Character or Plot?

[cedar_grove]

From The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have.

I cannot tell if the day
Is ending, or the world, or if
The secret of secrets is inside me again.
--Anna Akhmatova

Only feeling keeps me in the scene, keeps the colours wet.

When reading a book, or seeing a film, I'm the first to admit that I'll cry at the drop of a hat. It's part of the enjoyment for me... of doing either thing... getting involved.

If I'm reading something and I can't get involved with at least one of the characters, then it doesn't really matter to me how damn good the plot is... or rather it would have to be exceptionally good to keep me reading... back to the age old question: Does character drive plot or plot drive character?

So I have to be able to feel with the characters so that I can enter the scene, become a part of the story, and hold my interest.

It's exactly the same with movies and TV too... and I think it's why I'm no good as an editor – why I miss things, and don't spot things. I get so involved with the characters – become a part of the story – live their lives with them – so I miss who is where, or how long a particular shadow is, or what colour of cup was on the table before as opposed to now... I find it too hard to watch dispassionately.

When I critique something I don't do it on attention to detail necessarily as much as emotional realism...

I write in a very similar way to the way I read and watch, although I am somewhat anal about some technical details in that instance... but to me it's important to feel with the characters – to know the characters in order to write them well, and by 'well' I mean, enter into their lives and feel what they feel. If I can't come to know a character, I find it very hard to write them.

Tried my hand at 'Role play' online a few times, and found it both as frustrating as hell, and a good exercise in character development. In very few RPs is there a community where the writers/players (WP) will actually help each other out in terms of plotting and facilitating maintenance of viewpoint and character. Each WP is out to write in a way that makes their character out to be all that they have envisaged him/her to be, and bugger the other WPs... so you often have to be creative to maintain integrity of character. Sadly that's true of most of the RPs I've played in... as long as 'their' (and I hate to say it, but it's usually the admin WPs) character is the centre of attention then the plot doesn't really matter... and if things suddenly don't go the way it's 'supposed' to go because of one of the WPs trying to make sure his or her character remains true to themselves, then... disaster city.

I guess by that little diatribe, I'm definitely of the opinion that Character drives Plot, drives Character... (rather than Plot drives Character drives plot) – subtle difference, but give me a well drawn character and a way to get emotionally invested in a scene, a book, a movie... then you're onto a winner as far as I'm concerned.

Comments

[mirrani.livejournal.com]

It /is/ possible to be very deeply involved with the characters /and/ have an editorial mind, you know. :p

And if this has anything to do with my upset over character stuff however long ago it was (hard to tell where you actually were in typing these up) then bad, bad me again for stirring all this shit up.

[cedargrove.livejournal.com]

I know it's possible - you do both so well. :)

(and no, it had nothing to do with that stuff.)