Transcription
This chapter of Terrible Writing Advice was brought to you by Audible.
People change. Characters change over time. Sometimes something happens that causes someone to rethink their approach. I’ve done a lot of thinking recently. After all, I made Terrible Writing Advice for a reason. But now, I have to say and I hope you will not be upset, but I have to tell everyone something important. That I’ve changed and that you… should buy my book!
Oh. And I guess I should talk about character development too. Character development is something every writer should learn... to fake. Why spend time carefully developing characters when we can just take shortcuts that give the illusion of our characters changing over time? Well, this video can teach any writer to create the appearance of character development. But where to start? Perhaps I should start with drawing a distinction between character development vs character growth? Character development marks how a character changes over time where as character growth is how a character improves in terms of skills and obstacles overcome. But I’m going to conflate them anyway.
Now that we have cleared up definitions, we still need to find a way to begin our approach. The best way to start developing a character is the same way we start a story. By info dumping the back story during their introduction. We may have just met this character, but they will not hesitate to spill their entire backstory to complete strangers who didn’t even ask. Backstory is an excellent tool to give the reader insight into a character, which means it’s a-okay to dump a character’s full biography on the reader in chapter one.
Wait. I am far too lazy to come with a backstory. I think I’ll just use the same trick as the one I used on the anti hero video and just keep my characters’ pasts mysterious instead. But now I need a new way to develop my characters. Showing my characters doing something is too much like actual work. Just have the other side characters talk about a protagonist’s development instead. Why did the character change? Well because I said so and so did all the other characters. Then don’t actually change anything about the character. No one is going to notice. We could show the events and choices that shape a character’s evolution, but having characters talk about how much our protagonist has ‘grown’ over the course of the story will work just as well.
Wait. Isn’t this kind of terrible advice? No. Can’t be. But maybe I should consider actually having my characters do something that merits development and growth. I know! I’ll make them more powerful! That is exactly what character development really is, lumping on more and more cool powers and abilities for our protagonist to utilize! Because constantly seeking more and more power is what makes a person good right?
Well I suppose we could also have our characters overcome their flaws while we are at it. Flaw scrubbing is a great way to fake character growth. Need to develop a secondary character? Just have them realize they have a character flaw at the story’s mid point. Then they can be safely ignored for the rest of the story because now that they don’t have any flaws they’re boring. Naturally, we should only have our protagonist lose flaws at the very end of the story and only one flaw should be removed per book for maximum series potential. Flaw scrubbing is great because once someone realizes they have a flaw, said flaw instantly vanishes. Actually working to improve moral character is dumb when we can take shortcuts instead and that is what flaw scrubbing is all about.
Uh-oh. Did a fan favorite character get all of their flaws scrubbed in the story? Did a charming rogue learn to open up and trust those around him and ultimately sacrifice for a cause greater than himself? Well that’s going to be a problem because now he has nothing to learn for the sequel. There is only one thing to do. No, not give him a new character arc that is a natural outgrowth from the lessons learned in the previous story. Nope. We reset his character back to the way he was before as though nothing happened at all. His struggles, his trials, his suffering and sacrifices that shaped his choices and made him a truly better person should all be completely invalidated and his character sent back to square one. I’m sure fans will be thrilled to see their emotional investment in their favorite character squandered.
So we reset our character for the sequel, gave them a bunch of powers, had other characters tell us about our protagonist’s growth, and created a backstory. What more could we add to aid in a character's development? How about a love triangle! Now I know what you are wondering. Is there really room in a story for both character development and a love triangle? Of course there is… but we’re not going do that. Instead, it’s best for a writer to simply trick themselves into thinking that the protagonist’s realization of her true feelings for handsome McBadboy is gripping character development. Meanwhile the romantic subplot should gradually strangle any real semblance of character development. There is simply no time for the character to care about anything else other than resolving their relationship drama. I suppose a writer could use a budding relationship to show how a character learns to compromise or show how a teen gradually learns to handle new emotions. But those are not nearly as interesting as subjecting the reader to endless pages of a character's internal pining and complete inability to just... freaking… spit it out and finally admit to what they actually want. [clears throat]. Sorry. Where was I? Oh right. Just be sure the said romantic revelation comes at the end of the story. Got to get our money’s worth out of that love triangle.
Wait. What am I even saying? That’s not any way to write. No. A character should gradually build up their arc over the course of the story until a revelation that shows them a truly new perspective allowing them to change. A character could undergo a true metamorphosis, and maybe even become a better person. Or they could miss their moment forever and reject their golden opportunity to better themselves. Failure to grow can result in them becomg eternally lost in darkness and doomed to unknowingly play the role of villain. But that won’t happen to me. I’ve decided to change for good! From now on I stand for true artistic integrity! Now buy my book and give me your money!
This chapter of Terrible Writing Advice was brought to you by Audible. Audible is a leading provider of premium audiobooks and other audio products. I personally love audiobooks because they are great for passive listening while you work or on a long drive. They also make exercise much less tedious. And if you check out aduible.com/terrible (link in the description) or text "terrible" to 500 500 you can get your first month free with a 30 day trial membership and a free audiobook. Not sure which book to start with? Well if you want some good examples of books with compelling character development, I recommend Saints and Villains by Denise Giardina (jar-dina). It’s a historical fiction novel and a character study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who resisted the Nazis. It’s a pretty dark novel, but if you want to get to the core of a character, putting them into dark places is a way to see the true moral worth of someone. Character is what are in the dark. You can get that or any other audiobook for free when you go to aduible.com/terrible or text "terrible" to 500 500 or click the link provided in the description to get started. 30 day trial with a free audiobook