Post by Radrook Admin on Apr 20, 2020 11:11:41 GMT -5
The Evolution of Character
One thing we should keep in mind as writers about character, is that character is a dynamic thing that changes with life-experiences. For example, our protagonist might be a timid boy at the outset of the story, but at the story's ending, he might be a confident young man.
This happens i real life. People change and to be believable, our characters must be amenable to change. John Campbell called the process the hero's journey and many stories are those were the heroes experiences many events and returns with greater wisdom, deeper insight, or drastically changed world perspective.
odyssey.antiochsb.edu/literary/joseph-campbell-the-heros-journey/
Such stories as the Count of Monte Christo and the Miserables are those in which the protagonist suffers injustices, via being thrown into prison and emerges with a transformed personality completely different from the one he had at the beginning of the story. True, the personality that emerges might be one obsessed with vengeance. Or it might be a personality now totally dedicated to doGods will. ''
The film Barabas is one that depicts Barabas being gradually changed from a criminal to a man of faith after he is turned to lose and Jesus is condemned to be crucified instead. So yes, to remain true to life a fiction writer has to keep in mind that characters are amenable to change. He must decide beforehand how he wants his character to develop so that every experience contributes to that development. It lends believability to the story, and believability will be one more aspect that will keep the reader's interest intact.
This happens i real life. People change and to be believable, our characters must be amenable to change. John Campbell called the process the hero's journey and many stories are those were the heroes experiences many events and returns with greater wisdom, deeper insight, or drastically changed world perspective.
odyssey.antiochsb.edu/literary/joseph-campbell-the-heros-journey/
Such stories as the Count of Monte Christo and the Miserables are those in which the protagonist suffers injustices, via being thrown into prison and emerges with a transformed personality completely different from the one he had at the beginning of the story. True, the personality that emerges might be one obsessed with vengeance. Or it might be a personality now totally dedicated to doGods will. ''
The film Barabas is one that depicts Barabas being gradually changed from a criminal to a man of faith after he is turned to lose and Jesus is condemned to be crucified instead. So yes, to remain true to life a fiction writer has to keep in mind that characters are amenable to change. He must decide beforehand how he wants his character to develop so that every experience contributes to that development. It lends believability to the story, and believability will be one more aspect that will keep the reader's interest intact.