So I guess the question that I ask is this, what comes first...is it the plot or was it the characters? This is in and of itself an interesting question. There are two types of people in the world of writing, the Plot-driven novel writers. Then there are the character-driven novel writers. I'm going to investigate each and come to conclusions. I will clarify from personal experience of my own opinion.
The general consensus is that most short-stories and novels are plot driven works of fiction. This means that quest or journey that your character is on drives the story. There are some genres that will be easier for the writer to write the plot driven novels. Fantasy and historical are both easier genres to write plot driven novels, for example the main character in a fantasy (must) go through the heroes journey in which he must destroy a particular object or find an object and use it so that good triumphs over evil. Along the way they will have failures and sucesses but in the end they succeed in the quest. The same applies to history based novels, because history is to wit 'set in stone' as it were. The character's journey already has a backdrop and plot established so the character can only follow a certain path in which the establish plot allows them. You could pervert history by going the alternative route and creating fantasy history but even so, you will still need to be aware that it is still established and plotted course of action for your character it is still a plot driven novel.
The other side of the story, pardon the pun, is to write about your novel with less of a plot and more about the characters themselves. Every decision the main character or even his nemesis makes will weigh on every direction the plot takes. This is essentially true for romance novels, there is usually have little plot and more story between the hero and the heroine. They focus on the character’s emotions, their desires and their reflections and that means that the development and growth of the characters outweighs the development and growth and the movement of the plot. These stories tend to focus on why characters do what they do, and how they react in certain ways through their actions. This isn't always true but more often than not it is.
Can you have both? Yes I think that you can have a mix of both. Provided you don't focus on the feelings of your characters to the detriment of the plot. I have fallen into the trap where you're main character and his potential love interests destroy the exciting plot. In my opinion having learned from my mistakes, I would always focus on the plot first up then focus on your characters as they grow later on. You need a BANG to start with. Establishing a plot and hooking your read should be the first priority. Having said that in order to progress the story you'll need to get to know your characters at some point. Just be sure that you have a balance going one way or another can lead to an absolute flop. Either with the storyline or having cardboard characters...
Ultimately you have to write out the plot of your story so that you can create the characters that you need to drive your story. Plotting your story is a good way of knowing how you can best use each of your characters. It gives you the ability to decide whether you are going to write a plot driven novel or character driven novel. You may even try to write a bit of both but that will be what you have to decide. I challenge you to try both; it will give you an idea as to which you are stronger at writing. I know I’ll be trying to work this out for myself. Good luck we’ll both need it...
