Characters or plot first?

[Chrysolite]

I'm a very character-oriented person, myself. I find that it's very difficult for me to fully enjoy a story if I can't connect with the characters, no matter how cool the plot is. But obviously the plot is very important, because even the coolest character ever won't grab the audience if they're not doing anything. Objectively, I'd have to say both are equally important, but personally, I favor characters. I find that in my writing I often get so lost in my imaginings of the characters, their emotions, struggles, and relationships-- that I forget about the plot almost entirely, and when I actually sit down to write I realize that I don't know what I want to happen. @_@ As for which I start with, it really just depends on what my original inspiration was, but once I get going, I most definitely focus far more on the characters than the plot. I think this is actually a weakness of mine. ^^' Even so, I take comfort from the fact that the hardest part of writing is actually finishing what you're working on, and if I really fall in love with my characters, it will be a lot harder for me to give up on finishing their story. Working out a stable, believable, interesting plot is definitely a struggle for me, but well worth the effort, and I think my plots usually come out pretty good in spite of the fact that they take a backseat to the characters.

[Rusty Claymore]

All of my stories happen when I "watch" a character go through a scenario in my head. Almost like I'm an observer suddenly. Usually it is inspired by scenes or phrases.

[Firebird3613]

I usually come up with a scenario first (it can be triggered by something totally random too), and then develop the characters and rest of the plotline.

I think a big part of the plotline is the characters developing and growing up. The story is usually about the characters going through a situation or working through some sort of problem. It's their journey.
Of course this may be only the case for some genres. Like fantasy/action, which is what I write. I've never really written or read much romance, so I wouldn't really know. I suppose it can be, but characters going on a journey to defeat some sort of really evil person sounds better than characters trying to find their long lost love...(in my opinion.)

[Doubleshadow]

For me, it's the plot. Although, once I come up with the characters, they pretty much take over. It's better that way.

This true for me. I have to know where a story is going. When I try to start with characters, I can't make them behave naturally, and writing then feels forced. Also, I find it much easier to develop my characters in response to the circumstances and situations they face.

[Blacklight]

Come to think of it, I've been coming up with the plot, and then putting together the characters for it... I think.
Maybe it's more that the plot is 'about' the characters, so I'm having a bit of trouble really distiguishing the two. (That is, which one I come up with first.)
I guess it would be something like, "this story is about this person doing this thing and this thing happens and then this person etc. etc. etc."

So, maybe it is the plot for me...?

[choklit]

I often think of the story first. I dislike having to "fit" characters into my stories; it feels unnatural. I create stories and characters seperately, and keep them in files. I remember all my characters by heart, so when I find a story that suits them, then I put them in it. Often though, a character grows out of the story. The back characters I can grow just fine; it's the main characters that give me trouble. I try to keep away from cliches, but then I am tempted to stray from what is believable.
My back characters can be as ridiculous as they want; it makes them enjoyable, but the main has to be relatable, so... yeah. I am neither, then. I mix and match.

[Azier the Swordsman]

It depends entirely on the medium I'm writing for.

For normal fiction, I will have a very basic idea for a plot, a very basic idea for a few characters, and a few very basic ideas for certain key scenes. Then I will write down my base concept and start creating the characters. I create very detailed character bios and I ask myself a lot of questions about them and how they live their lives, and from there I begin to further develop the type of world they live in. If it is not set in the real world or is an alternate universe from our world I will then develop how the world in the story works. With all this information in mind, I will begin writing from start to finish.

If I get writers block for some reason, I will simply choose a scene later on in the story that I want to do and start writing it out of order. By doing this I've found that usually if I had any unanswered questions causing the writer's block, or I couldn't figure out for the life of me how the characters get to point A to point B, jumping ahead usually sorts everything out and I resume bridging the gaps as normal.

For fanfiction, I don't bother with a concept document and just start writing from the idea in my head, even if the fanfiction is set in an alternate universe.

I'm also writing a videogame series, and the writing on that is extremely erratic. I have a ton of concept documents filled with detailed notes, and I jump all over the series writing everything completely out of order based on my current mood. XDD

If I'm writing a screenplay, I will jump all over the place too writing the most important scenes first and stringing it all together later.

Also, I'm a firm believer that no matter what the concept, the characters, their desires, their goals, their dreams, and how they react to the situations they are thrust into based off all these variables are what make the story.