If you read this blog, you know I’m a character first guy. So I’m not sure how I feel about these results.
Story – 35%
Character – 25%
Revision – back in the pack, with 18%
When I say “not sure,” mean it. I can’t argue with story. That’s where I’m also from: I believe in the fundamental notion that if all the elements are solidly developed and in place, a good story must be, has to be, the end result.
Which leads me to the related belief that, in a good novel, even the story’s structure flows directly from the living needs, desires, dilemmas, and decisions that flow naturally from the lives of deeply-understood characters.
That means, if you wonder how an author created a great story, you’ll find the answer in the matrix of character, where the seed of a great structure lies coiled in potentia, ready to spring alive.
No, I’m not saying it’s easy to find the seeds of your own great story–the work daunting–but when you do, hang on. You’ll have a story that emerges almost at a full gallop, or an elegant trot, or an exquisite walk; a story that demands to be read.
The poll is still open, and I won’t close it for another couple of weeks. So be a patriotic fiction writer. Vote!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Agree with your view Bill. Interestingly, in terms of how I first approach a story, it is definitely not from a character POV. Most story ideas come to me either as a visual image to explore, or a story idea. However, as I start to write the story I find it’s the characters that determine the realisation of that image or story kernel.
So despite me approaching the writing without characters in mind, it ultimately becomes the characters that are able to suspend disbelief and deliver the punch of the story. Forcing the story over the characters usually breaks the spell in my mind, so no matter how clever the twist, the characters are the ones tasked with pulling it off believably.
My tendency is to work that way, too. There are two types of writers: those who start from the outside and work in, and those who start inside, and work their way out. Good writers of both types end up in the same place: the creative unconscious. Writers (like us) who begin with a “bright idea,” have to know that and accept it. Plus know how to get there. Or else their stories may read as shallow and mechanically brilliant–but no one will care enough to finish it.