How to write Character Development!

Time for another info post!

Today's topic is one that MANY people have asked for. Character development. It's the one thing that's imperative to any good story and to have a satisfying ending to the plot. This was one of the more difficult topics to look into so some of the points will be a bit vague, but still hope it helps!

Now I'll be talking about the main character of your story, but this can be applied to other important characters as well!

What is Character Development?

Well developing a character has two meanings. The first one is having your characters backstory, personality, goals, etc. all properly established and ultimately having a three-dimensional character.

I'll be referring to the second, which is simply: how your character changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Or essentially, how your character learns a valuable lesson.

Now keep in mind that when the main character goes through this, their character arc is over. In of a main character, this essentially means the story is close to over. This is because "the character drives the story".

For example:

Say your character is really selfish, and this is expressed through the story. They don't share, they refuse to help others at the cost of loosing anything themselves, etc.

But then a situation arises that causes a very bad situation to occur because of that selfishness. Maybe they didn't want to give money to a beggar. Only to find out the next day the beggar died of starvation because they didn't have the money to buy food.

Scenarios like this initiate character development. What completes it is when the character realizes the bad situation occurred due to their actions and reflects on it. Now this doesn't mean that the character will immediately change their actions, but what this does do is keep the thought on their mind. It sparks the possibility of change when an opinion they have begins to differ or gains a different perspective.

Now these scenarios have to be impactful, but they don't always have to involve someone dying. Since every character is different, you as a writer must be aware of what would make them react strongly. This is why having your characters personalities and backstories is important before you work on how to give them character development.

"Your characters are like geodes. To see what they're really made of, you must BREAK them. Only then will you truly see a characters real colors."

- anonymous

Secondary characters

Yup you heard me. These guys are actually super important to your characters development. Often times these characters are forgotten about and are only around when the plot demands them. But character interaction is one of the greatest steps in character development. This is because it presents characters with different opinions and perspectives from others. The only way a characters opinion of a certain topic can be changed is if they begin to question it first. You want to be sure that the character thinks about the topic on their own beyond just another character telling them about it however.

For example:

If your characters friend tells them they are beginning to act like the enemy, that's one way to begin character development. But it's more impactful If the friend simply mentions that the main character is acting different and the main character figures out the parallels to the enemy on their own. The friends comment on how they're acting different makes them think, but the main still comes to their own conclusion.

This also ties into having multiple goals for a character. Your characters should have a main goal, but should also have a few smaller goals as well. These goals can be as small as getting a new pair of clothes or finding a lost coin. Simple things like these can open the door to deeper characterization. After all, your character has to be properly presented before you can give them further development. But you never want to have it happen all at once. This is why secondary characters having conversations and the main character reacting to them is a great way to start that off.

How quick the lesson is learned

This is the part I see as the most important. What do they learn? This can be anything. It can be a big lesson like a persons personality changing, or a smaller lesson like loosing an attachment to a childhood toy.

Another thing to note, is that the lesson can't happen too quickly or it'll feel unrealistic. A character isn't going to learn a life lesson through one conversation and then suddenly act on it. That doesn't happen in real life and is referred to as bad character development.

Examples of bad development:

-development over one conversation

-development over one kiss

-development over one look at a person

-development over one day spent in another environment.

Notice how all of those had the word "one" in it? It's because one thing happening one time is very unlikely to change a person. This is only with the exception of extreme cases like a persons death or wide scale destruction of a place like a war. But even in these cases you have to show the characters thoughts on it. Show how it devastated them and how they feel. Weather they have nightmares or something that reminds them of it makes them cry, etc. Even if it's only one event, that's means it's extremely impactful on them and it should show in heir character.

Good character development is a slow process and takes a bit more time. The initial scenario that sparks the character second guessing things, or thinking beyond their opinions is only the first step. But how it typically works is that the character will be presented with other similar scenarios and act differently then they did the first time.

For example:

Let's use the beggar scenario again with the selfish character. Let's say they're approached by another beggar. But perhaps instead of caving in and giving them money, they go and give the beggar the rest of their meal they didn't finish, since the beggar expressed being hungry. It's not exactly them being completely over their selfishness, since they gave the beggar something they didn't want, but it's a step forward. THATS characters development. It's done in steps.

I hope this guide helped guide you in the ways of character development! Now this is a bit of a difficult thing to do, so don't feel bad if your character development isn't seamless. In lamest , you want your character to change over time because of facts about themselves are brought to their attention. Wether it's positive or negative change is development. And development means your character is affected by the plot and not just a bystander.

Did you find the post informative? Have things to add? Leave a comment below!