Building Better Characters: Why Your Characters Are More Important Than Your Plot.

I know many of you probably read that title up there and said, "What? She clearly doesn't know what she's talking about" but this time, unlike normally, I actually do!

We as humans tend to search for things to connect with—whether this is physically, spiritually, or mentally, we all do it. In your story, you want your character to be the thing that your reader connects to. Enter: your main character.

Sure, I bet you've planned out your character. You decided she always wears her red hair in a braid over her shoulder, just over the string of her quiver. You decided that his nervous habit is to rake his hand through his hair. She giggles. He smirks. You get the picture.

—But have you ever dared to venture beyond that? What makes your main character truly tick? What are his dreams? Her ambitions? What is holding them back? In the first chapters, you want to make it clear that your character is about to stumble onto something that mixes up their ordinary life in a coffee can and dumps it out on its head.

Every plot has a key-turning point that takes your character from the ordinary and plunges them into the extraordinary. Maybe this is a random shoe falling on someone's head and landing them in trouble with the cops.

Maybe it's a weird voice in their head.

Maybe a freak accident stirs up old desires and sends them on their journey.

There are countless possibilities as to why your character is doing what they're doing, but each scenario has one thing in common: Your character. Because without your character, there can be no plot.

Your character's dreams and desires usually play a key part in the direction the plot goes.

Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, and others I'm not thinking about, are all character-driven. They draw you into the characters' lives and capture you in their emotions. This is what makes you want to stick around!

I've heard countless reviews before that say things like,

"The plot was great, but. . ." when concerning characters. Is that what you want?

I highly suggest sitting down and planning out how your character is supposed to affect the story. Build their personality off of what the story needs them

to be and this will help your plot run smoother, too. You can add soooo much drama when you have a good character. *Taps fingers evilly*. For example, let us say that your story revolves around the Russian Mafia. Does a bold, daring, outgoing person somehow accidentally become involved through a series of mishaps? Or does a quiet, shy, usually-serene-librarian become involved? Do you see how different things could be with just a personality change?

So there you have it! Why Your Characters Are More Important Than Your Plot.

Thank you for reading!

In Christ Jesus,

Daisy 🌼