4.07.2012

Food For Thought: Character VS Plot (3)

So I was recently reading a book and found myself encountering a problem that comes to me often these days: I was intrigued by the plot, but I hated the characters.

This was me:


I'm a big believer that a good book should have both realistic and strong character AND a stable and interesting plot but what if you had to pick between them? What if you had to choose a novel that had great character and an okay plot or the other way around?

I think for me, I would pick characters.

I love high-concept plots, evident by the fact my favorite genres are high fantasy and historical fantasy/fiction. They're the type of novels that require a lot of backstory and planning and world-building and I love reading every second of it. But if you have an amazing plot with characters that I want to punch in the face? Then it ruins the entire story for me.

Take, for example, Dark Parties by Sara Grant. It was this amazing dystopian plot about teenagers rebelling against their country's rules and society forcing them to be isolated from the rest of the world using an invisible force-field around the city. Awesome right?

And I wanted to love it, I did. But I hated the characters so much that I hated flipping every page.

On the other hand, I can read a book with fantastic, engaging characters and an alright plot, because then I feels like i'm with people that I would actually want to interact with as opposed to being in this amazing place with people that I hate.

What about you?
Would you prefer great character or great plot if you had to choose?
But in the end, I think we all hope for that different combination!
Happy Reading!

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