Warning: This work has been rated 18+ for language.
The age old debate: character vs plot.
Which is better. Only one way to find out….. Hand the problem to Mitchell and let him find the accurate solution. And that is exactly what I have done. The short, soft truth of the matter is this: characters are more important than plot.
Another anecdote here. You are reading this work, which is written by me, a polar bear, and I am quite the character aren’t I? See what I did there! Anyways. Without me, this wouldn’t have been written. Therefore, the contents of this work wouldn’t exist; and there is where you to have to extend your suspension of disbelief to prove the theory that a polar bear high on acid actually wrote this. The plot, or the “very helpful advice” I am giving you here is the “plot” for my purposes. If there was no Mitchell, there would be no story.
Of course, somebody else could write it, but it wouldn’t be the same. Because there is only one Mitchell and it can only be written in this way, by me. Of course. Think about the Harry Potter stories. There are billions of different ways that could have been written, none of which would be exactly the same as the way JK Rowling did it.
The key idea with this is that, you can have the best story idea in the world, but if you don’t have any characters to carry out the actions, then there is no point to the story. It would be like going to the theatre to watch a play, seeing a blank stage for two hours, but being told there was a very interesting story going on.
Now, I just know that some fucker is going to come along and shit on my parade and say: “Well, if there was no plot, how would the characters interact with each other?” Okkkkkkkkkkkk then bastard(s) LISTEN UP!
People in the stories are what make it relatable to the people that read them. That is always going to be more important than some sequence about an intense rainfall. A plot can be inanimate, a character cannot.
You could have a plot about the changing seasons. Of leaves growing and falling off trees. How boring would that be? Put people in it, perhaps, having sex under said tree and it immediately becomes more stimulating. Pardon the pun. There: BOOM! Point made, case closed. Shut up.
So that's basically it for this one. You don't need to know about anything else. And as for the issue of creating a decent character, I know nothing whatsoever about that.
The next chapter will help you in Writing The Three Drafts (Minimum) That You Need.
End of chapter
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137,433 Literary Works • 672,020 Reviews
I'm back! Yeah
Wait. What? Where's the usual insult and inform?
Is he, like, really a polar bear? Or is it just his nickname for himself?
Hmm... I might have to disagree with Iggy, I personally think that characters are more important than plot. Personally I'd rather read about interesting characters doing lame things than boring characters doing awesome things. I've done both and definitely prefer the latter. In fact when the characters are crappy I usually find it hard to finish the book or story or whatever. So great point Mitch. As usual his voice is amazing and hilarious. I loved your ending too I never expected ol' Mitch to admit to not knowing something
As always, Mitchell proves a good point. x)
I suppose he's right, about the characters being more important the plot, but I still think that they go hand in hand. You can't really have one or the other. It's also hard to choose which one you want to flesh out first, because the characters drive the plot and the plot drives the characters. I dunno, I still theink they go hand-in-hand, even if he did make a valid argument.
And yes, his examples rocked. He's good at tying this in with his personal experiences and I find it hysterical that he used himself as an example. Like his actual life instead of, say, something he experienced. He's a riot, I swear. He also used less insultive words, so yay for that!
I think one thing you should work on is why he feels this way about the thing he's talking about. Why is he so persistant on trying to convince us that characters are more important than the plot? What sparks so much interest? Why is this important to him, if it is at all? I want to know these things. I want to see a bit more emotion from him.
Also, you forgot your J.K. Rowling reference. <_< shame on you.
Hope this helps.
~Iggy