...is character driven and plot driven even a thing? By which i mean, are they really seperate things, actually? Like i feel you can easily do both at the same time regardless of the type of pov you use. For example i put my characters in certain situations all the time. But their choices determine what happens after that and i then plan around whatever they chose to do. But that doesnt mean all that i planned before that becomes meaningless. It just means either i plan new things or i change how i get from one planned event to the next. The journey may change, but the next pre-planned event doesnt necessarily have to.
I mean i probably wont hit EVERY event i had planned this way but its also not purely "character driven" either.
from my personal experience, the difference between character-driven stories and plot-driven stories is that for the latter, there's usually a McGuffin to attain while the former is heavier on personal conflict.
in order to give an example, I'll use a premise but with different outcomes.
Guy A is getting hunted by fighters around the world, and his goal is to stop it.
When it comes to a plot-driven story, Guy A would be given a prophecy or a challenge or a map to a treasure that he must attain in order to stop the horde of fighters from coming to eat his ass. He'll be making decisions along the way, sure, but those decisions would be pressured by the plot. Let's say he meets Guy B who needs this McGuffin more than him. Guy A would make the brave sacrifice to let Guy B live. Without the McGuffin in the first place, Guy A would never have to make his decision.
A character-driven story would be different. Guy A would be in the same scenario, hunted down by the same ass-eaters, but this time, there's no McGuffin. Guy A himself goes through a series of conflicts with the fighters as his psyche gradually wears down. He starts to see himself in the abyss as the challenge seemed insurmountable as the day goes. There will come crucial moments where he can either choose to withstand the pain or perish to stop the suffering. The story would revolve around Guy A's descent into madness as he tries to stop the onslaught of people trying to taste test his chocolate star and fail every time. His decision making is not entirely dependant on his personal thoughts and actions, but it's heavily reliant on it.
One is not necessarily better than the other. For a plot-driven story, it's more exciting with a clearer pace to follow, though it'll risk becoming formulaic if not innovated upon. The other would be deeper in characterization and introspection BUT gets a hella lot boring if there are no good scenarios to support said characterization.
The two aren't mutual tags either. You can be a plot-driven story with heavy characterization or a plot-heavy story with more focus on the character's inner conflicts and emotions. It's really just what the story focuses on.
