Sure, you can have stories that blend the two in various ways as well, but, as I started out, I'm talking in generalities.
I'm also of the belief that neither is better than the other, but, rather, that there are situations in which one works better than the other, and other situations in which the other works better.
In a character driven story, the focus is on, obviously, the character. Things happen around the character, but they are secondary to how the character reacts to and handles the situation. It is all about the character's development and the audience learning about the character.
In the plot driven story, the focus is on the events. The characters are there and we may learn a little about them through their actions and behavior, but only on the peripheral. The goal is to get from the beginning to the end of the story, emphasizing the beats of the story as you go along.
Those explanations are very simplified, and leave out much of the nuance that each type of story has, but for a single blog entry, they will suffice.
I said that each, in my opinion, work better in different situations. I think that, especially with a brand new character, a brand new comic, having a plot driven story is important. I know - it sounds weird. If it is a new character, shouldn't a writer focus on teaching the audience about the character? Isn't it important to get the audience to like the character?
My opinion? No.
Don't get me wrong - a writer should take advantage of the opportunities to develop the character, but I've seen a lot of new comics that spend the first three issues giving the history of a character, their family, their likes and dislikes, and they plod along and quickly lose my interest. They scream "Like me! Relate to me!" They stink of desperation that reminds me of those images of speed dating we've seen - where a person has minutes to try to impress another person enough to get a second chance with them. It is just too much.
If you start out with a plot driven story, though, it is more like going to an action movie. Let's face it - the average action film in America doesn't do much to develop their characters. The movie starts, we see the obvious bad guys doing something bad, the hero comes on the screen, shouts a couple of great one-liners while stopping the bad guys, and we leave the theater happy. We don't know everything about the hero, but we enjoyed ourselves, and if there is a sequel, we'll probably go see it.
Which, in a story with a brand new character, is what I think you should shoot for. Write a good story that captures the audience, and they will come back. That's when you can really start blending in some character development.
And, that's important. If you don't start moving toward character driven stories, you can lose the audience later on. That's why most action films can't make it past two sequels. I mean, how many times can you watch the same hero stop the same villains (with different accents) while shouting similar one-liners? When does that just become too much?
There are exceptions to the rules. Aren't there always? One of my favorite TV shows of all time, Law & Order, has existed using about 95% plot driven stories.
The exceptions notwithstanding, I think the plot driven stories are essential at the start, moving toward the character driven stories, and then a nice blend moving back and forth through the rest of the run.
Of course all of this is merely theoretical. When pencil hits paper, everything can change.
I'll type at you later.
(A request - my favorite pulp hero, The Phantom!)
Comments
Not sure what is meant by that statement or how it reflects Christ's love...
I have to go with the tried and true Stan Lee theory when it comes to COMICS, regardless of genre...start the story in the middle...drag your readers kicking and screaming through it.