Character Development
5 Key Elements
Character development is an integral part of storytelling. It brings your characters to life by defining their thoughts, motivations, and actions. It is through this process I ensure my readers become invested in the story. My approach is simple. I develop characters that are believable. I do this by giving them unique traits, flaws, experiences, accomplishments, and failures. Through this approach, readers connect with the story.
When readers connect with characters on a deeper level, it makes my story more engaging. I make my main characters dynamic by allowing them to change throughout the story. The static characters complement the dynamic characters by assisting the development of the dynamic characters.
Understanding Character Development - By keeping your characters relatable, your readers can see someone they know or relate to the character themselves. Through this connection, they create an emotional link, which makes your story both enjoyable and memorable. Static characters, on-the-other-hand, lack growth, making them less memorable, but they still carry an important role in the story.
You must distinguish between static and dynamic characters. Remember, static characters remain the same throughout the story, while dynamic characters undergo significant changes. You can internalize your dynamic characters’ changes by changing values or you can externalize them by a creating a physical transformation.
Understanding your character development will enhance your story. By introducing character motivation, flaws, backstories, and growth, you bring an authenticity to their roles, making them more relatable to your readers. Do this by recognizing the following five key elements.
Key Element 1 | A Strong Motivation
A strong motivation serves as the driving force behind a character’s decisions. It propels the plot forward. Without that strong motivation, your readers may see your characters as flat or uninteresting. Your readers, subsequently, may become less excited about finishing the story.
Make your character’s motivation grow throughout the story. It will add depth and complexity to their role and your readers will notice. Give your characters challenges, present obstacles to allow their motivation to develop. It’ll add depth and complexity, as their motivation and changes in response will reveal more about their personality, thus driving the plot forward.
Key Element 2 | Flaws and Vulnerabilities
You’ll want to strive to make your characters dynamic by showing their flaws, their vulnerabilities. It will give them room for growth and make them more relatable to your readers. A character without flaws may come across as unrealistic, or worse, boring. By introducing imperfections, you allow your readers to empathize with them.
Introduce challenges to expose vulnerabilities. It allows them to grow, while adding intensity and complexity to their development. Your readers will feel your characters are more authentic.
Key Element 3 | Backstory and Trauma
Introduce your character’s experiences to give your readers more insight into who they are. You can do this by using flashbacks, or by providing subtle hints throughout the story. By providing a backstory, your readers will be more likely to engage characters on a deeper level.
Add to your character’s growth by showcasing how their past has affected them. Show their transformations so your readers can better understand their motivations and actions of the present. For example, you may clarify the reason for actions and decisions which otherwise may have left the reader guessing.
Key Element 4 | Relationships and Interactions
Don’t be afraid to show your character’s personality. You can do this by showing their relationships or interactions. Relationships could include work related adventures or romantic interactions. To add a level of intrigue, throw in a few conflicts or challenges.
Make relationships as realistic as possible. The characters should have trials and moments of connection, as well as moments of conflict.
Key Element 5 | Growth and Change
You should create a realistic view of your story by showing your character’s growth and changes. Your readers will notice and engage. Know that character growth comes as both internal and external.
Internal growth refers to the emotional and psychological changes a character goes through. External growth is the physical changes a character undergoes, such as learning a new skill or overcoming a physical obstacle.
To portray growth and change, you show the progression of the character's thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Do this by highlighting their interactions with other characters, or through their choices and decisions.
Remember, when creating your characters, your goal should be to make them as real as possible. Give them the same depth and complications as their human counterparts. When building relationships, don’t limit them to only the protagonist and antagonist. You can develop realistic relationships between two obscure characters with just as much enthusiasm. By understanding the purpose of character development and incorporating these elements, you will create characters that will leave a lasting impact on readers.
There are, of course, more key elements I could have discussed, but I feel these four are good for starting a foundation on which to build. Some other key elements include the following.
one | Courage
If you give your characters an extra dose of courage, even the most timid can accomplish great things to support other characters. When you understand the power of courage, you can use it effectively to bring excitement to an otherwise dull scene.
two | Loyalty
Use loyalty to bind two characters together in bold and effective ways. The bond can be good or evil. It can be to support a superior, or come to the aid of an adversary.
three | Modesty
Characters with modest dispositions bring a sense of reason to situations where restraint is preferable to chaos. For example, Todd deserved the award, but not giving it to Jimbo would cause an all out war among the team.
four | honesty
Want to really spice up a scene? Introduce a character with unwavering honesty.
Bill, the CFO and co-founder of the company, had been secretly cooking the company books for years. When confronted, he had no idea Kathy had known all along. He pleaded with her not to testify, but she refused.
You can fill in the blanks from here. But you can see how honesty can dramatically affect the outcome of a situation.
Creating human-like characters in your stories can be tough, but it can also be fun. When I’ve settled on my main characters, being a pantser, I work up several mock scenarios designed to test my initial vision of their roles. I find it very interesting each time on where I land. I’m sure you will as well.
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