by Charles Ray

Created on: April 21, 2009

Good stories have memorable characters, and the characters we remember are those who grow during the course of the narrative.

Achieving this kind of 'character growth' is not as difficult as it might sound. As a starting point, your character has to want or need something which is unattainable at the outset. External barriers and the way your character overcomes them can be interesting, but far more compelling and memorable is the character who comes to grip with an internal compulsion or limitation.

A good example of character growth is Kinsey Milhone, the adorable but irascible PI in Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries. Kinsey is a loner with an addiction to junk food and no-good men. During the course of the books from A to whatever, we see her recognize her faults and limitations and either correct them, or develop coping strategies. In some cases, she realizes what is just is and one has to learn to live with it. Throughout, there is humor and the growth is never the point of the narrative.

And, that latter is the point. Character growth should not be painted with a heavy brush. True, there are occasions when change comes in a blinding flash of 'eureka,' but more often than not it is an incremental process that we are hardly aware of. That is how it should be handled in your fiction. Show the character making the changes that signal growth, don't tell the reader. If a character has a drinking problem, show the negative aspects to reader through dialog or interactions with other characters, then through a series of scenes show the character changing until the problem is solved. Unless you are ghost writing a sermon for your favorite reverend, avoid preaching or moralizing as you show change. Let the character's words and actions demonstrate the change.

Below are two examples of character change; the first telling the reader directly, and the second showing it through dialog and action. You decide which is more effective:

Weak illustrating of growth

John realized that the way he treated his wife was wrong. His constant nagging demeaned her and lowered her self-confidence. It also eroded whatever affection she had had for him. He promised himself that he would change.

Show growth rather than tell

"When are you going to learn to balance a checkbook?" John asked Sylvia. She cringed at his words as if he'd struck her. The look on her face was one of pure desolation.

"I-I do t-try." She said. Tears were forming in the corners of her crystal blue eyes. John felt a twinge of guilt. He really shouldn't blame her, he thought. After all, he had never really tried to show her how to do it.

"Yeah, I guess you do." He said. "Maybe if I sit down with you and show you a few tricks it would be easier."

Her smile; the look of redemption that illuminated her beautiful face, gave him a warm feeling.

Not exactly the great American novel, but that's the general way it should be done. Show the character's growth through dialog and action rather than tell the reader what is changing. Give the reader the benefit of sufficient intelligence to see what is happening, and he or she will appreciate you for it.

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