Effective Character Development
Things I learned along the way
I discovered three things about effective character development, beginning with it’s not impossible.
When I started my book project, I became bogged down with how the characters should interact. At first glance, they appeared to be people who would not interact with each other. Imagine a middle school dance filled with students standing against the gym walls as the music blares. Everyone wants to dance but is afraid to make the first move–beautiful wallflowers, motionless and stuck in time. The character running from the gym crying or feeling overwhelmed is the protagonist. There are lots of questions to answer about her behavior. Is she rushing to the bathroom? Does she suffer from social anxiety, or is the guy she wants to dance with approaching her, and she runs away instead of taking the opportunity to dance? She has room for growth and change or triumph and self-discovery. In other words, she possesses the critical components for making a character memorable, likable, and someone the reader will likely support. Her story begins with a conflict. The fun part is identifying the conflict and creating plot points to encourage the protagonist to change.
On the other hand, the antagonist is the one who is unafraid to ask anyone in the gym to dance. This brave soul requires no introduction or explanation. We…
