Character-driven or Action-driven

By Martha Alderson

Most writers have a preference for one style of writing over another. Some writers are more adept at developing complex, interesting, and quirky characters. Others excel at page-turning action. The lucky writers are good at creating both the character emotional development plotline and the dramatic action plotline. Become aware of your strength and learn to address your weakness, and you, too, can become one of the lucky ones. 

Action-Driven

Broadly speaking, writers who prefer writing action-driven stories focus on logical thinking, rational analysis, and accuracy. Action-driven writers tend to rely more on the left side of their brain. These writers approach writing as a linear function and see the story in its parts. Action-driven writers like structure. They usually pre-plot or create an outline before writing. Action-driven writers have little trouble expressing themselves in words. 

Character-Driven

On the other hand, writers who write character-driven stories tend to focus on aesthetics and feelings, creativity and imagination. These writers access the right side of their brains and enjoy playing with the beauty of language. They are more intuitive, and like to work things out on the page. Character-driven writers are holistic and subjective. They can synthesize new information, but are somewhat (or more) disorganized and random. They see the story as the whole. Right brain writers may know what they mean, but often have trouble finding the right words. 

The Test

Take the test below to see whether you are stronger at developing character emotional development plotlines or dramatic action plotlines.

Fill in the character emotional development plot profile below for your protagonist (the character who is most changed by the dramatic action), any other major viewpoint characters, and, if there is one, the character who represents the major antagonist for the protagonist: 

1. Protagonist's overall story goal:
2. What stands in his/her way of achieving this goal:
3. What does he/she stand to lose, if not successful:
4. Flaw or greatest fault:
5. Greatest strength:
6. Hates:
7. Loves:
8. Fear:
9. Secret:
10. Dream:

Results

1) Writers who filled out 1-3 with ease prefer writing dramatic action.

2) Writers who filled in 4- 10 with ease prefer character emotional development.

3) Writers who filled in everything with ease find both the dramatic action and the character emotional development plotlines come easy. 

Analysis

Without a firm understanding of points 1-3, you have no front story. The dramatic action plotline is what gets the reader turning the pages. Without it there is no excitement on the page.

Without a firm understanding of points 4-10, you are more likely to line up the action pieces of your story, arrange them in a logical order and then draw conclusions. Yet, no matter how exciting the action, this presentation lacks the human element. Such an omission increases your chances of losing your audience's interest; readers read 70% for character. 

Plot Tips

For Dramatic Action Plot Writers

To Strength the Character Emotional Development Plotline 

1. Try using your own flaw, fear, and/or secret-- we all have them.
2. What you filled out for numbers 4-10 of the character emotional development profile is a mere skimming of the surface, like the first draft of any story. Even so, tack it up next to your computer. Over time, as you continue writing and come to know your characters better, the information will deepen. The longer you work, the deeper you will dig, the more significant your story will become.
3. Look for opportunities to incorporate more patterning, metaphors, and analogies into your writing.
4. Look for opportunities to role-play and use visual aids.
5. Stop writing periodically and move your body during your writing time.
6. Reread the information above that covers the less dominant side of your writing.
7. Writers with strength in creating dramatic action usually think in sequence and are list makers. Since you have no trouble processing symbols, you actually enjoy making an advanced plan on a linear form such as a plot planner.
8. After plotting out the dramatic action, use a different color pen and plot out a character emotional development plotline. To create logical conclusions, look for clues as to how the dramatic action causes changes in the character emotional development.

 For Character Emotional Development Plot Writers

To Strength the Dramatic Action Plotline 

1. Use goals of your own and insert them into the context of the story-- to finish what? To organize what? To accomplish what?
2. Writers who write about character emotional development have a more random writing style and rebel at anything as structured as a scene tracker or plot planner. Yet, because you like things concrete and benefit from seeing, feeling, or touching the real object, you keep coming back to the idea of developing a plot planner. You know intuitively that a plan will keep you on track and help you survive to the end of a completed project
3. Because the right side of the brain is color sensitive, use one color to plot out the character emotional development scenes and use a different color to show the dramatic action, and yet another to show the thematic significance.
4. Schedule a walk during your writing time and set the timer. Imagine yourself plotting out your scenes in sequence. The act of seeing yourself plotting will help you actually do it.
5. Start with the climax of your story, and work backwards. Using your intuition, pay attention to coherence and meaning. Link dramatic action to the changes in your characters emotional development.
6. Since you like to back up everything visually, hang a plot planner and/or scene tracker on a wall near your computer. These will help you remember the sequence of your story as you rewrite and rewrite until your story shows the meaning you want it to convey.

These are just some of the differences that exist between character-driven writers and action-driven writers, but you can see the pattern. Writers who lean more toward creating the character emotional development plotline now know you can be flexible and adapt the plot planner to make such a structured approach work for you. Likewise, those of you who are predominantly left-brain know that it would be wise to use both sides of the brain and employ some right brain strategies. 

We tend to process and use information from our dominant side. However, the writing process is enhanced when both sides of the brain participate in a balanced manner. 

Martha Alderson, M.A. is the author of Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple. She is a teacher, a plot consultant, a speaker, and an award-winning writer of historical fiction. She has taught plot and scene development and historical novel writing at the University of California at Santa Cruz Extension, Learning Annex, writers' conferences, and workshops in the greater San Francisco Bay Area and in Washington State. Martha is available workshops and plot consultations at martha@blockbusterplots.com. Visit her website http://www.blockbusterplots.com for plot tips and plot tools. 

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