Writer to writer: From think to ink - Gail Carson Levine 2014
To change or not to change
Character nitty-gritty
In my early writing days I often heard the advice that a character has to evolve during a story, and the charmingly named Sage-in-Socks wrote in to the blog about exactly this: “Sometimes I find myself forcing a change in a character because I feel that, to be a round, dynamic character, he or she must change in some way by the end of the story. To what extent should a character change? Are subtle changes like a change of opinion also characteristic of dynamic characters? Or should a character by the end of the story be quite different from what he or she is like in the beginning? Are there any limits? I mean I wouldn’ t want to ’force’ a character to change or change her personality—I rather like their flaws.”
Hooray for likable flaws! Our MC certainly shouldn’t do a one-eighty. He still needs to be himself at the end. And the changes can be subtle. A change of opinion, maybe a new understanding of something—cultural differences, for example—may do the trick.
It probably isn’t wise to force change on a character. Whatever growth comes about needs to arise from how the character acts in a situation and what she thinks or feels or says.
Sometimes the reader absolutely does not want a character to change. As a child, I gobbled up books in the Cherry Ames series. I did not want Cherry to switch even the color of her lipstick! I loved her exactly as she was.
This is true of some series today, too, where the characters can be counted on to carry their strengths and weaknesses from book to book. Mysteries often fall into this category; the detective is the constant. There are new crimes to solve, but the sleuth remains unaltered. I hope to write more mystery books about Elodie and the dragon Meenore. Elodie will probably grow older and change, but I plan to keep Meenore essentially the same.
Ella’s character doesn’t vary much in the course of Ella Enchanted. Because of her actions, her circumstances change, but she has much the same personality at the end as she did when her mother got sick. On the other hand, Addie, the heroine of my book The Two Princesses of Bamarre, is fundamentally altered as a result of her exploits, but I don’t think I did a better job with one heroine or the other. Different stories have different effects on their characters. And the degree of change may vary too. In some stories a mere change of opinion will be exactly what’s needed.
Like so much else in writing, it depends.
Some rounded, dynamic, actual people—you know them—never change. The aunt you count on to listen and not judge goes on listening and not judging for years. She is a rock. The cousin who criticizes everybody continues to criticize, no matter how his harping hurts his closest relationships. He is a rock, too, one with a painfully sharp edge.
Sometimes, failure to adapt will result in tragedy. In my novel Ever, Kezi’s view of the religion she grew up in evolves. If she’d stuck to her original beliefs, she would have been sacrificed to a god who the reader comes to doubt. Even if Kezi herself wouldn’t have, the reader would regard her death as a tragedy.
In a different story, tragedy might be averted by refusal to change. Suppose MC Marnie befriends a new boy at school. Let’s call him Larry. At first Larry is well liked, but then rumors begin to circulate about him, serious stuff: he steals; he brought a knife to his former school; he lies about everything. When Marnie doesn’t believe the rumors and continues the friendship, her other friends desert her, saying they’re afraid of Larry and are becoming afraid of her. Even Marnie’s parents warn her against the boy, who is spiraling into depression. Marnie hangs firm, doesn’t change; and her trust keeps Larry afloat against the accusations, which may be true or false. If they’re true, Marnie may bring about change in Larry and help him become a better person.
Or Marnie is hurt, but she still concludes that she did what was right. Or aaa! Marnie is killed, and then her staunchness turns into a fatal flaw.
In some respects, Marnie will change whichever way the story goes. She’ll learn more about her friends and about herself. She may have a greater moral sense by the end. In most stories, your MC will change at least a little. As the author, you can highlight the changes by having your MC reflect on them or having other characters point them out. Or you can simply show your MC behaving in a new way.
If Marnie, in addition to her faithfulness, interrupts people often or bites her nails or needs to sleep with a night-light, those aspects of her personality can remain untouched—or we can change them as evidence of her new maturity. But we probably don’t want to change everything about her.
Writing time!
• Write the story of Marnie and Larry. Decide whether either of them changes. Show how it happens or fails to happen.
• Your MC wants to reform herself, to stop being bossy and become more caring. Write a scene in which she completely fails at this self-improvement.
• Superman gives up saving people. Write the turning point that pushes him in this direction.
Have fun, and save what you write!