The intersection of characterization and plotting

One of my favorite lessons from the last creative writing course I taught at ANU CCE was about the relationship between characterization and plotting. When you start thinking in terms of how your individual character would uniquely move the story forward you can really start getting into some complex motivations and some really authentic, original conflicts and resolutions. When your character starts telling you what happens next, you know you’ve reached the character/action integration sweet spot.
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of psychology and anthropology books. They’ve been calling out to me at the used booksellers, with their promises of new knowledge and insight, new ways of thinking. My next novel is very much focused on the relationship between mother and daughter, and so I’ve also been reading some seminal feminist texts on the conflicts of the mother’s role in society. As I’m reading, certain sections pop out as concerns that would work well for my character. If you don’t know where to go with your plot, this is also a great way to forge ahead because once you find the conflict for her, it’s not a very far stretch to work out a situation in which to play out this conflict. In fact, that’s the fun part, isn’t it?
This can work for any genre. For thrillers, the internal motivation of the characters is just as important as the external motivation. But you need to plant these seeds early on, rather than conveniently dumping a new fear of spiders just at the moment when your hero will have to crawl through a tunnel of, guess what, er, spiders, to save his wife and face his greatest fear. The best way to set this kind of scenario up is to get to know your character inside and outside from the very beginning. You can find many character charts online to help you out. Here is a really thorough one: http://www.eclectics.com/articles/character.html. You don’t have to fill it all out, but it gets your brain working in a more holistic way, thinking of your character as a fully-fleshed out, acting individual, rather than a guy with blond hair and blue eyes. .
When you get to the point where the characterization and the plot are so dependent on each other that the next scene is a no-brainer to you, you know you’re on a good path. It’s an exciting point to be at—when the book begins to write itself.
I’d love to hear your experience, opinions, or questions on this topic.