Character & Plot

Introduction

Not only do I write books but I also review books. Since 2017, I have read and reviewed 144 books for a book review website called Readers Favorite. Separately, I’ve read and reviewed 50 or 60 books that were not connected to Readers Favorite. These were books I read for fun and then reviewed, or they were books I read for a writer friend who sent me his or her book for free if I promised to give it an honest review. So, in less than seven years I’ve read 200 books and posted reviews about them online. 90% of these books were from the genres of science fiction or fantasy or some variation of the two.

I’m stating these numbers as the basis for the writing advice that I’ll be giving below. When you read that many books and then think about what you liked and did not like about them, you begin to see trends in book writing. You begin to get a clearer picture of what makes a book great and what makes a book not so great.

I am by no means a writing expert. But, I feel like I’ve learned quite a bit from reviewing so many books, and I’d like to pass some of that on to you, my readers. I have done my share of learning about the craft of writing in more traditional ways too. I’ve attended two writers’ conferences, listened to many hours of writing podcasts, and read countless articles about how writers are supposed to write. Everything I’m going to share in this article and two more articles over the coming weeks lines up perfectly with the conventional wisdom on how to write a good book. I just feel like I might have a slightly different point of view since I am not only a writer, but also a book reviewer. 

For any of you readers who feel like you’ve got a book inside your head that’s just dying to be written, I hope this series of articles is a big help and encouragement to you.

Characters and Plot

If you are seeking to write a great story, not mediocre or okay or good enough, but you want to write that blockbuster novel that readers will adore, then here is my first piece of advice. Make sure your story has strong characters AND a strong plot.

Every story you read or watch on a screen consists of two basic elements; the characters and a plot. Your setting and theme are also important, but they are secondary to your characters and plot. The characters are your main people or animals or whatever thinking being that is experiencing your story. The plot is the events of the story. It’s whatever your characters are going through.

95% of the books I read on Readers Favorite are by newer authors who are still learning the craft. They aren’t the famous names on the top seller lists. Therefore, the majority of the books I read and review do not fall into the category of “great” books. I must say, though, I’ve read a good number of great books over the years, many by new and unknown authors. But, I’ve also read lots of books that are pretty good or just okay. And then I’ve read far too many that fall into the awful category. In almost every case, these not-so-great books are the way they are because they have either weak characters or a weak plot.

Books with weak plots typically have lots of long conversations between characters and very few scene changes. Not a whole lot happens in those kinds of books because the author spends way too much time on every little thing the character thinks and does, even if it isn’t very important. Those kinds of books seem to trudge along with each scene dragging out way too long. 

Books with weak characters tend to have intricate storylines where the characters are running all over the place from scene to scene. There is often really exciting stuff going on, but it can be hard to care about the fate of the characters. The reason? The author hasn’t spent enough time in the story developing their characters. As readers, we need to get inside the heads of the characters and see what makes them tick so we can care about them more. We also need to see the characters growing and becoming a better person throughout the story. 

One of the toughest things about writing a book is balancing these two very important elements in a story. I believe most beginning authors understand what characters and plots are. What I see lacking, though, in so many books is the understanding that equal attention must be given to both.

My Struggle With Characters

I’ve seen this struggle in my writing journey as well. My natural tendency is to be strong on the plot side and weak on the character side. With my last two books, Caged Animals and Escaped Animals, I forced myself to work extra hard on my characters to make them come to life on the pages. For the most part, I believe I accomplished my goal. However, I still wonder if there was more I could have done to improve my characters even more. 

For the novel that I’m working on now, Crash Planet, I started working on my characters right up front, hoping to get them to the next level. While I was outlining I spent several weeks thinking about my characters and making notes on who they are and how they will grow. Even with all of that, I find myself in the final writing stages today still going back constantly and working on my characters. That being said, I’m currently feeling stoked about my main characters in Crash Planet. Hopefully, you will all agree when you finally get to read it.

I’m also still working on my plot. Just because I’m naturally strong at plot writing doesn’t mean I don’t have to work hard at it. Just this past week I had to rewrite two major scenes and I added a whole new scene that helped add new depth to my characters. 

Writing is a long hard process. Just when you think your story is coming together nicely, you realize there is a scene or a character that still needs more work. The best thing any writer can do is refuse to give up. Keep working at it until the vision in your head matches the words on your computer document. 

For any budding writers out there, try to start off the writing process with the idea of focusing equal attention on your characters AND your plot. If you can do that and not give up when the writing process gets long and tedious, you’ll have a book that stands out from the rest. In other words, you’ll have a truly great book.