Thinking about Character Development in your Novel

Good morning, Alana. Good morning, Alana. How are you?

Good. How are you?

I'm well. Happy birthday. How does it feel to be 11?

Uh, older. It's great.

Good, good. And, uh, you've been very busy, um, a lot of competitions, a lot of jiu-jitsu competitions.

Yes.

Uh, any highlights, any Special achievements there?

Yeah, I went to Orlando to fight, and then after that we went to Arizona. I did two divisions there and I got silver in both. It was really fun, a lot of good matches, hard matches.

Excellent.

And then I think we're doing one in September and then maybe one in October, I'm not sure.

Got it. How did Orlando go? Did you place, or was it pretty hard competition?

I did win gold there. You're only allowed to do one bracket, so I did only do one bracket.

Congratulations. And your book, you had hoped to finish a draft of your book by your birthday. Did you get there?

I am nearing the ending climax. Um, I still have some bumps and then going, but I am kind of almost there.

Good. And roughly how long is it?

Uh, well, right now I'm at 35, 36 pages, and then we'll format it. I forget which chapter I'm on, but to be honest, I'm not sure how long it'll be in the end.

No problem. Um, and then what is the climax? Is there like a big battle or a struggle or what is it?

Uh, yeah, battle, struggle, and then a mission. I don't want to spoil it, so I won't tell too much, but okay.

Um, and would you say that, uh, there were some preliminary— I think you were talking about having some preliminary climaxes along the way. That there's some preliminary things and then this is the big one? Is that accurate?

Yes.

Um, and is the big one just bigger? The stakes are higher? Uh, is it— does it mark a turning point in her life? What makes the big one the big one, without giving away a spoiler?

Uh, the big one, I mean The big one is when they infiltrate the enemy.

Got it. The big one, you froze for a moment, but the big one is when they infiltrate the enemy?

Infiltrate the enemy and start the big battle.

Got it. And you say start the battle. Will this book conclude the battle with this particular enemy? Or will there be other books?

I think this will conclude with this enemy. Maybe I'll make something else on Abigail, but we'll see.

Got it. And then, Rella, compared to your two previous Abigail books, would you say that this enemy is different somehow? Is it bigger and badder or more sophisticated, or is it similar to earlier enemies? How does this enemy compare to earlier enemies she has fought?

I think the word more sophisticated is good to describe it.

How so? Can you explain in what way this enemy is more sophisticated?

Uh, bigger brain, probably better ideas, more modern.

And do you think in part this more sophisticated enemy is because you are older and more mature yourself?

Maybe.

That seems possible. And earlier we'd also talked about character development. Would you say there's more character development in this book than previous books, or not so much?

I mean, like I said, I'm trying, but I'm— oh, sorry. To be honest, I think I've been As I've been thinking about it, I think the enemies are, like you said, evolving and becoming more sophisticated. And as for the characters in this specific book, I think I've just touched lightly on their thoughts and dialogue. So I think when I go over it again, I need to go into more detail. So not like the best job in that, but I'm hoping to elaborate.

Got it. Well, you know, of course, as, you know, as an adult, I like books with character development. On the other hand, there are— there's a case to be made for books without much character development. So for instance, I think there are a lot of action movies where it's all action and not much character development. And, you know, sometimes I just want an action movie where it's all action and no character development. So would you say that what you're writing is so— and maybe it's something other than action, but it's so focused on action that maybe character development is not appropriate for this particular book?

That might be the case, if anything, minimally for now, but I hope to kind of move away from that and go more into dialogue and emotions and stuff like that.

Got it. And why do you think it is, or do you think I'm right, that maybe in action movies and action books that character development is somehow less necessary? Or do you think that it's possible to combine action with character development?

I mean, I think it's possible. There's a lot of action that doesn't— action books that maybe doesn't necessarily involve weapons and stuff like that, but there still are a lot of character development.

Do you think that sometimes it's nice to have action books without character development, or do you think they'd usually be better, or is it a matter of personal preference?

Well, I mean, I tend to like both. I never thought about action books having one or the other, so I will say I never, I never realized the difference. So I like them either way.

Got it. And is it fair to say, just knowing books that you've read, that Harry Potter has a lot of character development, the Harry Potter series?

Yes, I think so.

Would you describe Harry Potter as action or not action?

As action.

So why do you think that character development and action work together in Harry Potter?

I think because of the characters that J.K. Rowling put in and established in all of books, I think that set a founding for them to grow up and learn lessons and things like that.

And I can imagine why the setting might be appropriate for character development, but I'd love to hear your explanation. Why did you mention setting as a feature that leads to more character development?

Well, setting it— or I guess what I meant was other characters that help the main character's growth.

See, when you said setting, what I immediately thought is the fact that it's focused at a school, and a school ideally is about development. And so you're right, the other characters lead to character development, but in part I think that's because, you know, in a school you've got, you've got the teachers or the professors, and then you've also got the fellow students. Does that seem right, that it's in part the kind of setting leads to character development in Harry Potter? And then what is it about the, the other characters in particular?

Well, they push Harry. If we're talking about just Harry in general, I mean, Voldemort and his friends and Hagrid, they all push him I know in the fifth book, or the fifth book or something like that, they push him to start training everyone to defend themselves because the teachers are malfunctioning. Or one teacher in particular who has power over the others. Forgot her name at this very moment. I haven't read it in a little while, but I do plan to soon. You know, that shows growth, his braveness and courage and skill. And, you know, maybe a few years ago he wouldn't have done that.

