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In this article I shall attempt to define what it means to develop the characters in your novel with the assistance of Robert Higbie's Character and Structure in the English Novel.

With every story, be it a novel or screenplay, the character has to change by the end. At the beginning of the story they are thrown into a situation through an inciting incident, and in order to maintain balance by the end they experience conflict and tension to achieve their goal. But the conflict is not necessarily external. It can be an internal conflict preventing them from restoring balance, and therefore, they need to be transformed in order to resolve the situation. The process by which they change is as a result of character development.

The world of a novel finds its expression through the protagonist. The protagonist has a relationship with the situation that needs to be restored, and is used by the writer to explore the depths of the subject matter in order to furnish the reader with some understanding of the complexity of the problem. The character of the protagonist is therefore the self-expression of the writer.

A character can be used to work through the emotional journey of any conflict, even if it is a reflection of the writers' own conflict. Shakespeare himself wrote Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra as a retrojection of his own time under Elizabethan rule. When that conflict cannot be resolved directly, it seeks an indirect outlet through the sub-plot and minor characters. This creates more relationships for the character to interact with, and because of this engagement the protagonist usually changes. But that all depends on how well drawn the minor characters are. Because conflict and resolution take place through characterization, the minor characters have to furnish the protagonist with a unique perspective on the situation so that their relationship to it changes, and it is only when the protagonist's relationship with the conflict changes that a resolution can take place. This does imply that the situation itself does not necessarily change, but that the perspective of the protagonist changes so that balance can be restored to their life. This is where the negative subject serves the positive subject.

A protagonist is a hero because they usually offer a fulfilling way of dealing with the problem. An antagonist is a villain because they are a manifestation of the problem. The protagonist is used to make us feel a story, to invite us to make an emotional commitment to them throughout the novel. It is a mechanism that provides the melody and harmony of a literary work, and becomes the vehicle for how the conflict is dealt with. The protagonist also points a finger at the reader and asks them what they would do if they were in a similar situation.

In conclusion then, the development of a character is determined by the development of the writer. The protagonist is an extension of the author, but the author needs to present the protagonist in such a way that the reader connects with the character and feel as though the protagonist is an extension of the reader. Only when this happens can the character take on a personality and become a real presence in the story. This is the sign of successful character development.

Copyright © Jason Young

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