What do I think of first -- character or plot?

I get this question a lot. Heck, all writers get this question a lot. And all of us have different answers, or a different twist on the same answer. It's the writer's version of the chicken-and-the-egg question: "Which comes first: character or plot?

For me, it's a little of both. But most of the time, the characters come first, story second. For me characters drive the story, so it's only natural that they would come to me first. For me personally, the characters are the most important part of any book, whether I'm the writer or the reader.

My progression of "idea getting" goes like this: A character comes to me, I get snippets of snarky dialogue from said character, other characters arrive, then scenes start forming in my head with my cast of characters, then those scenes and dialog snippets start to form themselves into a story. Volia.

I cut my fantasy-writing teeth in the 80s on David Eddings, Raymond Feist and Terry Brooks -- all authors of very character-driven books. What kept bringing me back to their series, and kept me waiting in not-very-patient anticipation for their next books were the characters. These were people I identified with, genuinely liked and most importantly -- I cared what happened to them. If I'm reading a book and after the first couple of chapters I either don't like the main character, or really couldn't care less what happened to them, chances are pretty high that book is going back on the shelf and I'm going to be disappointed. Give me "real" characters and a compelling plot, and I'm your fan for life.

Which author keeps me tapping my foot impatiently for their next book?

Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files. Simply the best -- period. And according to my editor at Ace, Anne Sowards (who is also Jim's editor), he has a wonderful sense of humor and is an all-round great guy. I'm looking forward to meeting him one of these days. ; )

Coming up tomorrow on the Saturday Fun Pic, I'll be posting a photo of something that a lot of you have been asking for -- a map of Raine's world. It's framed, drawn on parchment, and is very cool.

And don't forget about the MLTF Contest -- I'll be drawing a name tomorrow for our first winner. Some of you have read your copies of Magic Lost, Trouble Found so many times that it's starting to get a little worn. I thought I'd give you all a chance to replace it with a brand new, signed and personalized copy. Over the next four weeks I'll be giving away copies of MLTF and other book goodies. Just send me an email at lisa@lisashearin.com with "MLTF contest" in the subject line and you'll be entered to win. There will be a total of four winners, with the names drawn on the next four Saturdays. You only have to enter once to be eligible for each week's drawing.

Happy Friday, folks!
Lisa