Should the plot be the driving force in your novel?
That largely depends upon the type of novel that you are crafting.
When sitting down to write a novel you should have some idea of whether it is a character driven story or a plot driven story. If your novel is going to be plot driven then I would strongly suggest that you do an outline. To say plot driven is in a way to say map driven. Your outline is the map of coming events or in other words the plot. While if your novel is going to be character driven you can sit back and write. Trusting the lead character to take you on the long walk from page one until you write the end.
What type of writing do I prefer? I would have to say that I write the same kind of fiction that I enjoy reading. I lean toward character driven stories however parts of my first novel Calling Vicki had to be plotted. Characters needed to connect up at certain points of the novel and that required plotting. You may believe that you will only depend upon one way to craft your novel or the other, but in the end you will surprise yourself.
Thank you for visiting my site. Please take a moment to add me to your google plus and to check out my book Calling Vicki, available at all major online book sellers.