Alright, so, I'm reading this post on AW's "Writing Novels" forum (link on the left! great resource!) regarding the necessity of a "main plot." There seems to be a rift between the writers who prefer character-driven stories and those who prefer plot-driven stories. I think the central problem here is that people are operating on different ideas of what a plot does and how it works in a novel. I'm not really sure how this happened, exactly, because to me it's quite clear. A plot is the action of the story, basically, right? It's what the characters do. I can't come up with a book that doesn't have a plot, because the characters have to do something, don't they?
You would think so, but there are all of these arguments regarding the concept of the characters driving the story. That's all well and good, but at the end of the day, something is happening, and that something is a plot. It doesn't matter who is driving it, if it just happens to the characters or if the characters go out and actively pursue something on their own accord. Either way, something is happening.
I for one can't imagine how a novel would work without a plot. I mean, what is going on? Nothing? Just page after page of words describing a setting, a characer...and that's it? No action? I can't see that being very marketable, and I'm not sure how you even begin a novel without having some sort of action in mind.
:shrugs:
Just my point of view, but if you have one, I'd love to read it.
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