How to Implement Character Development in Your Writing

Alessandra Torre, NYT Bestselling Author

There are many methods for developing characters – building them in your head and via spreadsheets, character diagrams, interviews etc.

But once you flesh out who they are, how do you show that character development in your novel?

In my current WIP (Work In Progress), my character development on my first draft was almost nothing. If something didn’t directly contribute to the plot (which was an intricate one), I left it out. As a result, I got from Page 1 to The End in time for my deadline, but the characters were all cardboard cut outs who weren’t contributing anything to the experience. 

That was okay for me. After all, this was my first draft, and as I always tell myself… “I can fix everything and anything, in rewrites.”

On this first round of rewrites, the characters are my number #1 focus, and I’m bringing them to life and showing their development in the following ways.

#1 Dialogue

In my first draft, everyone sounded about the same. I put down what they needed to communicate, but not how. In this draft, I’m working at giving them all a unique voice with their word choices, brevity (or long-windedness) and their speech patterns. 

This sounds more complicated than it is, so let’s take a standard sentence and rewrite it for 3 different characters:

Standard sentence: “If we don’t leave for the airport now, we’re going to miss our flight.”

Character 1: “We leaving or not? That plane ain’t waiting for us.”

Character 2: “You know what traffic’s like at this hour. Ever since they started construction down by the OBT, it’s bumper to bumper. And I read online that we’re supposed to be there two hours early now. Two hours, Mike. Look at the time! I don’t understand why we’re still just standing here.”

Character 3: “Okay, let’s head to the airport. Trish? It’s time to leave.”

Hopefully each of these examples allowed you to form a different opinion and impression of each of these characters, just with the word choice and delivery of their dialogue. Add in some of the next few tools, and you’ll have a clear picture of a character, in just one short paragraph.

#2 Appearance

You can bring a character to life with their style and looks. You don’t have to describe every character, especially not the smaller cast.

For me, I don’t describe a character unless they have more than 2 lines of dialogue or a pertinent role in the book. And the less that character does, the less I describe them. I rarely describe clothing of a character unless it is distinctive or unless that description fills in a hole of uncertainty or ambiguity about a plot-affecting character. 

Here are some examples of description that I added in this round of rewrite:

“Well, this will be interesting.” Moira smoothed down the front of her blouse, hoping that bit of strawberry yogurt on the right breast wasn’t too apparent. The bright blue long-sleeved top was her favorite–it set off her dark black skin to perfection–but she hadn’t been expecting to meet celebrities in it, or to have needed on the the Shout wipes she typically kept in her car. She glanced at Kevin, who yawned, clearly unconcerned by the address or his rumpled appearance.

Here’s another one:

Nora hissed out a low breath and, even with the stress lining her face, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Even closer up, even at this distance, you couldn’t see the scars, couldn’t tell the fact from the fiction, and if he ever could–it only made her beauty more interesting. She shook her head and a lock of that fiery hair fell loose. “You saw the scene. The optics on this… It’s going to get out. I called the publicist. She’s keeping an ear on the press and will draft a statement.”

Each of these descriptions of their appearance or clothing should have helped to conjure an image of the character in your head.

#3 Actions

Some characters are fidgeters. Others hum or whistle. Some have perfect manners while others chew with their mouth open. Some adjust their appearance, others check their phone constantly, and others chew on their nails. 

If you’re struggling with your characters’ actions, go to a restaurant, mall, or coffee shop and people watch. Watch what people do while in line, while carrying on conversations, and while walking around. Humans are constantly doing something, and you can make a list of the actions that one type of person makes versus another. 

Actions can also include the manner that a character carries themselves, their visible emotions, and the positive or negative opinions that other characters form and express about them.

Here are some examples of actions that I added in during this rewrite. 

“Discussing anything that occurs on this property, or that we are exposed to at any point in our employ, including off property. Somethimes we we travel with the primaries or go with them on location. Not me, of course.” She blushed, and Moira tried to place her age. She looked twenty-five but carried herself with a quiet maturity of a woman twice that. “But the other staff does.”

Here’s another one:

unopened. “Will, you need me in…there?” A shudder passed through her think frame at the final word, and Moira wouldn’t be surprised if she never set foot in the guesthouse ever again.

“No.” Kevin gave that calm relaxed smile that often lulled suspects into underestimating him. He often handled the celebrity interactions, and was adept at providing a sense of both security and professionalism. Moira wasn’t good at the politics of he job. She preferred to catch the bad guys, as quickly as possible, while ignoring the feelings and comfort levels of the suspects. Kevin continued, We’ll take it from here. Once we talk to your staff, we’ll need them to leave, just to try to limit any contamination.”

That last example was longer but showed several different characters at once. Inner feelings/opinions can also help to show the personality of the characters and flesh out their development.

#4 Backstory

Backstory is commonly defined as information about a character’s past. It could be something that happened two weeks ago, or twenty years ago. Personally, I try to only include necessary backstory, and by necessary, I am referring to backstory that directly affects the plot or is material to explaining who the characters are and why they act and think the way they do.

Backstory is best fed to a reader in small bites, delivered authentically through the current scenes. I like to give hints to a character’s backstory here and there, like breadcrumbs. Here’s an example of one “bite” of backstory that I added during this round.

“I’m aware of that,” he bit out and dug his fingers into the leather arms of the chair. Everything in this house was quality. Their mother had beaten that into them–the house and appearances were everything. Perfection bred perfection, which is why this house was spotless and Trent lived like a rich frat boy.

To recap, character development should be woven consistently through your book. Initially, you will use it to introduce your characters, but as the book unfolds, you will use it to cement those characters in your reader’s minds, and help to show any progression or development (positive or negative) that is occurring with that character. You can deepen and flesh out your characters with:

• Dialogue
• Description/Appearance
• Actions
• Backstory

Hopefully this breakdown and these examples will give you a better understanding and some ideas of how to deepen the character development in your own novel. 

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