I’m having trouble with this. I like to write extremely plot-driven, and when I try to force character elements into a scene, it just seems awkward.

I think that there are a lot of things that a reader/listener/viewer can look to in deciding whether a story is character or plot. The ending, climax, contiguity, etc. But these aren’t really helpful as much from a writing standpoint because you shouldn’t be writing stories as a slave to a particular king of ending, etc.

What’s useful to me to ask myself when writing is how I intend the reader to Experience the story. Do I want them to be wondering what happens next or wondering how the character is reacting to what he or she is seeing? Maybe I just want them to be caught up in wonder or to wish they were the main character.

The best example of Sci-Fi character based fiction for me is The Matrix. You know only what Neo knows at any given time, you’re wondering what’s going to happen to him next and you’re caught up in the coolness of who Neo is. You even see the blurry world through his eyes at some points, which is really rare for Film. Other examples I think include basically the entire Romance genre. Unless you feel what the character is feeling, there’s no point. It’s basically what carried Twilight through the dearth of all other literary aspects. Fantasy I wouldn’t expect to get much of anything character based because of the long history of multiple viewpoints and the simple fact that everything is so foreign in High Fantasy that there might be very few characters that we can pour ourselves into, so to speak.

Another good example of a character based Sci-Fi in my opinion is Ender’s Game. You really just want the experience of being a genius kid. But this one might be confusing to analyze because it has an event-style ending. I’m going to go out there though and say that this is probably because the author didn’t know how to write a character based ending at that point, and he simply defaulted back into a “big reveal”, plot-solver event that was so common to short story sci-fi of the time. Of course, the seeds needed to be spread throughout the story to support that, and the story focused on the Bugger war thing, but a different story with genius kid who just tells his instructors to shove it at the end would’ve stood well enough on its own, I think. Rambling. Bye.

http://mbarker.livejournal.com/126439.html

I began reading Stephen King’s “On Writing” four years ago. When I got to the assignment part, I labored for two days to complete it. I went to King’s official site to submit it and had to search a while before I found a FAQ asking where to send the assignment. The reply was rude, stating that “Mr. King” didn’t actually think anybody would do the assignment and that he doesn’t accept them (contrary to what he stated in his book) and he was too busy writing best-sellers and we were losers for paying money to feed his ego (well, something like that). I was furious. I stopped reading On Writing and never read another word of his work.

After listening to your podcast, I decided to give the book another shot and I’m glad I did. Like most developing writers, I assume, I have spent hundreds of dollars on books on writing, but have found all but two or three of them to be the same information inside different covers. King’s book is refreshing to those of us who need a kick in the pants and motivation to put the pen to paper. Side Note: Out of curiosity, I checked the FAQ section on King’s site and the assignment question now has an answer worded much more politely.

Thanks and keep up the great work!!!

I would have to agree that WoT is definitely plot driven, by book seven all of the characters and scenery get swallowed by the massive amount of sub-plots.

I am a first-time listener and enjoyed the podcast. I liked the digs at Lit courses…

Howard and Brandon, I look forward to hearing more in person at LTUE in Feb.