Character Development Writing Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
The
definition of character development refers to the process of creating a
believable character in fiction by giving the character depth and personality.
Strong character development is one
of the most important aspects of writing a fiction novel. With strong character
development, your characters will be more memorable, and most importantly, your
readers will be able to relate well to them, just as if they were a real live
human being.
With a little bit of experience and practice using these
character development activities, you’ll soon master the art of character
development in no time!
In this post we’ll share with you the
5 steps to learning how to create memorable characters in your novel, along
with some practical character development exercises to help you gain practice
and confidence.
What is Character Development? Why
Does it Matter?
In order to fully understand how to build strong
characters in your novel, you first need to have a good understanding of what
character development is – and why it is so important in the first place!
So what does character development
mean exactly?
While there are many different interpretations for the
definition of character development out there, I define character development
as stated above.
The key here is to realize the character
personality development process is not just the act of sitting down and
conjuring up an imaginary person – it is also showing your readers how this
persona changes and transforms throughout the course of the story.
Who Can
Be a Character In My Novel?
The characters of your novel are in most instances the
people who the story is about. You will typically have between 1-2 main
characters and a handful of minor supporting characters in your book.
Your
main characters are usually the people in the book who are central to the
story. If you are writing in the first person, the story may be told from their
point of view. Without the main character, there would be no story.
Supporting characters are people who add dynamics to your story. They work to compliment the main character – and often need to add to the overall conflict to the story. A supporting character is not as critical as a main character, but the story should still need to rely on this person in order to be the same.
If you can completely remove a
character out of the book without affecting the plot, you may want to
reconsider whether you even need that character in the first place!
Of
Course, Not All Characters Are Human
Of course, I say “people” here – but characters can be any
type of animate being. Animals, mythological creatures, and advanced artificial
life forms are all candidates as main characters, depending on what type of
genre you may be writing.
For example, when writing children’s
literature, it’s not uncommon for many of the characters to be animals. One
example of a non-human character would be Peter, the main rabbit character in
the story Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.
Even supporting characters do not need to be humans – many
can be animals and other types of creatures. While we are on the topic of
rabbits in fiction stories, one such case is the rabbit in the much loved C.S.
Lewis classic Alice In Wonderland.
There are not a lot
of rules on what a character can and can’t be – the key to making a character
is all about the development of character – and these are all the personality
traits and behaviors that make the character come to life!
Now that we understand what character
development is and who our characters can be, we’re ready to get onto the 5
steps of strong character development!
Here are
the 5 Steps of Strong Character Development to Create Memorable Characters in
Your Novel:
These 5 steps will guide you along creating realistic and relate-able personas in your story – and ensure that your character fully grows
throughout the plot!
Step 1:
Identify Your Characters & Their Roles in the Story
The first step may be an obvious one, but an essential
one! You need to know who will be the main people in your book. It’s important
to identify not just who they are – but also what their roles are in the book.
For example, if you’re writing a
story similar to Peter Rabbit, you would identify first there is a rabbit named
Peter. You may even consider some basic personality traits, such as being
troublemaker or not being very good at listening to directions.
However, it’s important you also identify the roles of the
character in the story. Peter is a main character, but you need to think about
what role he plays in the overall story-line.
In the story, Peter is a young bunny. He is the son to the
mother rabbit, and a brother of his sisters Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail.
This adds to the overall character development of Peter, because if he were a
grown-up rabbit in the story without a mother worrying about him or perfectly
behaved sisters to compare and contrast with, you would miss a lot of the
conflict in the story.
Even minor absent characters can have important roles. Continuing with the
Peter Rabbit story, Peter’s father was turned into stew after being caught in
the farmer’s garden. This “raises the stakes” in the novel on why it is such a
bad idea to sneak into the garden in the first place!
We never see Peter’s father in the story, since he has
passed on, but the introduction of him as a character adds to the suspense and
conflict when Peter decides to pay the farmer’s garden a visit. Likewise,
Peter’s sisters are relatively small supporting characters – however, without
them being there we would not realize just how well-behaved a young rabbit
could be compared to the bad decisions made by Peter!
These roles are classic archetypes we see quite often not
only in books, but even our own human lives. Most of us who grew up with
siblings can relate to a time where we were the “bad one” or the “good one”, as
this is a common relationship dynamic between siblings and the parent-child
relationship.
Remember, dynamic means stimulating
activity, change or progress. Taking note of common relationship dynamics can
be quite helpful in identifying how each character’s role is going to influence
the outcome of your story and the overall growth of your main character.
An Important Note About Using
Archetypes and Stereotypes: Avoid Clichés!
While using generic relationships between archetype
characters can be helpful to identify roles and dynamics between people in your
book, try to avoid character clichés while writing when possible!
For example, many fairy tales have
the evil step-mother – a wicked woman who despises or is jealous of the
step-daughter. This character has been “done to death” as the saying goes – and
likewise will make your story seem uninspiring.
If a character is a cliché stereotype, it will likely turn
readers off, especially if they know the stereotypes are not usually true about
individuals.
To overcome this, try changing your
character to have some behaviors or motivations that are NOT the stereotype.
Maybe the evil step mother is not cruel and narcissistic, but instead she’s
seen as “evil” because she is too kind, helpful and overbearingly loving to a
reluctant step-child.
If you find yourself working with common archetypes,
ask yourself: What can I do that will add a twist? Can I think of any real-life
examples of this stereotype? What would make the person a unique individual and
not quite as predictable?
Step 2:
Get Inside Your Character’s Head
The next step, once we’ve identified each character and
the role they play in the story-line, is to really get to know your character
inside and out. While you will want to make a note of their physical appearance
and main personality traits, it can be helpful to dig in even deeper.
