What is Character Development?

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Character development is the process and execution of creating a fully rounded,

complex, and lifelike character within your fictional writing with the purpose of
making readers invested in them and their life or journey.

Characterization is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters that can

effectively dramatize his story. The action of the play is presented through such
characters. He does so by imbuing the characters with certain recognizable
human traits and qualities. These qualities include physical attributes, moral,
psychological and emotional dispositions, their attitude towards other characters
and situations, and so on. At the point of conceptualization of the idea he wants
to present in his play, he thinks of the best way to present it to make it interesting
and at the same time informative. He builds this idea into a story form and thinks
of the type of characters that can tell this story effectively.

So he uses the characters to explicate his theme and propel the plot, His ability to
craft the play in such a way that each character blends well in the plot is called
characterization. These characters are presented and they develop in the course
of the action. In most cases, the characters grow from innocence to maturity or
from ignorance to knowledge. They also change according to situations and
events. When this is done, the characters are referred to as round characters.

In Arms and the Man for instance, Raina grows from innocence to maturity in the
course of the play. You will recall that at the beginning of the play, Raina is very
romantic and full of fantasy first about Sergius and later about her Chocolate
Cream Soldier. Her understanding of love is very shallow. By the end of the play,
she realizes the difference between reality and fantasy as she marries Captain
Bluntschli. On his own part, Sergius realizes his ignorance of the military and also
the need to marry for love and not for position.

The important elements in characterization are consistency and motivation. A

good playwright must craft his play in such a way that his characters are
consistent. You don’t expect a character to behave like an educated young
woman in the opening scene and in the following acts like an illiterate village girl.
This could happen if there is a proper motivation for that. For example, if she is
pretending to be what she is not in order to obtain some information, get
something or to escape from danger. Motivation in characterization means that
there must be a good reason for any action that is taken by every character in the
play. What is the reason for Captain Bluntschli’s flight from the battlefield? A
soldier who is paid to fight cannot just run away like that. He runs away because
they do not have ammunition, he cannot fight with his bare hand so he runs away
to save his life.

The characters are the persons, in the play. They are endowed with moral and
dispositional qualities that are expressed in their dialogues and in their action.
The reason or grounds for action, temperament and moral dispositions
constitute his motivations. They act out the story of the play from the beginning
to the end. They act within the limits of possibility and plausibility. This means
that they and their actions should be as close as possible to reality. The
playwright therefore creates a story that is credible for them to act.

However, in an allegorical play, each character acts within the limits of what it
represents. Each playwright, depending on his style, chooses how to develop his
characters. This brings us to a discussion on characters.
http://www.uop.edu.pk/ocontents/introduction%20to%20drama.pdf

What is a Well Developed Character?

A well-developed character needs a full backstory, personality traits reflective of
it, realistic actions and emotions, along with being highly relatable to the average
reader and as complex as a real person.

If you can’t imagine your characters as a real-life person, they’re not quite
complex enough to be well developed. The key with character development is
crafting your characters to feel as if they’re people you know who just live far
away.

Get comfortable with thinking of them as real and you almost always will have a
well-developed character.

Types of Character Development

When it comes to learning how to write characters – and write them well – you
have to understand which type of character you’re dealing with.

These are the different types of characters to write:

 ● Protagonist/s - The main characters are the root of the story. They will
develop over time and will ultimately be part of the driving force of the plot.

The main character of the story is the protagonist. They should be carefully
crafted with a logical backstory, personal motivation, and a character arc
over the course of the story. Often the story will be told from their point of
view. From a heroine like Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games to a
miserable wretch like Doestoevsky’s Underground Man, the protagonist is
the character the audience is most invested in.

This is the character your readers will care most about. Unless, of course,
you intend for your protagonist to be unlikable. That would certainly be a
fun twist.

The protagonist may not always be admirable (e.g. an anti-hero);

nevertheless s/he must command involvement on the part of the reader, or
better yet, empathy.

