Hi, just have a quick question. I'm trying to come up with a story, but I've found that it's easier for me to create the characters rather than the story itself. Is it possible to create and develop the characters first, then write the story when I've sorted out the main plot?
Characters first, story second method…
I think it’s possible, and for a lot of writers, a bit more fun to start with the characters and build the plot around them. It can strengthen the characters’ motivation-driven-action within the story and the plot can be better suited to fit them. If you’re going to go with this order of operations, I suggest spawning plot points from your characters directly by dissecting them and designing a plot around answering key questions about who they are, what they want, and what they need.
I would start here with a game of 20 questions:
What do they think they need?
What do they actually need?
What are they willing to do to get it?
Who is willing to help them?
Who is willing to work against them?
What are the pros and cons of them achieving their goal?
What makes them want to achieve it in the first place?
How can the origin of their motivation be their downfall?
What will they learn as they work to achieve their goal?
What will they learn once they succeed/fail?
How will they change for the better?
How will they change for the worse?
How can their flaws help them succeed?
How can their best qualities hinder their success?
Who will they gain in the process?
Who will they lose in the process?
When will they be satisfied with their achievement?
What is their biggest fear?
All of these elements can become plot points or scenes, because by the end of the book you want the reader be be able to answer these questions. You create a plot around characters by having them drive it. Test them, expose them, force them into situations that reveal their deepest textures and colors, and try to teach the reader something by the end of it.
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