On Character Development
Some things to keep in mind when developing characters—and some poetry.
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Being (the) Patient
Being (the) Patient
I’m overjoyed and honored to share my poem, "Being (the) Patient," in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).
This came partly from my experiences as a patient, but mostly it's a loving tribute to my former patients, whose lives and deaths taught me what it means to be alive.
It is an incredible honor to be reviewed by JAMA poetry editor and physician poet Rafael Campo.
"When illness appears, it can become everything... Hence the impulse to write. Indeed, writing poetry may not only heal, but might even confer immortality."
On Character Development
Let’s discuss character development today—not how well characters are fleshed out, but mostly their development throughout the story.
When you develop your characters, you envision them a certain way. Hopefully, you’ve given them traits that set them apart from everyone else in the story. Once you’ve done that, it’s good to follow through on realizing those traits on paper, especially for the main character (MC).
When characters do something—especially an action that moves the plot forward—it needs to make sense. This means the actions make sense based on their traits. How do their traits, beliefs, and habits influence what they do and how they do it?
Let’s say one of MC’s biggest flaws is his cowardice. This shows up in the things he does and doesn’t do. It influences his interactions with other characters.
But once in a while, he might do something brave. Maybe the story sees him having to confront his cowardice and take action. A character like him might have a story arc where he slowly builds up his courage, and something pushes him to go outside his comfort zone.
However, without that build-up and with no reason to change his behavior and tendencies, having him suddenly do something incredibly brave for the sake of the plot will seem nonsensical.
To avoid this, it helps to understand what pushed him to act outside his usual boundaries. Most people don’t change overnight, so if the story is meant to be realistic, then MC will likely take time—and multiple mistakes—to change, too. Ask: what changed him? And show the answer.
Alternatively, suppose MC’s flaw doesn’t improve. Suppose something that should've worked out for him goes horribly wrong in a moment of cowardice. That's okay. But since he's the main character, something will likely need to change for him so the story has an arc.
Why? Because if you’re writing a story where no one changes, something else probably needs to change. Lean into the idea that made you think “There’s a story here.” Generally, a good story needs to have a reason for happening, something that pushes what was unremarkable into a tale worth telling.
If you're not sure which of these apply, it may help to step back and complete character profiles for your MC and important side characters. Characters are usually the driving force of a story (even if you consider your setting a character), so it’s important that they’re well-developed.
In short: Show us your characters’ strengths and flaws, and plan how you want your characters to use these to their advantage or detriment. As readers, we want to live with them, run with them, cry with them, and smile with them. We want to care about them.