Character Development in Fiction

Character #1: An introduction to Resonance in writing

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Resonance in writing can be defined as the technique of tactical repetition. Through the repetition of certain words, images, and concepts, the audience's sympathies can be directed toward a specific, predictable, emotional response. To begin to understand resonance, it is best to examine how characters are developed in plots.  Repeated actions, speech, and appearance allows a reader to form judgments about a character.  This is a simple way to seeing how resonance works.

Character Development and Analysis

Characters lie at the heart of fiction. People enjoy fiction because they get the opportunity to experience the world through someone else's eyes. They evaluate and judge the actions of another and compare those actions to their own. In some way, I think this helps us confirm our place in this reality; it helps us realize that we're really okay.

Some Beginning Terms:

• The Protagonist is the main character (or characters) of a story.
• A Round Character is complex and capable of change
• A Flat Character is not presented as complex (also known as "cartoon" or "stock" characters)
• The Antagonistic Force is the force with which the protagonist struggles

Methods of Character Development

Audiences analyze characters using the same methods we use to analyze individuals in real life. We know that some things are more revealing about a person's personality than others ("Actions speak louder than words"). These are called Significant Details. We also know that other details are usually not as significant ("Don't judge a book by its cover"). Stereotypes occur because we unfairly judge people based on insignificant details (such as appearance).

In a fiction, every detail about a character is created by an author. What this means is that there are more significant details in a story. An author may decide to dress a character (Darth Vader in black), or name a character (Dr. Evil), or give a character a mannerism (the smoking man in The X-Files) to communicate personality. This makes analyzing characters in stories much easier than in real life.

Now, let's look at the two methods of Character Trait development:  the Direct Method and the Indirect Method.   We'll begin with the easiest.