I try to trace the connection between the characters and that way a story or plot emerges.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I'm always writing about character first. Plot, such as it is, comes from the characters.
A story is built on characters and reasons.
Characters are incredibly important, but I tend to build them around the plot during the outline stage. However, once I'm writing the manuscript, the characters I'm writing dictate how the plot unfolds.
Plot and character are virtually the same thing.
Storylines are how characters create the plots involved in their stories.
Sometimes, I have themes that interest me or that touch on larger issues but, really, I'm just trying to figure out the plot, or how the characters work. I'm trying to make the best story I possibly can.
Characters are so important to a story that they actually decide where the story is going. When I write, I know my characters. I know how things are going to end, and I know some important incidents along the way.
I'm not really a plot writer - I'm more interested in the characters and sort of small events that propel the story forward.
The first thing I do when I read a part is see if I can identify emotionally with a character. If I make that connection, everything else is just working on knowing their life circumstances and manifesting those through practice and research.
Writing is a mysterious process, and many ideas come from deep within the imagination, so it's very hard to say how characters come about. Mostly, they just happen.