Character Development in Writing

Character Development in Writing

What are your views on Character Development? How much emphasis do you put on your primary and secondary characters?

When I began to focus more seriously on my writing, I turned my attention to script writing and my love for its style but more importantly I loved the concept of developing characters. My attraction was to live through the character lives, understanding how they would react in different situations. On reflection, my emphasis was more on the character than on the plot line created. One of the books I loved studying during this period was a book written by Rib Davis called “Developing Characters for Script Writing”. This book forms a series of “Writing Handbooks” by different authors covering everything from writing for television, radio, newspapers, fiction, travel, freelance etc. It is a good series to have.

I am going to discuss a little of what is important for me in developing characters. There is no right or wrong way and it can all differ based on the type of story you write, its length, its genre, its style, etc.

The Character Now:

In setting out a story whether based around a character, event, etc the reader will discover the character in a certain time frame. They will be of a certain age, in a specific time or place in their life, single, married, have a family, employed, unemployed, in prison, dying, their beliefs/views, etc. It is important that the reader understands where the character is now as they will begin a journey from this point forwards or backwards depending on the style of the story. Draw comparisons to our own lives. We are all on a journey and through those experiences, we grow. For example, I am not the same person now as I was when I was twenty. We evolve over time, changed by our environment, circumstances and lives. Situations and circumstances might alter our view on life, perhaps make us see things differently both positively and negatively. We can become bitter with life, depressed, despise certain things or form a great love and respect for life after some harrowing event or accident. All of this leads to my next point, which I feel is the most important aspect in character development and that is the “Back Story”.

Character Back Story:

Each of us has a history and the same applies to our characters. Our history is what helps define us and our outlook in life. Without it we are almost two dimensional. Your type of story will determine how much of the character’s back story will be revealed. If you are writing a short story or flash fiction the time does not allow for a strong development of a character, however it is important that the character should at least be given a name or some form of identity to help the reader relate. For me, I like a back story to be introduced gradually throughout a story as it is like bringing the reader on a secondary journey with the character. The reader should be allowed to develop a relationship with the character so they can truly understand the emotional thought process and why they take certain actions in different situations. Building a strong back story will bring the character to the current moment in the story where the reader will find them. On saying that, do not reveal too much so easily. To keep the interest of the reader you should allow for some mystery, keep the reader questioning but not too much as it will lead to confusion. Finding a balance is important.

Character Description:

I believe in not providing straight forward detailed character descriptions. Readers are intelligent, so craft character descriptions to allow readers use their imaginations. I believe if a character is developed strongly, showing their emotional state, their thought process and interactions with other characters, this can provide a good sense of what the character is like, allowing the reader to draw their own image. There is nothing worse for me when reading a book to create an image of a character only to have it altered by a descriptive reference later on by the writer. There is nothing wrong with giving slight descriptions for example, “she had a slight shake in her right hand”, “he had a limp in his left leg”, “the sun highlighted her auburn hair”, etc.

A suggestion would be if you wish to provide character descriptions and I use this technique is to have your characters give a description through their eyes. In life each of us will see people differently whether they are our family, friends, acquaintances, lovers or complete strangers. By knowing the character who is observing another in the story the reader will make up their own mind whether this is a truthful description based on the relationship the two characters have.

Character Growth:

The Character will go on a personal journey throughout the story. The reader discovers the character at a certain point in their life and as the story progresses the character should grow and learn as we do in our own lives. I love writing my main characters, if I did not, I would or could not write them. Whether they are the protagonist or antagonist, I love them both equally. Personal development, life lessons, emotional and spiritual growth must all happen to make the character a fully rounded individual. Based on the type of story you write, it does not necessarily mean that the character’s growth will be positive, it can also be negative even to change the character and their outlook in life.

Some Other Points:

The following are some other points to take note of concerning Character Development:

• Feel what the protagonist feels
• All protagonists have a goal – there are two: External and Internal. By getting the external goal, it will make the protagonist feel that his internal goal is met
• Uncover the protagonist’s inner issue. For this one you can focus on two areas
• What SPECIFIC EVENT caused her problem or fear of the particular situation?
• What EVENT TRIGGERED her desire for the goal itself?

To recap, the reader meets the character in a certain moment, a back story must be present to tell the reader how the character got to be where they are today. Then as the story progresses you should take the character on a journey of growth and development. How you describe your character is your personal choice, whether you write it directly in detail or through small physical hints or allow your other characters to do the describing for you through their own thought processes.

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