Using character development questions can
be very helpful for understanding your character’s quirks – and their main
motivations. Even if you do not use all of the details in your story (and you
probably shouldn’t!) – it is still a worthwhile exercise to practice.
Answering questions about your character will give you as
the writer a complete picture of the person and influencing elements of the
story. Knowing how your character might react when angry for example will give
you a starting place when you are ready to write the major rising conflict
scenes.
Remember:
It’s Not Just Who They Are in the Beginning – It’s Who They Become
Because development of characters is just as much about
how they grow and change from the beginning of the story to the end, having an
intimate knowledge of little details can make a big difference at how well you
are able to convey this to your readers.
For example, let’s say you have an idea for a main
character named Jane who is a rather shy, timid, middle aged woman who has all
but given up on life. After being fired from her last job, she is desperate for
any type of work, so accepts a job as a cafeteria worker at a tough inner city
school.
The story of transformation can
happen in a number of ways, depending on what story you want to tell. Maybe in
the story Jane will be forced to speak up on an important issue on behalf of
the students. As the writer, you could then show the readers how she transforms
from being shy and depressed to finding something she is passionate about and
building her confidence.
Or, you could have Jane fall in love with the principal
and has to learn to believe in herself enough to initiate a conversation that
leads to that first date. Or, maybe Jane finds out the school is planning to
poison the students during lunch next Tuesday and only she can save everyone.
Whatever the plot may be, the important thing is that your character goes
through changes in their personality and behavior – in a realistic and believable way.
If you understand the little details about Jane and why
she is the way she is and how her inner mind works, you’ll be better prepared
to write about how she changes in a way your readers can understand and relate
to.
Step 3:
Research, Research, Research
Research can be a writer’s worst nightmare – especially if
you’re using the excuse to research as a procrastination method to avoid
writing!
However, doing your initial research about your characters
before you start writing is very important, because it can actually save you
the time-sucking distraction of trying to find information mid-sentence or
mid-chapter.
You should research as much as possible for anything you
do not have direct experience with. Even if it is a topic you know a lot about,
you should still try to research and fact-check just to make sure you have
accurate information.
For example, let’s say you are writing a novel where your
main character is a cardiologist at a busy hospital. Not only would you need to
research some basic information on cardiology as a profession, but you would
need to make sure you are aware of medical customs and laws where the hospital
is located.
Even if you were the office assistant
to a cardiologist as a past job, if the story is set in a different state or
country, there will likely be many differences that readers who know better
would be able to spot as being inaccurate.
Historical novels are another example of where a lot of
research might be necessary. If you’re writing a story set in the revolutionary
war time period, it would be important to make sure everything you write is
historically accurate. Having mistakes about dates, people, places or events
would surely cause some readers to become upset!
Yes, There is Such a Thing as Too
Much Research
Of course, you do not want to spend too much time in
research, because research can lead you to become very distracted.
Do as much research as you can beforehand, but if you’ve
spent more than 2 months researching and have not written a single word yet,
you are using research as an excuse to not write!
Step 4:
Strong Dialogue = Stronger Character Development
Dialogue is an important part of almost every story. The
way your character talks and interacts in conversations with others can make a
big difference on how well your audience can connect with the person or
creature.
There are a number
of factors that can help you build strong dialogue between characters, but one
important key is staying consistent.
Consistency is very
important. Staying consistent with your characterization of each person is what
makes the people in your novel memorable and helps readers identify with the
character.
If your character
is a conservative and traditional person and then all of a sudden out of
nowhere starts swearing and dropping profanities, this might not only cause
confusion – it could turn off some readers who related to the character’s
traditional values earlier in the story.
It’s also important
to make sure through dialogue your characters are distinctively different. For
example, if you have the characters David and Daniel, you would want to make
sure each has unique identifying phrases, tone of voice, and mannerisms while
talking.
Otherwise, your
readers may have to go back and reread a section as they try to remember which
character is David and which one is Daniel – and that’s NOT a good sign!
Step 5:
Show, Don’t Tell
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “show, don’t tell” as one
of the main writing rules.
Well, it may be cliché, but it is a
very good tip for helping you write a convincing story with strong characters!
This
is an example of telling:
Sarah couldn’t
believe that she would never be at the beach house again. Tears welled in her
eyes as she walked away.
This
is an example of showing:
Mindy locked up the
beach house one final time and slipped the key into her pocket. She looked
toward the edge of the ocean through puffy and blurry eyes. She didn’t think I was
possible to cry any more than she already had, but the tears came on again
anyways, bursting out of her like a fierce and unexpected storm over the ocean.
Now, I just made these two examples
up, so they are nowhere near “perfect” of course – but for example’s sake
hopefully you can see a big difference between the two.
The first one doesn’t really give a lot of detail, nor
does it make us feel emotionally connected in any way to the story. We’re not
really sure what’s happening.
With the second example, we are more descriptive – Mindy
is looking at the ocean through puffy, blurry eyes and then comparing the
outburst of tears like an unexpected ocean storm.
Making use of body language and feelings is very important
when you are writing and will help you more effectively convey your message to
your audience. When your readers can visualize a scene while they read and can
relate to what the person might be feeling or experiencing, it is easier for
them to be attached to the story.
It can take some practice to fully master the concept of “show, don’t tell”,
but the good news is the more you write the easier it gets!
Character
Development Writing Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
It doesn’t have to be difficult to practice character
development in writing – and in many ways, it can be one of the fun and
exciting parts of the process when writing a novel.
When you are able to convey your
characters effectively, it will help your audience connect with the story and
be drawn into reading about what happens next.
Taking some time to research and practice these creative
character development activities and exercises can be a very helpful way to get
on the right track of becoming a successful author.
