Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I prefer character over plot...even in my own book.
British author and blogger Steve K. Smy recently gave my novel, The Guilty, a five star review on his site: (http://imagineerebooks.wordpress.com/...).
What made this review different from so many others that I've received is that he intentionally makes no mention of the dramatic trial scenes in the book, or the surprises in the plot. He talks mainly of the characters, and the conflicts, particularly internal, that they are caught up in.
Now I think my book contains a pretty gripping murder trial, and the plot packs a few good twists and turns. And, obviously, when I'm called on to promote it this is what the focus is primarily on. But, the truth is, when I wrote this book all that mattered to me were my characters, especially the protagonist Robert Bratt. Of course, things happened to them; the kind of things that happen in all our lives, as well as things that would only happen to defense attorneys, some in the beginning of their careers, others at the end of their tether. But what I cared most about was how they dealt with these highs and lows in their lives, their joy at success, their fear of failure. Because these characters were real to me, so their feelings were real, and I wanted to make them real to the readers as well.
I knew I had succeeded, at least for one reader, when I read the following from Mr. Smy's review:
"If you’re looking for a Perry Mason or other similar fictional lawyer, then you’ll be disappointed. There’s a disturbing ring of honesty about the portrayed lawyers’ defects. You’ll find those you can happily despise, but you’ll also be confused by those who exhibit more humanity than you would expect. They are complex people. They have lives. You could, with little effort, imagine how they live their lives away from the spotlight of the story."
In the constant debate about whether plot or character is more important, I must simply say that the most exciting plot would never hold my attention if I didn't care or believe in the characters involved. Certainly, everybody enjoys a clever plot, but when a reader says, as Mr. Smy does, "I genuinely regretted the book ending," I know this is because the characters mattered, and it is they that the reader will miss. And it's at that point that I can truly feel a sense of accomplishment.

I agree. Characters matter the most to me both in books I read and in books I write. I hate when something dramatic is happening in a book or movie and I don't even care. You know, like when you realize you're rooting for the alien because the human characters just annoy you.

I so agree with that. In books as in movies, when the story jumps too quickly to the action and you did not have time to connect with the protagonist(s), it's missing something important.
My husband always says that it is what makes the difference between something so-so and something fabulous.

It takes good character to create a great character. A character is the basis of any story and while their is a plot the character must adventure out and become a part of that plot. It's one thing for a reader to go along for a ride but you also want to create a character that is so unique and developed that even you as the author wish to be taken on the adventure with them even if you already know where they are going.

sorry I meant 'there', typed too fast.

There's almost no contemporary character in any contemporary story whatsoever, I can see myself giving much of a damn about. Its because I am too well familiar with this day-and-age, I suppose. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be sympathizing & empathizing more with drug-dealers or ex-SEAL team leaders or people afflicted by lycanthropy or snowboarders or porn-stars or rappers or forensic pathologists or guys-who-try-to make-friends-with-grizzle-bears or overstressed-runway-model-slash-emergency-room-interns or talk-show hosts or serial killers...I wonder if I should push myself to see the real pathos in all their stories.

But then I'm like...naaaah. I trust my instincts. Today's society is not the age for great literature because its not the age where people care about other people in the first place. Facebook society where the image takes the place of the real, live, human, being; and who truly can care about a little 2" flickering jpg thumbnail? If they 'unfriend' you, just 'follow' someone else's 'feed'..

I disagree (perhaps naively) about what the mass audience wants. With some notable exceptions, publishers, like movie producers, don't like taking risks. They tend to go with the tried and true (ie. formulaic) because they know it has succeeded in the past, and their business model makes failure very expensive. That doesn't mean that, given the chance, audiences and readers won't embrace original ideas, especially well-written ones. The benefit of self-publishing is getting more ideas out into the public forum, without the filter of publishers who only want the "next sure thing." This isn't to say that all self-published books are great, or that all traditionally published books are junk. But if we didn't think there were people out there looking for something good, instead of the same old thing, why would we bother writing?

Congratulations, Gabriel, for being brave enough not to churn out what is thought publishers, or Hollywood for that matter, wants.
Comparing books to food - yeah, hamburgers are easy to sell: a lot of people want them. But there are people, intelligent people with taste, that would like to dine on something handmade, with fresh ingredients that doesn't rely on MSG to give it flavour. Writers should ask themselves if they want to sell mass-produced hamburgers. Are you desperately chasing the money, or do you really want to write?
The horror movie, The Others, was a success, but how many gratuitous shocks did it have in it? What about blood, action, rippling muscles, or sex? Maybe because it had a Spanish director and not a Hollywood twit. It does show that it is possible for good writing to succeed.

I often find parallels between writing and business (I have my own business in addition to being a writer), which are both extensions of life in general.

Trust happens when one person invests in another. So, when writing, the characters must be believable for someone to feel that they can invest something in them.

Here, the benefits are manifold, not least because once the reader believes in the character, they are more likely to suspend their own disbelief if the reaction of the character is itself believable.