Thread by @bryanedwardhill

I got a couple of DM's asking me about character development and writing. I have a little time this fine morning. I'll put together a small #writing thread.

So, character development. It's just my approach. YMMV, but here's my path...

Character isn't built in backstory or aesthetic details. Backstory is there to help the writer, but the character development comes form CHOICES and CONSEQUENCES. The more a character makes CHOICES, the more the audience/reader will learn about them.

We understand someone's nature by how the react to things. We assess them based on the choices they make, and those choices, ideally, shouldn't be easy.

Any time you can insert DILEMMA into your narrative, forcing a character to make an incredible HARD choice, you're developing your character in the eyes of the audience/reader. Make those choices hard and make the consequences MATTER.

Luke choosing to NOT kill his father, but also to THROW AWAY the lightsaber and tell Palpatine that he's a Jedi, is a CHOICE that tells us who he is, and how much he's learned. The consequence of that choice would have been his death...if his father hadn't CHOSEN to save him.

And the consequence of Anakin's choice IS his death. In those two choices, we know EVERYTHING about those characters. Not from the outfits or the backstory. From the moment they changed from one path to another.

So put CHOICE and CONSEQUENCE in your toolbox, and NEVER PROTECT YOUR CHARACTERS from adversity, struggle, and sacrifice. The identification with power is fleeting. The identification with SACRIFICE is near permanent. Give your characters SCARS, emotional and/or physical.

And NEVER BE AFRAID of having your character make the WRONG CHOICE. That's potentially great because now they have FIX their mistakes and that sets up great room for struggle, sacrifice and victory (unless you're writing a tragedy).

*to fix.

I was up late in Gotham, so I have tired, typo fingers on a Monday.

Nothing makes a character more uninteresting than having them win all the time, being told they're great all the time for winning, and never having to suffer a defeat or make a mistake that carries a great cost. Don't. Protect. Your. Characters.

Protect the reader from boredom.

HOMEWORK: Think about the characters you love, then write out on paper the CHOICES those characters have made and how you felt about them, right and wrong choices. You'll see how it worked on you, and you'll be able to make it work on your audience.