#characters vs plot

...I'm not sure if that makes for a good conversation about pacing.

See, I often want to just a show based less on what it could be if XYZ external factors were different like how many episode per season.

Can they convey the stories they wish to tell within 26 episodes per season or 13 episode per season? 10 can seem pretty tight and is becoming the norm.

There's also how some shows seem keen to, rightfully, assume that their show will be lucky to make two seasons. Thus there will likely be a sense that a plotline that could've been delegated for a future season but too many are aware of how companies are allergic to paying taxes like "peasents.

Even so.

While we can take Streaming to task for not giving show even the bare minimum of thirteen episodes, what I care about it how well the creative teams manage with the hand they are dealt with.

Can this "eight hour movie" pace itself well?

Can it feel like a chapter book where its it real page-turner?

Does it know what ideas are important to keep?

Can it give itself time for the characters to just be before the next big plot beat?

Can it juggle characterization with plot progression? A lot of stories are actually more about a character's decisions than just things that happen to them.

-@zoya-writes

Thank you so much for the ask, @zoya-writes!

I'd say, for me, it is definitely the characters. Characters are the reason I get excited about books I'm reading, and also about stories I'm writing. They are kind of the gateway into the world, and the way most readers will connect with the story. That's not to say all characters must be likable (I actually quite enjoy writing messy and unlikable protagonists), but they should always be interesting.

Thank you for the ask! And also for the permission to be detailed because I def would have kept it simple.

My characters have always been very important because like, if you create compelling characters they usually bring plot with them. But also I love creating characters in the same way that I love to draw them; characters are a way of capturing the little moments of brotherhood and love, and of recognizing our pain and the fruits of our hardships and how they make us better or worse people. We experience so much and the best way to hold onto that, in my opinion, is by creating characters that reflect and romanticize the things that we love and the values that we hold.