Which Comes First? The Character or The Plot

Some writers live to outline. They shudder at the thought of writing without the scaffolding. That would be, gasp, deadly.


Other writers love to live dangerously and write by the seat of their pants.


Each method works. And each comes with pros and cons. I’m curious though. How many writers come up with a detailed plot first, and how many focus on characterization before anything else?


For me, I’ll have an idea for a book and jot down notes. Maybe even the logline. I’ll then work on the characterization for the main characters (the protagonist and the key secondary characters). I have an extensive questionnaire, but I also work through a personalizing exercise described in Getting into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors by Brandilyn Collins. (Check out this post for more info)


It’s during this process that I come up with more ideas for my story. Then I organize my outline based on these. The end product might be different from what I’d first envisioned, but that’s okay. It still works with my logline and the story is way better than what I’d originally planned.

So for me, I definitely have to outline. But characterization comes mostly before plot. Of course, I still need to have some idea of the plot before I start; otherwise, the characters would be all over the place.


What about you? Do you outline? Do you figure out your characters first before the plot? Or do you just jump in and worry about your characters and plot as you write?

ps. This cool picture was created on Photoshop Elements. Now you know what I do when I'm procrastinating.

Mission Objectives

Okay, quick question. In each scene of your short story or novel, can you tell me the objective for each of your characters? In other words, what are they planning to do?

For example, say you have a scene that takes place in a math class. Better yet, social studies. That class always put me to sleep. Your teacher’s objective might be to get through the class without any trouble from the known gang member who actually decided to show up that day. Your main character and her best friend’s objective might be to continue the conversation they started before the bell, without getting caught. And the known gang member? He has a thing for your main character and is trying to get a rise out of her, especially since she’s pretending he doesn’t exist.

Now that you know each of the characters’ objectives for the scene, you’ll be able to write dialogue and action that keeps readers glued to the page. Plus you can make sure some of your character’s objective clash (like the main character and that hot gang member) so the scene is dripping with conflict.

Obviously this is perfect for those of us who write outlines first. But don’t worry if you don’t. You can always go back after writing your first draft, and figure it out before moving onto your next one.

For more information (and there’s a whole chapters worth), be sure to check out Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors. I told you last week this is an awesome book.

Getting Into Character

Not long ago, I was wandering through my local library and found the book Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors by Brandilyn Collins. Unpleasant memories of my high school drama class came hurtling back to me. Two guys getting into a fight during our improv, and me standing there stunned, unable to utter a coherent sentence. Disaster 101.

I slipped the book back onto the shelf and bolted out of the section, leaving my painful past behind.

A week later, I returned to the library and checked the book out. By the end of the day, I was dying to try out the advice (some of which I already knew). I also developed a new found respect for actors. I didn’t realize how much work is involved in getting ready for a role. They really do know the character they play, inside and out. And depending on the role, they do tons of research beforehand to understand the character’s psyche. You can’t play a teen with a bipolar disorder if you know nothing about the condition.

I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of pre-planning and research. I like to know my characters and the plot before I start writing the first draft. True, both develop further as I write, but it helps to know where I’m going before I start typing. I found the first chapter of Getting Into Character to be especially enlightening at this stage of my writing. You learn how to personalize your characters beyond the typical questionnaire. I have a pretty extensive one I like to use, but nothing prepared me for getting to know my characters better than the exercises in chapter one of Brandilyn’s book.

Through questioning, you’ll discover your character's values. From the values, you'll identify the character's traits. And based on these traits, the subsequent mannerisms will be developed. No more forming random lists or stereotypical characters. Plus your readers will be able to tell your characters apart. They’ll be vivid on every page of your novel. It’s a lot of hard work, but I promise the results are worth it. You’ll be shocked just how flat your characters were before.

And that’s only chapter one. The rest of the book is also bursting with great advice to help your characters leap off the page. And isn’t that what you want when you pick up a novel from the bookstore shelf? I know that’s what I’m searching for.

So even if drama wasn’t your strong point in school, you’ll find the advice in Getting Into Character invaluable. And your readers and characters will thank you for it.