Character. Plot.

Which comes first?

Does one have primacy over the other?

How ought they interplay in the story-crafting process?

At their best, Character and Plot function as equal parts of a creative dynamic tension. All too often, however, writers get hung up on how to approach these two narrative elements.

So I try to find new metaphors for Character and Plot to help students understand them.

Recently, I was re-reading the Shaun McNiff book, “Trust The Process,” which I highly recommend. In the chapter titled Stepping Into The Unknown, McNiff describes working with different mediums in “art”.

“Clay is an excellent medium for experimenting with the way shapes emerge from the unknown… The most important feature of work with clay is the ability to sustain the motion and the effort… The same principles apply to painting with any medium. Materials like oil stay moist longer and enable us to move in and out of the engagement over prolonged periods of time, whereas watercolor, tempera, and inks are tied to specific moments. Each medium makes its particular contributions to creation. As I work with these different materials, I try to open myself to their influences.”

“I like to work with moist materials. The wetness is a constant source of motion. I seem to the slipping and sliding that accompany thick and oily substances. Others prefer to create with dry materials.”

“Each medium makes its particular contributions to creation.”

That got me thinking. And I suddenly saw a connection between “Art,” Character and Plot: What if we represent each narrative element with a different artistic medium?

Consider character as wet material, like clay. Moist, squishy, malleable, slippery, “a constant source of motion.” Because the best characters do slip out of our control, do surprise us as they change, do have pliable emotions.

Consider plot as dry material, like wood. Firm, straight, strong. Because the best plots do provide structure, do create a foundation, do build a narrative throughline.

Obviously, characters have their own structural integrity and likewise plots can ooze, ebb, and flow. But if the “particular contributions” of the wet and dry media can be appropriately applied to the respective essence of character and plot, might that not help us understand these two story elements better?

So as you, the writer, approach Character and Plot, consider them in terms of “art,” how Character has a moist essence, while Plot has a dry essence. And bring them together to create your own piece of art.