Striving for Plotacter*

I realized as I was going through Conventional Demon scene by scene that what I was adding (or making notes to add) were plot points that allowed for greater character development. The more I research how to build a good plot, the more I realize it's all about the characters and how they react to the events. Two people plopped down in the middle of a riot are going to react differently. The same for if they were seated at a game of bridge or taken as a date to the same family dinner. Just like life and real people, I want my main characters and their reactions to play true to their native traits.

And yet, the more I research how to build believable characters, the more I realize the importance of plot. Great characters with nothing to do are just lazy bums. Great characters who never are tested or put through a series of trials are just average citizens.

As you might be able to tell, I'm feeling a vague sense of frustration, though right now I'm going to chalk it up to the tedium of turning a novel into a spreadsheet and not make anything to big of it. CD will be just fine.

*Plotacter: the melding of a novel's plot and character development into seamless perfection (as dreamed of being achieved by Rebecca Chastain)