Plot-Engines According to Monteleone

By “plot-engine” (Chapter 6) Monteleone means “what gets the plot up and running and keeps it in motion.”

There are 2 kinds:

1. Event-driven plot-engine: The protagonist and secondary characters only react to things that happen outside of their control (a war, an earthquake, a climate change, a meteorite, etc.)

2. Character-driven plot engine: Changes within the characters or caused by their actions keep the plot moving.

My plot about the two islands, is it event-driven or character-driven?
The main witch in Usame decrees the war on coffee (character-driven).
The people in Xicome have to implement Usame’s policy (event-driven).
Pej’o opposes the policy (character-driven).
Fox’o casts Pej’o out of Xicome (character-driven).
So, my plot is more a character-driven plot engine, but also a little bit an event-driven plot-engine.

What about the plot in Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City?

There are 2 main characters: David Burnham—the architect—and H. H. Holmes—the serial killer.

The non-fiction novel starts with an event-driven plot: Chicago will host the World’s fair. OK, these events were produced by the Congress, which had the choice between New York and Chicago, but our main character—David Burnham—was not involved in that decision, he just reacted to an event that was out of his control. And then, most of what happens is a character-driven plot, although events also drive it: Burnham bids for the fair contract and wins. He gathers a team of great men, plans, and struggles to build the fair, even though destiny seems to be against his will (man against nature, event-driven plot).

On the other hand, the serial killer’s story is mainly a character-driven plot: Holmes was good at planning, seducing, and killing without nobody noticing. His gruesome and sick psychology drives the creepy part of the book.

With good novels it is not that easy to see what is driving the action, sometimes events drive it, and sometimes characters do.