Over at the lobo_luna community, I've completed a question and answer session. I thought I'd post the questions and answers here as well.

Can you talk about character development?



Most of the stories I write, be they short fiction or novels, start with a character. My favorite pieces of fiction tend to be character driven works. I love the characters in a story, and will forgive weak plotting, meh setting, and several other faults in a story, if the characters interest me.

I typically start with this simple concept: There is a character (I typically have the character first and can see them clearly in my head), they are in a place (usually the place grows from the character themselves), and they have a problem (once the character is clear in my head, the problem is typically the next thing I think up), which is the crux of any story.

At this point I start thinking about the character. How much detail you need to know really depends on you, but I generally need less for short fiction. A name, their sex, some background, what drives the character, what frightens the character, personal strengths and weakness. Toss in a quirk or two, if you want. These are thing you need to know, though might not need to share all of it with the reader.

Now we go back to the character and their problem. Why do they have this problem? How did it start? How do they feel about it? What do they plan to do about it?

At this point you should have the beginning of the story. Now is where plot starts to come in. The character has a problem. They have a plan to solve the problem. This is when you stick it to the character! Their plan to solve the problem not only doesn’t work, but makes things worse. By escalating the problem, you put the character on the spot. Now they have to really start to think of new and creative ways to solve that problem.

With the character under pressure is the time to grow your character. Do they rise to the occasion or collapse? Do they dig in and grit their teeth, or become angsty ennui whiners? Do they realize they need help, or do they stubbornly go it alone? All of these choices can lead to a growth moment for the character, depending on where he started. You as a writer cannot make it easy on the character. That isn't interesting, and the character who can easily overcome a challenge needs not grow as a character. You have to escalate the action and raise the stakes. How they react depends on the direction you are taking the character, but they should grow and expand, even as they solve their problem.

The best characters are constantly growing as the story moves along. They become more than they were. They have their ideas and usual ways of doing things challenged and they see the world anew and rise to the challenge. They discover something about themselves, allowing the reader to discover something about him or herself as well.