Character Driven, Plot Driven

I've been away for awhile and yet, I have nothing to say. I'm making progress on my book, and I've reacquainted myself with my first WIP. Now that was a huge endeavor. It was becoming an epic. In fact my current WIP, Bum's Rush came out of that story. I think I can pull two or three more books from it, too.

I wish I had the enthusiasm I had when I started my first novel. But looking at the very first draft, I can see a huge improvement in my writing. I mean HUGE. I attribute my improvement to perserverance, reading, and a critique group. But as I read over the story, I realized, it's the most boring story ever. It's all character driven and no action. It lacks interest. I was so in love with my characters, I forgot to get to the story. It needs a complete overhaul and it would take an endeavor I don't have the energy for right now. So I went back and looked at Bum's Rush with a new eye. It's going much better.

What are your thoughts about character driven and plot driven books? I think there still has to be interesting characters in plot driven books. I've read some books where the characters seemed like an after thought. Obviously, you can't have one without the other.

I'm going to explore this a little more and get back to you.

Happy 4th Everyone. Don't burn your fingers on the twinklers. Ha, I'm a poet--NOT.