Thoughts on Plot vs. Character
Of late, I have noticed a juxtaposition of character and plot, often in a competitive framework. "Which is more important?" I hear the question asked. Or, as an anime apologist explained to me, "Character is more important than the plot in anime, so the plot-holes don't matter when they're character driven."
Now, everybody seems to agree that a story needs both, but the question of which is more important keeps coming up. It's best if these two things are in harmony, but if there is contention, which one should give?
One answer is that if there is contention, then the author has failed. It's his job to tell the story, and telling the story involves matching the characters to the plot. For my money, this is correct, but sometimes, authors do fail. So, if an author has made this mistake, how ought he to handle it?
He could give up, do an extensive rewrite, or, as this question implies, he could choose. He could choose character and ignore a weakness in the plot, or focus on the plot disregarding character. And yet, as I try to think up examples, it enters my mind that if, to preserve the plot, a character acted out of character, that would be a plot hole.
So, is that the answer? Plot is dependent on character, and therefore character is more important? Well, I'm not wholly convinced plot is dependent upon character. You can have a plot without characters. You can have a series of events, even interesting events, without characterizing anything. As well, you can write a character study where nothing happens.
So, maybe character is just as dependent upon plot as the plot is upon character. If you have a character, and he's not the character the situation calls for, then his characterization isn't going to work. It doesn't matter how interesting the character is if there is no story for him to be interesting in, and he can't be interesting in it if it doesn't fit him.
So, I come back to the first answer again. You can't divide them. For a plot to work, you have to have characters to drive it, and you need things to happen (a plot) for good characterization.
Obviously, I haven't plumed the depth of this issue. There's still much to be said for both sides.
- Where do you stand? Is character or plot more important?
- What are some of your favorite plots?
- Who are some of your favorite characters?
