Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Plot or Character #MFWRauthor #BooksWeLove

There are two basic kind of story lines. One is plot centered and the other is character centered'

When writing a Plot centered story - the main character changes little from the beginning to the end of the story. Sort of what you see is what you get. This kind of story line focuses on the events. Think of mystery stories. The main character is often the detective who solves the case. The events are what moves the story forward. Other kind of stories can use this as the main story line. Yes, the character may change but not a great deal. One often sees this in a series where the main character grows slowly for the events are what moves the character and the story forward.

A Character centered story  where the emphasis is on a focus character and the reader sees the character become different than he was in the beginning of the story. This character either develops or he or she falls apart. Among the other characters in the story, they may or may not change and that can depend on their importance in the story.

In both types of story lines, there is a moment when the reader realizes the main motivating force will either succeed or fail. The character either will or will not reach this goal

When the plot is the story line, this moment comes as near to the end as possible. When character is the story line, this recognition can occur at any point in the story. To do this the reader must understand the major complications. The one thing here is the focus character may not recognize the truth or see the reality of the situation.

Many thanks to Structuring Your Novel from Basic Idea to Finished manuscript. I have learned so much that keeps me on point as I write.