Learning Things the Hard Way: Character Development in Fiction

What do Elle Woods and Prince Zuko have in common? Aside from being characters in two very popular pieces of media (Legally Blonde and Avatar: The Last Airbender, respectively), both undergo major character development over the course of the film or show. So, what even is character development? Put simply, character development is when a character undergoes some kind of change over the course of their story, but that process can look vastly different depending on the story being told. 

Elle begins the film as a beauty-queen sorority girl who makes the huge decision to go to Harvard Law School in an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend, Warner. Despite her initial motivation, and with the help of supportive friends, Elle realizes that she’s a strong young woman who can do anything she puts her mind to.

Prince Zuko spends ages of his young life desperately trying to earn the love of his tyrannical father, Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko sets out to capture the Avatar, a 12-year-old boy named Aang, by any means necessary. He never accomplishes this, but through many setbacks and lots of advice from wise Uncle Iroh, Zuko ends up on “Team Avatar” and ultimately helps the group defeat his father. 

Despite the previous examples, character development isn’t always positive! People in the real world don’t always change for the better when faced with difficult circumstances, and fictitious characters are no different (see Walter White in Breaking Bad, for instance!). Realistic character development helps to make a character more relatable to readers (or in this case, viewers). When you strip Legally Blonde down to just Elle’s development, you see a young woman realizing how capable she is. When you do the same for Zuko, you see an emotionally neglected kid who is doing all he can to be loved by his parent, and discovering the concept of found family. Both of those storylines are realistic and relatable to a broad audience. 

To develop the characters in your writing, you first want to think about what their goals are, and what motivates them toward that goal. Having a good idea of the character’s motivation can help them make believable decisions and behave in a realistic way. The key, though, is that some kind of change has to occur for them over the course of the story. For Elle, her motivation starts out rather shallow (going to law school for a guy??) but her resolve grows as she gains support and becomes more sure of herself. Zuko’s main goal eventually runs out of steam as he realizes he’ll never win the love of his father, no matter how hard he tries. His resolve and motivation grow when he’s with Team Avatar and he’s seeking to do good in the world alongside his new friends. This change in motivation reflects part of his overall character growth. 

Conflict is another element to consider in your story. How does it affect your character directly? Does it harm them? Does it harm things or people your character cares about? As we see in Legally Blonde, Elle’s development begins because her boyfriend dumps her for someone he deems smarter and more serious than Elle (despite her 4.0 at the fictional version of UCLA!). She’s told she isn’t good enough, and this obviously breaks her heart. Her initial reaction is absolutely believable—who wouldn’t be devastated that their longtime boyfriend dumped them instead of proposing? If she’d been totally okay and laughed it off in the next scene, she wouldn’t be very believable and her development wouldn’t have been as effective. If there’s nothing to overcome, character development isn’t very impactful or exciting. 

All in all, creating strong character development in a story involves writing believable characters with strong motivations and goals, putting them through the wringer with conflicts to fight to achieve those goals (or change course in some way), and leaving them changed in the end. Fleshing out a character’s beliefs, hopes, fears, and even backstory can all provide layers that make them more realistic and believable, as well as making the development more visible as changes occur. 

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About the author: Heather Miller is a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English. With a deep love for storytelling and a special passion for fiction—especially high fantasy and historical fiction—she is thrilled to serve as a judge for this competition. She looks forward to discovering original voices and compelling stories that stay with the reader long after the final line.