Which Came First: The Character or The Plot?

One of my most asked questions as an author, just behind "Are you okay? Blink twice if you need help," is "How did you come up with that story idea?"

Most times, I reply with something vague, like, "I don't know, I was just feeling particularly inspired by [insert devastating thing that happened in life here]," and while that can sometimes be true, there's so much more that goes into crafting a full-length novel than just that singular spark of inspiration.

And I've learned that my strongest narratives come when I find my characters first.

Let's break down my writing process and how I go from my two brain cells rubbing together to thousands of words on a page!

Oftentimes, I'll have some cloudy idea of a plot come to me, or I'll read a trope that tickles my fancy, and I'll decide, "Ya know what? I want to do this, too!!"

Let's take everyone's favorite contemporary romance If I'm Being Honest. When I wrote that, I had just finished watching an interview Harry Styles did with Apple Music about the writing process of his album Harry's House, and while it was a very lovely 45-minute interview, there was one part in particular that stuck out to me. Harry went on a tangent about how our inner worlds are like houses, and therapy allows us to open doors and unlock more rooms so we can feel everything more deeply to better understand the world around us.

And I sat there, in my PJs, eating my popcorn, thinking, "What if I wrote a male main character like this? Of course, he'll be flawed because DUH. But what if he's struggling with something and he's committed to opening these doors to be better for the female main character? What would that look like?" As you can tell, that's barely a thought. Just a mere question, really. But that main character would go on to be everyone's favorite broody bookstore manager, Eli.

To get to the crux of Eli's story, I had to get to know him on a very personal level. This meant first figuring out what was this thing that he was struggling with that drove most of his motivations. To come up with that, I referenced one of my own therapy sessions where my therapist and I spoke about something I had gone through that I had long shut out and rediscovered around that time. I remember asking my therapist, "Do you think everyone knows I went through this? It feels like it's written across my forehead." That became Eli's mantra.

I wanted a character who couldn't open up about what he went through, not only because it was traumatic but because he was partially convinced that people just knew. In some ways, they did (no spoilers) because many of the characters in the story experienced it with him, but not in the same intense way that he did. So this leant itself greatly to determining that he didn't want to talk about it, simply because he didn't have to. Everyone already knew.

Brooklyn enters the chat.

Ahh, Brooklyn. Her character burst forth so easily and suddenly for me. Why? To this day, I'm still not sure. However, I knew I wanted to explore anger with her. A tricky characteristic to give a female main character (go too hard and people will say she's unlikable, don't go hard enough and she becomes a people pleaser). Yet, Brooklyn's voice was so second nature to me that it was like breathing air. In retrospect, she was likely the part of me who never felt enough for anyone. Who felt so unbelievably forgotten and left behind. And choosing to have her be at the prime age of 20something-and-fucking-figuring-it-out set the stage perfectly for her to have no idea what she was doing with her life!!! (Relatable, honestly).

So then the challenge became getting these two characters to like each other because why on earth would the prickly, socially awkward, new girl ever strike up a conversation with the boy who barely talks? Instant attraction is obviously thrown into the mix (did I base Eli off of Harry Styles's look as well? Some would say yes. I would say, for legal purposes, it's neither here nor there). However, attraction can only sustain readers for so long before they wonder if the two characters actually like each other.

In that courting stage that Brooklyn and Eli had, I also had to date them. I remember sitting at my desk, coffee mug in my hands, staring at a blank document, thinking, "Who are these characters? What are their likes and dislikes?" which eventually gave way to "What are their deepest fears? When were they the happiest?" And for me, that's when the magic happens.

If I can get down to who my characters are at their core, if I feel like I know them past the marrow of their bones and into their DNA makeup, I can put them in any situation, any plot point, and I will know exactly how they will act. And while fun plots can keep the story moving, I've found that the relationship between characters keeps readers glued to the page.

However, mapping out their character arc and slowly transforming them throughout the story... now there's the real challenge! As humans, we don't change very quickly, if at all, and so to take a character and make them change within 400 pages and make that transformation feel realistic to your readers is like walking a tightrope between two Manhattan skylines. You look down and realize you never wanted to do it in the first place. Who put you up to this?!? But you did. You chose this.

The secret to a successful character and story arc is to get one draft done to see where the story is going. Then and only then can you go back and add in those tiny moments of transformation, ever so subtly, so that when the reader finishes the book, they're amazed at the journey they went on. I can't get that right on the first write (lol), and it's truly because that's the first time I'm ever telling myself the story, let alone anyone else. Until I can see the whole book for what it will become, I can't massage the message into what it needs to be.

This is also where I think an invaluable developmental editor can come into play! For me, during the writing process of If I'm Being Honest, I had one trusted friend reading it as I wrote it.

[I will also inject here that it makes it SO much easier to keep going when you can get feedback live from someone, and they can ask questions you might not have come up with. It took me back to my fanfiction writing days, where I would publish a chapter a week, and my fans (LOL) would leave comments, and I could address their concerns later in the book. It was like I was 15 again!!!]

I have yet to find a developmental editor who has done what that friend did for me. She was so invested in the story, so excited to see it come to life, that her feedback and questions were priceless. I pray all writers find someone like that and have them in their corner for every new book that springs up!

But in that process, Eli and Brooklyn became more three-dimensional to me. Their fears and problems jumped off the page and became real to me. And in every moment, both waking and sleeping, I was visualizing how they would work through them. And not just together but on their own! Because if you thought writing a book meant just following one character to conclusion you would be wrong. Especially in romance, there are really three arcs happening simultaneously. You have character A and their journey with themselves. Character B (the love interest) and their journey with themselves. And then characters A & B's journey together.

It broke down to a lil something like this:

Brooklyn was on a journey of self-discovery. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. Her relationship with her parents was strained, and she felt resentful.

Eli was on a journey of self-healing. He had something traumatic happen to him, resulting in some serious mental health issues. Instead of reaching out for help, he shut down. He refused to feel anything, and as a result, his body was rebelling against him.

Neither was interested in any form of a romantic relationship until they met each other.

The story arc then becomes: what do these two characters learn from each other to help them achieve their own successful journey?

And there, friends, lies the meat and potatoes (or, if you're a vegan, the tofu and potatoes) of a really good romance. Most readers could relate to one or both characters and, therefore, found themselves rooting for their happily ever after. Because honestly, what's better than seeing yourself within a character and then getting to experience that feeling of falling in love alongside them? Nothing. It is pure dopamine.

I could have written any story with Eli and Brooklyn going on their journies together, and my readers would have loved it.

So, for me, the answer will always be: the character comes first, and everything else falls into place.

[That's also how I get to a point where I have readers begging me for stories with side characters as the main characters or with the main couple later in life. People fall in love with characters they can connect to. The stories can change, but they will find comfort in those people you created, and it's honestly one of the best feelings in the world to hear my readers still tell me they think about my characters long after their stories are done.]

But as with everything, each writer will be unique and will find their way in the world! Some may write plots that could never be re-created, and I will look at them with eyes wide and mouth agape and say, "HOW?!"

This is simply what works for me, and with every book I write, flexing that muscle a little more, I find each story gets stronger than the last!

And trust me, the next one will be even better.

Xoxo Kristin