Lately I've been comparing and contrasting character-driven and plot-driven stories. While most stories will be, to some extent, both, some stories lean far one way or another.
In a very character-driven story, the focus is on the character's internal journey. The stakes are personal, often tied to the character's identity—who he will or won't become (his character arc). In a very plot-driven story, the focus is on the external journey. The stakes are broad, tied to society or the world.
Character-driven | Plot-driven |
Internal Journey Emphasized | External Journey Emphasized |
Personal Stakes | Broad Stakes |
Character Arc is Central | Plot Goal Completion is Central |
Substance & Meaning | Action & Intensity |
Slower Paced | Faster Paced |
Examples: Legally Blonde, Hamilton, a Man Called Otto, Finding Neverland, Michael | Examples: Indiana Jones, Interstellar, 007, The X-Files, Pirates of the Caribbean |
So far we have covered . . .
- Character-driven vs. Plot-driven Stories (Examples, Definitions, FAQs)
And today I'm coming back to this topic to cover pacing differences (which you may, or may not, have noticed in the table above).
When it comes to pacing, plot-driven stories tend to be faster, and character-driven stories tend to be slower, or at least more leisurely. This is largely determined by scene structure.
Character-driven vs. Plot-driven: Pacing Differences
As I mentioned in my previous post on where to actually end a chapter, scenes should, generally speaking, follow basic story structure. There is a rising action, climax (also known as a turning point), and falling action. The difference is that in a scene, these will be comparatively smaller than that of the whole story, the whole narrative arc.
The example I gave was Harry Potter at King's Cross. Harry arrives at the train station to board the Hogwarts Express, but he can't find Platform 9 3/4. As he tries to find it, he runs into resistance or obstacles, and this creates the rising action of the scene. Eventually he approaches Mrs. Weasley, who explains he needs to head (ideally run) at what appears to be a solid barrier between Platforms 9 & 10. Harry does this and gets through--this is the scene's climax. Now on Platform 9 3/4, he takes in the sights and sounds and finds a compartment. This is the falling action.
Simplistically speaking, the rising action contains the character taking action toward a goal, and the falling action contains the character's reaction to what just happened. Typically, the falling action will show how the character reacts emotionally, then logically (because this is how we process things as human beings). Their logical thought process often leads to the character gaining a new goal, which then takes us into the next scene and its rising action. (Dwight V. Swain called the falling action the "sequel," if you happen to be familiar with that term.)
In a very plot-driven story, the falling action (a.k.a. reaction phase) is kept very short. This puts extra emphasis on the rising action, where the character is pursuing a concrete goal. The rising action is often more external; it's where the character meets resistance or conflict.
In a very character-driven story, the falling action (a.k.a. reaction phase) is usually longer. This puts extra emphasis on the character. The reaction phase is often more internal; it's where the character processes what just happened and decides what to pursue next.
Short falling actions make a story feel faster or more intense, which is what we see in plot-driven stories.
Long falling actions make a story feel slower or more reflective, which is what we see in character-driven stories.
Plot-driven Falling Action
In Indiana Jones, essentially all falling action is kept very brief. At one point, after an encounter with Nazis and mercenaries (rising action), Indy believes Marion has been killed. We don't get a big, long moment of him mourning her, talking to others about her, remembering their history, or doing things in her honor. We see Indy, visibly upset, drinking for a few seconds, and then we head into the next goal. This is not to say Indy doesn't care much about what happened--obviously he does. But the brevity allows us to quickly get back into the action, with a focus on the external plot.
Likewise, in Star Wars, falling action is usually kept rather short. Obi-Wan dies, and while Luke is obviously sad, his reaction is brief. He sits at a table while Leia comforts him, and he simply says, "I can't believe he's gone."
With that said, when working with a very plot-driven, fast-paced story, it's important to not ignore the reaction phase completely, especially through the whole story, as this will give the impression that your character is robotic, unfeeling, unthinking, inhuman, or perhaps a sociopath or psychopath. Now, obviously if the character is one of those things, then it's fitting, but most protagonists are not. If we never saw Indy or Luke processing Marion's or Obi-Wan's deaths, we would think something was wrong with them. We would say, "Now wait a minute--doesn't he care?" It might ruin our willing suspension of disbelief, because we can't buy the lack of an emotional reaction. We can "believe" in mystical artifacts or aliens, but we can't believe in no emotions.
In 007, James Bond often has very brief (and even subdued) reaction phases, which contribute to the debate that he's a sociopath. The coldness and brief reactions are used to shape his character, and it works for him. But in contrast, if Luke acted this way in response to Obi-Wan's death, it'd feel wrong and out of character.
If you are working with a very plot-driven story, it's usually best to give enough reaction to prove your character isn't a robot, and to, by extension, validate the audience's own feelings (they will also be sad about Marion and Obi-Wan), then continue on into the next rising action.
Character-driven Falling Action
Legally Blonde is a character-driven story, and the falling action gets more attention and space. After Warner breaks up with Elle, she leaves the restaurant in tears and starts walking home. Warner tries to reason with her and give her a ride. She continues to be beside herself. Later we see her slouched in bed eating a bunch of chocolate in front of the T.V., and then when her friends are getting their nails done, she's still down in the dumps. While there, looking through a magazine, she gets the idea to go to law school to get him back. This gives her a new goal.
Elle's reaction phase is longer than a few lines or beats; it takes up minutes.
Similarly, in Michael, the falling action has a lot of breathing room. After Joseph insists Michael do a world tour and live album with his brothers, we get a long falling action of him riding to an outlook with Bill. Michael reacts emotionally by shielding himself in the back seat, then by verbalizing his feelings once they get out of the car. Bill helps him consider the situation more logically, suggesting Michael get his own team. He agrees. This is followed by a montage of the tour (which is the equivalent of summary in a book), and the next major scene is Michael hiring his manager, Brinker (taking action/being proactive).
Once again, this takes up minutes, not moments.
The emphasis on the reaction phase allows the audience to sink deeper into the emotional and psychological experience of the character. And because the stakes and ramifications are more personal--aimed right at the character, rather than at others or society--it further highlights the internal plotline, the inner world. This is the time to show how the character responds and copes, and decides what to do next. Simplistically speaking, this is a time to further reveal character.
Now, if your character doesn't have much to reveal, and is shallow, stereotypical, or flatter than a pancake, lingering in the reaction phase is likely going to expose that. It's hard to sink deeper into a character that has no depth, no layers, no complexity, and no meaningful interiority. It will start to feel too long, and the audience will become antsy. The segment will also become repetitious because you don't have a lot of meaningful internal elements to draw upon. No one wants to read literally five pages of a character just crying and drinking; readers want (and deserve) something deeper. They want to experience and witness firsthand that inner world.
Just as the falling action of a plot-driven story can be too brief, the falling action of a character-driven story can be too long. Sure, the pacing slows down, but it shouldn't feel like the story comes to a grinding stop. Cover what you need, to capture the character, then move on. Taking action is still vital in showing character as well. If you spend too much time in the falling action, the story can begin to feel melodramatic. We almost never want the reaction to be strikingly disproportional to the situation that caused it. Save the biggest falling actions for the biggest turning points.
While there are some other elements that do affect the pacing of character-driven vs. plot-driven stories (such as the fact that the stakes in a character-driven story tend to be "smaller" and more personal), it's usually the way the falling action is handled that makes the biggest difference.
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