● Antagonist/s - An antagonist is the opposite of your protagonist. They will

oppose your main character. They will, along with the main character, be
the driving force behind the plot from an opposite perspective.

The villain of the story is the antagonist. Think Lex Luthor, Lord Voldemort,
or Dr. Charles Nichols in The Fugitive. Note that an antagonist is not the
same as an anti-hero like the Joker or Walter White. Anti-heroes are
villainous people who function in a protagonist’s role.

The antagonist is the character(s) (or situation) that represents the

opposition against which the protagonist must contend. In other words,
the antagonist is an obstacle that the protagonist must overcome.

● Secondary
● Static - Flat or Static Character

A flat character is the opposite of a dynamic character. A flat character

doesn’t change much (or at all) throughout the story. Their personality
and/or background isn’t revealed well and we only know a handful of traits
about them.

Normally you want to know all you can about a character. Depending on
their role in the story, a flat character is sometimes needed or works well
with the flow of the plot. A flat character can be someone minor who says
 something in passing that allows your protagonist to have an epiphany.
Think about that person you run into in multiple aisles during one visit to
the grocery store.

● Foil - A foil character is someone who is the opposite of another character.

They reflect the opposite traits, hence “foil.” Your main character can be
sweet and caring and the foil character will bring out that side by being
nasty. It contrasts two characters.
● A foil character primarily exists to bring the protagonist’s qualities into
sharper relief. This is because the foil is effectively the opposite of the
protagonist. In the Star Trek series, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock serve as
each other’s foils since their personalities are so notably different. Draco
Malfoy is a foil to Harry Potter.

While showing various sides is a good thing, it will also allow you to learn
more about your character as well. What would happen if your protagonist
is too kind and their evil twin comes along?

● Stock Character- A stock character is just stock photos you can get off the
internet. They are not a big deal to the story, they don’t change at all,
they’re pretty much cliche characters such as the “dumb jock” or “popular
cheerleader.”

While these particular characters seem like you shouldn’t add them
because they’re cliche, you totally should. We all know a stock character or
two in our lives. A fictional story should be no different.

● Dynamic/Round - Dynamic or Developing Character

A dynamic character is someone who changes throughout the story. This

may be a good change or a bad one, but their motivations, desires, or even
their personality change due to something in the story. This is usually a
permanent change and shows how the character has learned and
developed over time in the story.

● Confidante Character

A confidante is someone or something the main character confides in.

Readers can learn a lot about the main character’s personality and
thoughts through this. The confidante can be another character or it can be
the inside pages of the main character’s diary.
 This type of character is the best friend or sidekick of the protagonist, the
Sancho Panza to their Don Quixote. Often the protagonist's goal flows
through the confidant—although not every story needs one. A particularly
famous confidant is Horatio in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as is Hermione in
Harry Potter.

● Deuteragonists - These characters often overlap with confidants. A

deuteragonist is close to the main character, but the story’s main plot does
not directly correspond with their own character arc.

Horatio doubles as a deuteragonist. In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy,

Samwise Gamgee is a deuteragonist. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,
Benvolio is a deuteragonist who doubles as a confidant, while Mercutio is a
deuteragonist but not a confidant.

● Tertiary characters - Tertiary characters populate the world of the story but
do not necessarily link to the main storyline. These minor characters serve
any number of functions and may have varying degrees of personal
dynamism. Think of Padma and Parvati Patil in the Harry Potter series or
Father Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov. In Spider-Man, various tertiary
characters help fill out the world of Peter Parker’s New York.

Ten (Direct or Indirect) Ways in which a Character Can Be Revealed

a. By psychological description.
b. By physical description.
c. By probing what s/he thinks.
d. By what s/he says.
e. By how s/he says it.
f. By what s/he does.
g. By what others say about him or her.
h. By his or her environment.
i. By her reaction to others.
j. By his reaction to himself.