Are you more comfortable coming up with your character or your plot when you’re thinking about writing a novel? I’m betting that one is more natural than the other. But a novel absolutely, positively needs to be strong in both character and plot. A character-heavy story in which nothing really happens is a snooze, and who can even get through a novel that’s not populated by people we care about?
In short, when writing fiction, you need to balance character and plot. No matter how terrific your storyline, your characters can’t be less important, since their competing needs and desires will drive the action.
So for starters, you need to ask yourself four questions:
- Who are my main characters?
- What are they striving for?
- Why does it seem unattainable?
- What’s at stake if that quest doesn’t work out?
Now things start to get interesting.
If characters are going to play such a strong role in your story, they need to be intriguing enough to hold your readers’ attention. So, you’ll want to flesh out your story’s players with characteristics to make them come alive. My character’s worksheet may help you with that. You may also want to check out next week’s post about creating multi-dimensional characters.
Those personality traits and characteristics will help you figure out not only what your characters think and say, but also what they do. For you can tap their strengths and weaknesses to propel your story forward. If you’re wondering how that would work, just consider your own life or perhaps your best friend’s if that’s easier. Think about how often we all get in our own way or allow a past experience to inappropriately dictate reactions to a new one? Conversely, we all have moments where we shine.
Take all those reactions, self-doubt or misplaced self-confidence, and funnel them into your characters as well as into the twists and turns of your plot. Also, ask yourself what your characters are willing to put on the line to attain their goal and how that could cost them. (Hint: You don’t have to just do this for your protagonist. Your antagonist can be equally human.)
Yes, you’re going to impose all manner of conflict, danger or uncertainty on your characters through the rising action and climax of your novel. No one could go through so much and remain untouched. That leads us to three more questions:
- Are your characters’ goals the same as when they started out or have those shifted?
- How has what’s happened to your characters changed them?
- Why do we, your readers, care?
When your characters and plot dance together, your answers to the last three questions will help define the falling action and resolution of your story. That’s when you’ll know that you’ve succeeded with the character and plot balancing act.
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