When considering which is more important- Character or Plot- I reflect on which has the most impact in a story. For me, it is character since it is this component of the narrative that drives the plot of the story. It is the character’s choices, decisions, and actions that moves the plot along, that becomes the nexus of the narration. For example, in Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphey’s rebellious actions drives the narration, shakes the macrocosm of the psychiatric hospital at its foundation, leading to the ominous climax and somber closure of the novel. Without his character, life at the ward would continue in its usual cycle, the machinery of oppression chugging along in an infinite loop of drudgery. An atrocity exhibition for sure, but the novel would be more of a moving picture of inhumanity versus an actual story with action reflecting human suffering. Similarly, without Nurse Ratchet, without an antagonist, McMurphey would have no reason for rebelling. No character, no plot, just a setting, a documentary of the happenings and circumstances within the novel.

Interestingly, the character does not necessarily have to be human or even a living sentient. For example, Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” has no humans. The setting is a wasteland bathed in a radioactive glow, the end of humanity brought upon by its own vices and design. In the tale, the house is the character, the epicenter of the apocalyptic world. Through its personification, the story unfolds as nature, itself a character, has its way with the ghosts of human ingenuity.

Conversely, I have read novels in which the plot is good, yet its characters are not fully realized. For example, I felt that the plot of the novel Station Eleven was enjoyable and thought-provoking. The novel is a post-apocalyptic story in which a plague has wiped out most of humanity, yet the tone remains hopeful unlike other stories that deal with similar circumstance. Nevertheless, I felt that the main characters were not fully fleshed out, with many of them remaining one-dimensional. Great plot, but no connection with its characters, no reason to care what happens to them. Thus, I felt that the novel was good, but flawed. This corroborates that theory that characters hold more prominence when creating a story. With good, fully-realized characters, the story writes itself and as a writer, one will know how the plot will unfold through the character’s conclusions, selections, and actions.