by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: January 27, 2012

We should never consider character development versus plot development in fiction writing, rather we should consider character development in conjunction with plot development. When we are writing fiction, we have to first of all come up with an idea, expand and develop it in to a plot and subsequently populate it with interesting and believable characters. Character development and plot development therefore go hand in hand, they are neither opposites nor conflicting considerations.

Plot development will necessarily almost always be the first major step in fiction writing. When the writer has a germ of an idea for a story, they have to nourish this idea and help it to grow in to the bigger entity that will form the plot of their novel or story. This is a big step for the author as the plot is arguably the principal factor upon which the novel will succeed or fail and not only does the plot have to be exciting, it has to be logically structured if the writer is not to confuse and irritate their subsequent readers. It necessitates therefore that while during this process the writer can and should determine where their individual principal characters fit in to and contribute to the plot, they should leave the development of said characters alone until a later time.

When the basis of the plot has been both established and drafted, the writer can turn their attention to character development. This process too is vital to the success of the story as there are few situations in which readers will welcome encountering stereotypical characters. The writer should therefore form the skeleton of each character from where and how they fit in to the plot before beginning the process of adding some flesh to their bones.

It is good practice for any writer to keep some form of database of human characteristics, gleaned from their day to day life experiences, for later inclusion in stories and novels. This could be a paper-based record or such as a series of Microsoft Word documents. These files should be organised in to some form of logical order which will allow the writer to find details of a certain type of characteristic as and when required.

The next stage of the procedure for the writer is to compare their plot development notes against their character development notes and check for any inconsistencies. They may find none but where they do, the necessary amendments should be made.

As the writer writes their story, of course the plot and the individual characters will take on lives of their own; this is almost always the case when writing fiction. If the writer has prepared their initial notes sufficiently well, however, they will be able to monitor and tweak these developments as and when required.

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