possibly a fascinating character. It is "a" technique, not "the" technique since the process differs widely from one author or creator to another.

Thanks for reading. Now get back to creating!