Was doing some thinking and got wondering what some of you guys' opinions are on a story with either masterful suspense OR compelling characters, and which of the two you think is more important in telling a good story.
Naturally both are important and you wouldn't want to skimp on either, but purely hypothetically speaking if you could only choose one, which would it be and why?
For me personally, I feel like relatable and lovable characters are the most important thing. I've heard a couple people on here say how you can make a gripping page-turner with nothing but good suspense, and I can see that, but without anything else there's no reader connection. Whereas you can have a story with almost no tension but if the characters are interesting and complex it can make even mundane actions enjoyable. I'm also a sucker for character driven stories so I could have some bias here, haha.
Let me know what you all think!
Naturally both are important and you wouldn't want to skimp on either, but purely hypothetically speaking if you could only choose one, which would it be and why?
For me personally, I feel like relatable and lovable characters are the most important thing. I've heard a couple people on here say how you can make a gripping page-turner with nothing but good suspense, and I can see that, but without anything else there's no reader connection. Whereas you can have a story with almost no tension but if the characters are interesting and complex it can make even mundane actions enjoyable. I'm also a sucker for character driven stories so I could have some bias here, haha.
Let me know what you all think!