More Character Based versus Plot Based
L ast time I talked about Character Based vs. Plot Based stories and after a lengthy post, about all I did was define what they are. Today, I would like to revisit the topic and discuss the topic Rachelle Gardner’s reader originally asked about, are there differences in how we should address sagging middles with character based versus plot based stories. To reiterate, a character based story is one in which extraordinary characters are thrust into the ordinary stuff the rest of us do every day. A plot based story is one in which ordinary characters who are like us are thrust into extraordinary circumstances. With character based stories, the conflict exists because the character isn’t prepared for the ordinary. In plot based stories, the conflict exists because the character isn’t prepared for the unusual stuff he faces. In plot based story The Wizard of Oz , Dorothy is on a mission to get home, but between her and home is some of the strangest stuff you ever saw. In charact...