Going back to your own book, I wonder if— does— do you think the reason it's not easy for you to add character development is maybe Abigail doesn't have enough other characters to learn from? Or is that not the case?

Um, I mean, possibly that might have been one factor. There were 3 others around her in Harry Potter. I mean, if you count Draco, that's 3. And then, well, I guess there are a lot of others, but those are like the 3 that— one annoys him and the other 2 surround him all the time. Mm-hmm. Um, I mean, it's a possibility, but I don't think it depends.

I guess I'm thinking again, I remember your first book best, and it seemed like it was mostly— your first book was mostly Abigail and the enemy, and other characters were not really developed, that it was Abigail and the struggle. And I'm wondering if maybe if you're still mostly having Abigail and the enemy, that maybe the lack of the development of the other characters is one of the reasons why it's not easy to develop Abigail's character. Is that possible?

Yes.

Okay. I, I, and it hadn't occurred to me before that, um, I, I can imagine a story where character development happens with just the sole protagonist and their environment, you know, maybe somebody in nature or something like that. Where they are transformed over time. But I think usually your insight about Harry Potter is right, that it's the other characters that help us or help even the fictional characters develop their character. Does that seem right?

Yes. Yes.

And you read Island of Blue Dolphins, correct?

Yes, I did.

And that's a case where I don't remember it well, but she was mostly alone. Do you think her character developed over the course of that story?

Definitely.

Yeah, that, that's the kind of story I was thinking about where even though she's alone, she, her character developed. So given that you just convinced me that other characters in Harry Potter are useful to character development, why is it that she developed on her own in Island of Blue Dolphin?

Well, I think it can work both ways. But also, if you were alone on an entire island and really all you could do is think and try and survive, that's a lot of time to yourself.

It is. It is. It, of course, makes me wonder. I would think, but do you think it would be possible to be alone on an island and not think? Could there be a character Could you write a story with a character who was all action, alone on an island, and never had any character development? Or is that just not realistic?

I mean, I agree with— I mean, not thinking, like, literally, or not taking the time to think?

Well, if you're the author, could you write it either way so that it was convincing?

That's true. Um, well, if he didn't take the time to think and it was all action, and you tried to have him not develop, I mean, maybe it's possible, but I feel like character development kind of pushes the readers to read, just to see the and what happens and how she feels and what her motives are. So I think a character with no inside dialogue, no thinking, and no— and nonstop alone and not, you know, you can't see what his motive is. It might not be as intriguing as the girl who thinks and, you know.

I agree. That's my assumption. I mean, maybe a very creative person could write it in a way that was interesting even without that, but it doesn't seem easy to me. And just because it's been so long since I've read Island of Blue Dolphins, remind me how her character developed. How would you describe the nature of how she developed?

Well, I mean, she's— I know she's alone on an island, and in the beginning she has her brother, but then I forget how. It's been a little while for me too. Her brother dies, and then she keeps going through this struggle where she gains something and then it goes away. And they all— and it may not be exactly that, and they're all different things. Like she gains shelter, maybe something happens. She keeps waiting for some boat to arrive. So that kind of stirs a lot of emotions up. Or yeah, the boat with the people to take her away like they did for villagers. So I think, and then that just, I think I do remember that there is a lot of thought thought about what she's doing, but also reflecting.

Mm-hmm.

So that does definitely push her growth.

And do you think that having emotions and thinking about them necessarily leads to character development, or could somebody have emotions, reflect on them, and not develop at all as a human being?

If that human being is very, very ignorant and doesn't really recognize things. Yes, maybe.

Okay. Um, do you remember that character's name in Island of Blue Dolphins?

I don't.

Okay, I don't either.

She had like a colonist name and then her true name, right?

Um, but your perception is that she did in fact grow and change, and she was somehow significantly different as a person by the end of the book.

Yes.

Okay, got it. So in light of all of this, you know, one strategy is you could just finish this version of the book and not try to develop Abigail's character, but you said you're going to go back and try to develop a little bit. What is the case for developing Abigail's character in this book? Why bother in a certain sense?

Well, one, I think this kind of wraps up her struggle with the enemy who has evolved. And then two, it's been three books, she's older than she was in the first book. And in the first book, and I think the second book, I didn't really go over and like think about all the dialogue and thoughts and things like that.

So it sounds like it's 3 things. I'm hearing kind of 3 things. One is, hey, she's got a more sophisticated enemy. It's appropriate for her to be thinking more, maybe both about the enemy and herself. Is that accurate?

Yes.

And then 2, there's the fact that she's older, and as a consequence, anybody would expect her to be a bit, for her character to develop. Is that a good second point?

Yes.

And then third, kind of implicitly I'm hearing that you as author are older, and so maybe because you as author are older also, it's appropriate to add some more character development.

That is true also.

Okay, okay. I am convinced that those three reasons, uh, make sense as to why you might want to go back and develop her character. And with that, I very much look forward to the book whenever it is done. And no need to tell me the end because I will read it and I will see. So with that, I'll wish you a happy Sunday and maybe see you next week.

Thank you, Michael.