Types of Character Development in Literature

Character Development in Literature

Without characters there would be no plot and no conflicts. Readers should take
note of the author’s methods of character development, the characters’ traits and
actions, and how the characters change (or don’t change) over the course of the
story.

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Character development is a matter of show and tell. Writers can tell the audience
directly about a character’s traits by using direct characterization or show the
audience what the character is like by using indirect characterization.

Direct Characterization

Direct characterization occurs when the narrator of a novel or story directly

describes a character’s traits or personality. For instance, in the famous short story
“The Open Window,” Saki describes one of the main characters, Vera, as “a very
self-possessed young lady of fifteen.” With direct characterization, the audience
is told about the character in a straight-forward way that requires no guesswork
from the audience.

Indirect Characterization

Indirect characterization requires the readers to make inferences about a

character based on his or her behavior as well as his or her interactions with
other characters. When analyzing indirect characterization, the reader should
especially pay attention to:
● what the character does
● what the character says and/or thinks
● how other characters treat the character you’re analyzing
● what other characters say or think about the character you’re analyzing

For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses indirect characterization

to emphasize Mrs. Dubose’s grumpiness toward the Finch children. According to
the child narrator, Scout, “We could do nothing to please her. If I said as sunnily
as I could, ‘Hey, Mrs. Dubose,’ I would receive for an answer: ‘Don’t you say
hey to me, you ugly girl! You say good afternoon, Mrs. Dubose!’ ” The audience
can interpret this exchange to determine that Mrs. Dubose is a cantankerous
woman who doesn’t seem to like children.

Flat and Round Characters

Another way to classify characters has to do with the depth of their
characterization.

Flat Characters

Flat characters are fairly predictable and lack complexity. Most flat characters
exhibit only one or two main personality traits and often serve the purpose of
moving the plot along.

For instance, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan’s

character could be labeled as flat. The novel emphasizes that her main motivation
in life is the pursuit of material wealth. When Daisy is questioning whether she
should marry Tom, she receives an extravagant pearl necklace from him. The
expensive gift sways her decision, and she decides to go through with the
marriage because of the luxurious lifestyle that Tom can provide for her.

Round Characters

Round characters, on the other hand, are nuanced and complex, more like real
people. Their depth and authenticity contribute to the plot and add to the sense of
engagement the audience feels.

Atticus Finch, Scout’s father in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a good example of a

round character. Over the course of the novel, the reader learns that Atticus is a
loving and gentle father and a social justice warrior who isn’t afraid to stand up
for a Black man in a racist society. Atticus is a multifaceted character who chose
to diverge from the family tradition of growing cotton in favor of a law career. In
Chapter 11, when a rabid dog is on the loose, Atticus surprises his children by
demonstrating his skills as an excellent marksman and taking down the dog in
one shot. Atticus is a round character because his character is complex and well-
defined.

Static and Dynamic Characters

Yet another method to classify characters involves examining how the character
changes (or doesn’t change) as the story unfolds.

Static Characters

Static characters don’t change much over the course of the story or novel. Their
characteristics remain mostly the same from the beginning to the end of the work
of literature. Atticus Finch, though he is a round character with many well-
developed traits, is also a static character. His strong sense of morality and love
for his children and community are unchanged despite the tribulations he and his
family encounter over the course of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Dynamic Characters

Dynamic characters are defined by the change or evolution they undergo during
the story. These changes are usually sparked by the dynamic character’s
experiences as he or she responds to conflicts. Though Atticus remains basically
unchanged by the events that unfold in Maycomb, his daughter, Scout, grows and
changes as she learns more about human nature and the injustice faced by Black
people in her community. In the final scene, as she walks her mysterious neighbor
home, the audience realizes that Scout’s capacity for empathy has expanded
immensely since the beginning of the book. She has grown into a mature young
lady with a much greater understanding of the world and the people around her.
6 Easy Steps to Great Character Mapping

1. Establish what type of map you need. Each project requires it’s own criteria. A
mystery project might need a map to track the clues each character reveals. If your
protagonist is constantly meeting new characters, you might need to keep track of
where, when and how they met each character. That way you don’t accidentally
included a character in an earlier scene than you should have. If you’re writing
family saga or a series with lots of romantic entanglements, you might want to track
which characters like, hate, date or have sex with other characters.

2. Using your character sheets (or whatever method you favor for fleshing out your
characters), make out a 3X5 card with the name of every character. If they don’t
have a name yet, use the character’s title. Include one or two sentences of
information about each of the characters on the back as needed. Don’t get crazy, you
just want to jog your memory. If you have an image for character reference, feel free
to stick a small photo on the card as a visual cue.

3. Alphabetize the cards. It’s an extra step, but it helps you find mistakes, like
including too many similar sounding names. Also, it’s better to key each card with
having a positive, neutral or negative stance in the protagonist’s life by indicating if
the relationship changes over time.
(Negative > Neutral, or Positive > Negative, etc)
You can code for male or female, old or young, alive or undead. Whatever traits you
need to keep track of for your story.

4. With a huge open space in front of you, place the cards for the main protagonist
and main antagonist in the middle. Slowly start to fan the other cards around the first
two cards. Here is a basic structure: the parents or mentors at the top. Siblings, love
interest or partners in crime at the sides. Children, BFFs, frenemies, evil minions
and other secondary characters go below. The minor characters go to the outer edges
wherever they fit.

5. Here is where the dry erase board comes in handy. Carefully create the web of
connections around the characters. Use different colors to signify each relationship
status, like the first example was done. If you are not using a board, you will need
to do this with more cards. Since you have already established the kind of board you
need, make sure your web reflects your needs. For example, in a romance novel the
web might reflect the role each character plays in thwarting or promoting the
protagonist’s HEA.

6. Evaluate your pattern. This is when you start to notice mistakes in the big picture.
Everyone shouldn’t love the protagonist, it’s not realistic. You need to give the
protagonist some detractors. Also you may notice a deficit in your antagonist’s
network. Evil seldom works alone. Adjust your characters and their relationships if
you find any defects. Once you have the web the way you want it, transfer the
information to a permanent source. You can transfer everything to a flowchart
program, or just attach the cards to a cork board for your wall.

Once you have a perfect character map in place, you can refer back to it as you write.
A good map minimized continuity mistakes, and makes the final editing process go
faster. Don’t forget to update your chart as your charters evolve and change.