Character Development

An interesting article popped up in my inbox, through the newsletter of an affiliate company I have at my Books & Writers site. Written by Noah T. Lukeman, (author and literary agent) he gives a detailed examination of what type of characters compel readers. In "The Importance of the Journey" he writes: ..." The task of the writer is to create characters ... on the verge of change, characters that will, in some way, be unrecognizable by the end of the work. ..." The thought behind the article and the detail given to support and implement his premise is very compelling, but it shouldn’t be taken as an absolute. In mysteries, for example, where a series will have an ongoing detective character, it would be tedious to have each new title fraught with the main character having some major angst and changing by the end of the book. (Perhaps the "character" of a mystery is really the crime!). I personally find the "going through a change" type character a bit like a morality play. It seems rather nice for the naïve and is especially good in fiction for young readers. I've written YA books, and know that teaching some imperative is be vital. But it seems so easy to predict what will happen if the character is set up to 1) suffer some ignominious circumstance 2) recognize the pitfalls 3) make a change for the better. Ho hum. (Lukeman does represent screen plays, however, and writing for film most times fits into the "naïve" category.) I'm drawn to the stories that present "slice of life" situations, where a characters don't always solve their dilemma as a denouement of the story. A book I truly enjoyed was The Secret of Hurricanes, by Theresa Williams (see links), where we meet a troubled, but interesting person and follow her through situations of pain as well as glory. In the end we see what she has become, although it's not a given that SHE sees what she's become. In My name is Sei Shōnagon (see posts) has a similar development. We have learned what made this character who she is today. I'm happy with that. This all just shows that "what's sauce for the goose, ain't sauce for the gander." My opinions versus Lukeman's are why there are myriad fiction books produced each year. Three cheers for variety!