There are two driving forces a writer can choose from to capture their story in. Character and plot-driven stories.
Table of Contents
Plot-Driven Story
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A plot-driven story focuses on the journey the story takes. Easily distinguishable when there is a clear end goal which uses the characters to move from plot A to B.
In other words, the story from an external point of view, yes we will experience emotions and some inner battles of the characters while they grow. That, however, is not what the story will revolve around.
Example: Lord of The Rings.
Character-driven story
A character-driven story means to focus on character development and the relationship between characters. It can be seen as an inner story where the readers spend time reflecting with the characters and how their decisions shape the plot and outcome.
Their goals and motivations are central to the plot.
Example: To Kill a Mockingbird
So, if we are to concentrate on the idea of characters moving the story forward, what will you need to know?
Here are the first few things you will need to figure out:
1 What Are The Different Types Of Characters?
Now there are different types of characters. They each have a purpose and role to perform which drives the story forward.
Some will drag another character down, others will lift them up, some will be neutral and unhelpful.
How do characters drive the story? Through their actions and reactions to situations.
To understand the role each character plays in the story, let’s break this down into small parts.
Here are the 12 types:
- Protagonist: who the story revolves around
- Antagonist: opposes the protagonist
- Flat/static: unchanging and small role in the story (can fill the gap in a storyline)
- Dynamic: character changes throughout the story
- Confidante: helps highlight the virtues of the protagonist who they trust
- Foil: personality clashes with the protagonist, highlighting protagonists defining features
- Deuteragonist: secondary character to protagonist aka sidekicks
- Tertiary: Appear in few scenes to perform a single function for the plot
- Love Interest: often deuteragonist
- Stock: familiar characters that appear again and again e.g. the mentor
- Round: changes over time AND complex character, leaves you second-guessing how they will act
- Symbolic: represents more than themselves, working together with the overall meaning of the story
As you can see each of these characters have a different purpose. Through their purpose, they drive the story forward in their own ways.
Use these characters to achieve a certain goal in your story, from moving past a scene to changing the path the story may go.
2 What Roles Are Necessary For Each Story?
In other words, how many characters do I need in my story? As few as necessary.
When will I know if I have too many? The idea is to keep each character separate with their own purpose and presence.
Giving your characters a uniqueness to them helps avoid blending. One of the best ways to achieve this is to create “the one who ___” statement. Short and sweet like you would describe any person to another.
Ask yourself:
- What is their defining feature? short boy, freckled, voluminous.
- Their role in the story? advise giver, overreactor, thinker, opposer.
- Core emotional reaction to situations? irritated, bored, caring, joyful.
If you find yourself with very similar characters with the same purpose, merge or remove one.
Each character needs to have a clear intention. Otherwise, it will be hard for the reader to differentiate and they will lose interest.
To summarise, driving a story forward needs as many characters as it takes to show the readers the message of the story. Who also have different purposes.
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3 How To Not Lose The Plot
Yes, in this instance you are concentrating more so on the characters but there needs to be something outside of them to reach. A story must be going somewhere, otherwise, why read it at all?
Completing the task or overcoming conflict is key for the characters to develop, grow and drive the story forward.
There is a need to strike a balance between character and plot.
Using tools to help a writer is essential, try Grammarly to stay more focused on your idea quality rather than how it is written. Grammarly finding your mistakes is such a time saver! It can also help you write in the way you want your words to be read, for example, friendly, informative, dramatic and more.
To evade imbalance, have a layout of the plot you want your story to accomplish. Ensure that you are sticking to it each step of the way and add instances that will help your story move refers back to it.
Psst.. include your subplot too! No one regrets making a plot plan for their story to keep on track.
Here’s your FREE download of Don’t Lose The Plot planner.
Let me know if you want a more in-depth guide to character types and how to match your characters with their roles. Anything to discuss in the comments? Until then.
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Hi! I'm Shannon, a blogger and author. I help people earn doing what they love as writers.
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Thank you for this blog – as an aspiring writer, I can’t wait to try some of these tips!
I’m happy to hear this was useful to you 🙂 Good luck in your writing journey!
I like how you differentiated a plot-driven story from a character-driven story. Tweeted and pinned. Thanks.
wow, Loved your clicks and content