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The question in life is not whether you are living within the plot correctly, but whether you are participating in the development of the plot as a free and responsible (if flawed) member.
Thanks for the thought-provoking question!
I love your road trip metaphor, but I would respond by saying that there's more than one kind of road trip.
There's the kind I think you're referring to: You're going from A to B and need to know how to get there in the quickest or, perhaps, most scenic way possible. For that type of journey, a map can be most helpful.
But there's another kind: You get in the car and just drive, surrendering to the whims of the moment, trusting in the serendipities of the journey, uncovering the surprises inherent in a voyage of exploration and discovery, and knowing that the outcome will be magnificent. A map can also be helpful on that kind of journey, more to show you where you are, though, than where you're going.
I've traveled and written in both ways and have had amazing (and frustrating) experiences using both methods. Neither type is superior to the other. Each is suited to particular needs and temperaments. Both can lead to powerful writing.
Thanks for the post and for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts.
Mark, good point. For me poetry is often more like taking off to drive around the hill country with no goal except to use up some gas. It is "quite useless" as Wilde said. But for me essays, books, and stories need a definite trajectory or else I end up with something that is going to be a complete bear to revise.
L.L., just keep your self in the chair and write. You can do it.
It's kind of like going to someone's house for dinner. I'd rather be with excellent hosts who make nasty food than to eat a great meal made by lousy hosts.
1) atmosphere at the dinner party (setting, decorations, food, schedule)
2) the people attending
A great dinner party would have both. In the same way, a great book would have both.
That doesn't mean you couldn't have a good time and even really enjoy yourself if you only had one, but if you can get both, all the better.
Plot and Character is best.
"Which you prefer if one were missing" is the question, and I suspect that is individual.
What I meant by that was whether or not they were interesting, fascinating, and enjoyable to converse with, etc.
I kind of feel like I want a Character driving the story along a good Plot line (map) or I'll lose interest and bail.
Best example of both to me is the recent movie version of "Bridge to Terabithia."
-Sam
Sam, I have to confess that I've only read excerpts from "On the Road" and "Travels with Charley"! I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. And I boycotted "Bridge to Terabithia" (sorry, Walden) because I hated the book so much as a kid. Mean, mean spirited book.
I should probably give it another chance.
But, I'd say The Road is a good example of plot/character--emphasizing character. As well as Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell--which has a great plot, but ultimately emphasizes characters as the title suggests.
So I guess I'm a character man.
In came the aluminum foil-wrapped packets from the porch grill. But out came my surprise when I opened it and took the first bite. It was marinated and still floating in Aunt Jemina's pancake syrup.
I took one bite and gagged (as discreetly as possible). It was my teary eyes afterward that betrayed me and forced a confession.
Press on.
(Some would say I'm a character.)
Others would point out that sometimes I have plot problems.
I guess I'm either simple minded, or other people are amused by explosions and the ins and outs of specific scenes. I'm kind of a story line guy.
I'm sorry - I was referring to the Walden movie version of "Terabithia" in my comments.
My son, 10, (in honors Language Arts. sixth grade due to being skipped ahead from 3rd to 5th) agrees with your assessment of the book (I went to him because he's read it - I haven't) but does chalk up some of the meanness to the "kids can be so cruel" stereotype.
We both still insist the movie incorporated an excellent plot driven by interesting main characters.
I am curious about the author's other books and read the following at her website.
"The challenge for those of us who care about our faith and about a hurting world is to tell stories which will carry the words of grace and hope in their bones and sinews and not wear them like fancy dress," - Katherine Paterson, author of "Bridge to Terabithia," from an online chat transcript posted at her site.
That quote reminded me of L.L., by the way.
Walden Entertainment remains my favorite production house and I so appreciate your interview with one of the executives whose name and title escapes me at the moment.
-Sam
-Sam
I'm a big fan of character. And maybe that's because I think a good character can sustain a story even with a so-so plot, but it's much harder to stick with a great plot if the characters are so-so. I think good characters make the plot more believable.
Of course something still needs to happen. Characterization is really a character going through something. You can't watch a character grow if they don't do anything.