tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post6997564429493037667..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Character development: REALLY? by Nicola MorganUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-2615775012594732402012-04-12T23:22:11.417+01:002012-04-12T23:22:11.417+01:00I don't think we have the power to change ours...I don't think we have the power to change ourselves considerably. We still crave for change in our lives. <br /><br />Interestingly, the very act of reading a story about how a character has been changed can change the reader's character. We call these rare books transformative reads.<br /><br />The book that has transformed the most human lives? It seems to be the Bible.Katalin Havasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00362554165177127331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-51394022979684205122012-04-12T15:37:39.403+01:002012-04-12T15:37:39.403+01:00So right!! My characters are only away for a few d...So right!! My characters are only away for a few days at a time yet my editor wants to know what development will take place in that short time. Looking now at a class full of young people I can honestly say very little happens ...Debbie Edwardshttp://www.purpleraypublishing.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-81203341177211662262012-04-12T14:15:51.672+01:002012-04-12T14:15:51.672+01:00A question that has long obsessed me to. A seeming...A question that has long obsessed me to. A seeming paradox: i) characters must be consistent throughout; ii) characters must develop.<br /><br />The way I see it is: characters don't really change. They just discover something new about themselves that they never knew was there. To draw an example from classic literature: in 'Kung Fu Panda' Po is set on becoming a great warrior. The secret to his enlightenment is hidden in a scroll which is always out of reach. When he finally gets hold of it, he discovers it is blank. He realises 'there is no secret ingredient!' - he was great all along, but did not know it.Nick Greenhttp://www.nickgreenbooks.webeden.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-89866081926116058582012-04-12T10:59:09.825+01:002012-04-12T10:59:09.825+01:00Interesting discussion. One thing I'm sure of,...Interesting discussion. One thing I'm sure of, both in YA and adults' fiction - if you try to map out your character's 'development' before you begin, you've had it. In my experience, the only kind of character development that works is the unplanned sort that surprises the author and that the author perhaps has to have pointed out to him/her by readers.<br /><br />It takes a cool eye to analyse a character, and the author is far too closely involved. Bit like trying to deconstruct your kids, or your partner, or yourself.Rosalie Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10790708661647164052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-63117589228645369482012-04-11T20:36:43.267+01:002012-04-11T20:36:43.267+01:00Agree, Philippa. Just blogged about coming at this...Agree, Philippa. Just blogged about coming at this from the other angle i.e. is growth/character development a defining characteristic of the YA genre? Perhaps not any more as YA is such a big field, but I would say it is a feature of many novels that have a profound impact on people's lives (rather than more genre-based fiction).jongleusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06754014776263314905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-63640862004113102242012-04-11T17:45:04.912+01:002012-04-11T17:45:04.912+01:00My take is that this is why we read fiction. We wa...My take is that this is why we read fiction. We <i>want</i> to see people grow.<br />Building on the previous posts, I'd say our job as writers is to focus in on those events that either change a person or at least their outlook on life. This makes for dramatic plotting.<br />By gradually revealing our character's different aspects and exposing them to various stresses, we not only make them more rounded, but also make it more credible that they can develop or come to understand something important.<br />Thanks for the starting point.K.M.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07540392557430776265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-17173216733103454892012-04-11T17:18:12.121+01:002012-04-11T17:18:12.121+01:00To me, characterization involves growth and develo...To me, characterization involves growth and development of a character. The plot should drive the character forward, even if it simply means an antagonist faces consequences for his/her actions. Onward and upward! :)Emily R. Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03892444969625637064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-87450675499616431682012-04-11T17:15:37.465+01:002012-04-11T17:15:37.465+01:00I agree with Stroppy, Lalla Lily and Caz. And you ...I agree with Stroppy, Lalla Lily and Caz. And you too, Nicola. THose names sound like characters from a novel don't they? But it's a very interesting post indeed.