There are two general types of books –the character-driven ones, and those that are plot-driven.
Plot-driven
stories tend to be more genre novels and there can be a great absence
of character development, while 'literary' novels fall into the
character-driven category and overflow with character depth, but
sometimes fall short in the plot department. For an ideal story, you
don't want just one or the other, but instead a balanced combination
of both. To date The Ever Afters by Shelby Bach is the greatest
example of this technique I've ever seen.
I'm
going to try and keep this as unspoilery as possible, and I promise I
won't give away any big dramatic plot twists, but for this reason we
are just going to stick with the first book as an example.
Let's
get started.
First,
let us define each of these story modules:
- Character-driven: A character makes decisions of their own volition that drive the story forward.
- Plot-driven: Things happen to a character, to which they react.
'Plot-driven'
essentially denotes exterior forces, while 'character-driven' comes
down to depth and development.
Of
Giants and Ice does not
sacrifice plot for character, but neither does it sacrifice character
depth and development for action.
A
good example is Rory's sword fighting. She is thrown suddenly into
the realization that dragons and giants are real.
Her
REACTION to the dangers of this new world -like coming face-to-face
with a dragon- is to grab a sword and slash its eye.
Her
DECISION about these dangers is to practice long and hard with her
sword. This is not purely reactionary, because she's already learning
sword fighting in training. This decision to train harder on her own stems directly from Rory's
insecurity about being helpless in any situation -magnified by the
fact that she is unable to stop her divorced parents from fighting
all the time or having no way to make things easier for her mother.
Rory realizes that she's terrible in sparring class and decides she
won't stand for it. Some things she can't change, but becoming a
better fighter with hard work isn't one of them. This decision has a
direct impact on her character development in the book, and in this
way the character and plot of the book are inextricably linked.
This is how the entire story is, even for the two supporting characters.
This is how the entire story is, even for the two supporting characters.
With
every event in the storyline, Shelby Bach does not just provide us
with the REACTION. She also focuses on the emotional repercussions of
this reaction in the character and follows it up with how the
character is changed by it and the CONSCIOUS DECISIONS they later
make because of it.
In
real life, a person's reaction to a situation will affect their
decisions, and vice versa. There is no line or separation between
them, so why should there be in books?
Everything
that happens to Rory has an emotional impact on her. In a lot of
books, character's experience such defining moments to help the
plot, but the impact of events on Rory isn't only limited to the
really significant ones. A great thing about Shelby's writing is that
she understands how kids are impressionable, and how they will react
to anything that happens to them. She doesn't simply concentrate on
the emotional impact of the major events that further the plot. She
concentrates on every emotional impact because it develops Rory's
character.
This
is, I think, the defining characteristic of The Ever Afters. Not only
is the plot and character
development administered in equal parts, but they're inseparable.
It's written in such a way that, without the thickening of the plot
or external forces, Rory would not develop, and if Rory did not
develop, the plot would not be as interesting.
That's
about it from me. I'm not sure I've done this series justice, but I
hope I've said enough to get you writers to check this it out, for a
good read and a good example.
Learn more about Shelby Bach and The Ever After series on her blog!
Not convinced? I've reviewed books one, two, and three. I seriously can't shut up about this amazing series. But don't just take my word for it; try them yourself!
Learn more about Shelby Bach and The Ever After series on her blog!
Not convinced? I've reviewed books one, two, and three. I seriously can't shut up about this amazing series. But don't just take my word for it; try them yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment