Balancing plot, theme and character

As a less experienced writer I used to obsess over plot. Plot was everything. This seems to be the case for a lot of people who aren’t writers, too — a common criticism of a film or book will be that “the plot isn’t very good”, or “the plot’s a bit basic”. When I used to write as a kid, my entire focus would be on trying to formulate a twisty-turny, intricate plot.

It’s not surprising that my early attempts to write stories ended up feeling flat and lifeless. Sure, they may have had fast-paced plots containing some fun ideas but they never seemed particularly interesting. Ultimately, I was writing about a series of events, more like an expanded plot synopsis than a proper story.

It took me longer than I’d like to admit to recognise that the problem was specifically due to my undue focus on plot above all else. It was only when I shifted that attention over to theme and character that my work started to properly resonate, both with myself as the writer and with actual readers. None of what I’m putting in this article is new or revolutionary, but I’m sharing it in the hope that other new writers won’t have to take quite as long as me to figure it out.

The right foundations

I was prompted to write this article after reading Molly Naylor’s top screenwriting mistakes (and how to fix them) over on the National Centre for Writing’s website, in which she warns to watch out for themes overpowering characters. It suggested that the approach I’d blundered into over the…