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-42324930949272164712012-04-11T10:50:17.476+01:002012-04-11T10:50:17.476+01:00I'd agree that development means (should mean)...I'd agree that development means (should mean) the reader gaining more insight into the character, and the character gaining more insight into her or himself. The profound character changes that I think work in novels are the kind when the character or reader becomes aware, through what happens, of abilities or failings she already possesses (these abilities might be already apparent to everyone else, and so it is a self-realisation - very common in children's books) and which can then be used to resolve what happens. <br /><br />On happy-ever-after endings - surely characters don't really change in fairytales. The frog that turns into a prince is not changing, but changing back into what he truly is. Most fairytales take an aberration in the natural order of things (usually a spell) and revert it to how it should be for the happy ending - don't they? In this sense I suppose they work on the same basis as tragedy, except here the characters do not have to transcend their personalities (and fail), but must realise them to their full potential.Lilyhttp://www.lilyhyde.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-11160145680070176312012-04-11T10:31:57.525+01:002012-04-11T10:31:57.525+01:00Interesting. And yet, if we look at characters fro...Interesting. And yet, if we look at characters from great literature, is the capacity to change a fundamental attribute? It’s a huge subject, but drawing some names more or less at random from a variety of traditions, times and genres, I would say not. The essence of Therese Raquin’s tragedy is her inability to transcend her immutable nature. The same could be said of Hamlet – he reacts to circumstance and his ‘antic disposition’ develops, but his essential character is at the root of his fate. Lewis Carrol’s Alice remains grave and unshockable, a point of calm in a world of madness that loops and whirls dizzyingly around her. Cathy and Heathcliffe don’t ‘grow’ as characters; neither does Sherlock Holmes; neither does Racine’s Phedre – in fact, had she been able to do so, her tragedy wouldn’t have been played out. <br />And then there are characters who DO change. In Henry James’s ‘What Maisie Knew’ we see the gradual, inexorable erosion of innocence. In Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is an experiment in transcendence and re-creation. I could bore on for ages, but I won’t.<br />The capacity for a character to grow and evolve in the course of a narrative should really depend on the story. It shouldn’t be a prerequisite. That’s all.Lalla Merlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-19827747335375659682012-04-11T10:05:28.329+01:002012-04-11T10:05:28.329+01:00CazApr1 - honestly, development is meant to mean c...CazApr1 - honestly, development is meant to mean change over the course of the narrative. A full and rounded character is just a full and rounded character, without necessarily development. <br /><br />Stroppy - true and insightful. I do think self-knowledge is realistic and a very good form of development in itself. I have a lot of self-knowledge but just don't quite know how to use it!Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-30635256657914854362012-04-11T09:35:44.843+01:002012-04-11T09:35:44.843+01:00Here's a sweeping-generalisation type of hypot...Here's a sweeping-generalisation type of hypothesis. The crux of the traditional definition of tragedy is that characters achieve self-recognition but are incapable of significant change - cannot avoid the flaw that makes the tragedy inevitable. So, in fact, profound change (rather than self-knowledge) is antithetical to good narrative and the Carnegie judges should go back to Aristotle and have a rethink. Unless, of course, they are counting as development a protagonist recognising how their character limits them and impacts on the world - which is a form of development. <br /><br />So a trite My Fairy Unicorn Adventure no 76 may have a radical development in the characters (as if) but Maacbeth only has the working out of what was always there.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-73335149708258522532012-04-11T09:21:51.950+01:002012-04-11T09:21:51.950+01:00To an extent I think 'character development...To an extent I think 'character development' means fleshing them out a bit and making them as real as possible - you can't get a character's entire personality in the opening pages - so it isn't a sudden switch in attitude but a realisation (for both the character and the reader) that they have the skills/strengths needed to cope with whatever the story has thrown at them. In a lot of stories it does mean a dramatic change, true, just not necessarily the best stories!CazApr1https://www.blogger.com/profile/06111054718949882518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-15340856555970810842012-04-11T09:09:25.512+01:002012-04-11T09:09:25.512+01:00Moira, I think that's exactly right: we are so...Moira, I think that's exactly right: we are so desperate for it to be true, or at least more likely, that we insist on it in our stories. It's exactly the equivalent of the "and they all lived happily after" ending that we needed as children.Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-26319230827077060482012-04-11T09:00:19.335+01:002012-04-11T09:00:19.335+01:00Interesting post! This character development imper...Interesting post! This character development imperative sometimes leads to preposterous character changes - Such as the ones that occur in one big preposterous rush at the end of the Best Marigold Hotel movie. Ridiculous, and yet people love the film and find these developments very satisfying. The idea that we can change is very powerful.Moira Butterfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17355420549929911500noreply@blogger.com