Plot-driven vs. Character-driven?

[TurquoiseSunset]

I don't care either way, it depends on the whole for me, but I've seen so many people who want to discuss it, so here you go...discuss away my lovelies :D

[Virgil]

Why does it have to be either/or? A great novel like Anna Karinina or The Brothers Karamazov are both character and plot driven. Seems like an author is limited if he only creates with one in mind.

[Fruit]

Plot moves character. Character moves plot.

[TurquoiseSunset]

Why does it have to be either/or? A great novel like Anna Karinina or The Brothers Karamazov are both character and plot driven. Seems like an author is limited if he only creates with one in mind.

I agree. I see people react in a biased way to books they deem plot-driven...like it's a swear word. They think plot-driven is synonymous with Jeffrey Archer, David Baldacci, John Grisham, Frederick Forsyth, and we both know what the general opinion on those books/authors are. Sometimes people forget that some really great classics are also plot-driven or both.

Not everyone who prefers character to plot thinks this way, but the others, well...just because a few critics said character-driven is more "noble" some fall over themselves to get away from plot-driven and run at warp speed to character-driven for fear of being shunned.

[kiki1982]

Well, no preference. Provided it is interesting. Some things are only plot driven and are very good, others are only character driven and are equally good. And some are both. I don't see why the one would be better than the other. What about the ones who have both? Are they double good :brickwall?

[Mudge]

Why does it have to be either/or? A great novel like Anna Karinina or The Brothers Karamazov are both character and plot driven. Seems like an author is limited if he only creates with one in mind. I just recently read both novels Virgil mentioned, and I agree with the assessment. Good books have both.

[bounty]

i know that character development is huge for me but if those characters arent driven/written to some compelling action, the book is not as enjoyable. kidnapped by robert louis stevenson is one of my favorite books and is pretty plot driven (at least from an adventure standpoint). by contrast, i was really looking forward to catriona, the sequel. while i liked the book, it was much more character driven compared to kidnapped, and even though i "cared" about david balfour, alan breck, and catriona, i didnt like it as much.

(i confess i may be overly correlating "action" with "plot")

[Fruit]

Plot moves character. Character moves plot.

Anyone care contest this?

[Tolstoy's Beard]

Both. The truly astounding novels are the ones that blow you away on the psychological level, and mesh that with a fantastic plot as well.

[Emerald Hill]

I definitely prefer plot driven, but clearly good characters who are well-fleshed out is important too. If you want extreme exmaples, I'd say Isaac Asimov for plot, and Stephen King for characters. They are both authors I like, but I prefer Asimov. If anything, I'd say prose is more important than either plot or characters, because it can make or break a novel. Some of the things I've read have had amazing prose, and didn't NEED to have good characters or good plot. I personally can't stand books with almost no plot at all, something like Insomnia. I know that most people prefer character driven books, though. What do other people think about this?

[Pryderi Agni]

Well, I think the plot wins out in the end. I believe that a character is merely the face or voice of the plot, a representative, as it were, of the society that the author wishes to portray. Therefore, I pay more attention to the plot, coz that tells me what the book is really about.