Most people who read my posts know I'm trying to develop a science-fiction story, and someone has suggested it's the characters who make the story.
That's my preference, and I've pretty well decided to go that route. I've done some research on the web on both versions, and, of course, most stories have a mix of both. To me, this would be especially true for SF, because most SF involve a plot element that drives the story - if there was warp drive, what would happen? But I'd like to get some feedback from others on this forum on the two.
Someone also told me characters make the SF story more memorable, but that's not necessarily true. Asimov's Foundation novels are all plot driven, and he was notorious for not having good characters, and yet his novels have stood the test of time. The Exorcist is a film that is plot driven, and it remains a classic movie. That said, he had a point when he said the best Star Trek were all character driven, and, for the other franchise, Empire was by far the most memorable of the lot.
If I was to go with arbitrary percentages, I would say the SF story should be 60% character-driven and 40% plot-driven. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
That's my preference, and I've pretty well decided to go that route. I've done some research on the web on both versions, and, of course, most stories have a mix of both. To me, this would be especially true for SF, because most SF involve a plot element that drives the story - if there was warp drive, what would happen? But I'd like to get some feedback from others on this forum on the two.
Someone also told me characters make the SF story more memorable, but that's not necessarily true. Asimov's Foundation novels are all plot driven, and he was notorious for not having good characters, and yet his novels have stood the test of time. The Exorcist is a film that is plot driven, and it remains a classic movie. That said, he had a point when he said the best Star Trek were all character driven, and, for the other franchise, Empire was by far the most memorable of the lot.
If I was to go with arbitrary percentages, I would say the SF story should be 60% character-driven and 40% plot-driven. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
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