CHARACTER GROWTH

It is a fact of life....as time goes by, we grow....in size, mentally, spiritually, and in experience. And hopefully, at the journey's end we're proud of the person we've become and the decisions we've made through endless mistakes and retries.

I guess the story would be a dull one if we were all perfect....all doing the same thing, and this ride through life was a piece of cake. A novel with the same "easy/breezy" characters would also lack excitement.

Character growth is essential to a story. Who doesn't like watching the hero/heroine evolve, come to new conclusions through tragedy or circumstances beyond their control? To show you what I mean I will use a few examples:

Let's start with Margaret Mitchell's, Scarlet O'Hara from GONE WITH THE WIND. Scarlet starts out as a spoiled young girl with her head in the clouds. Her only concern is being the "belle of the ball", and having all the attention from all the guys.....especially one guy, Ashley Wilkes. When she can't have Ashley, she marries on a rebound and from there, Scarlet's journey begins. We find Mitchell taking Scarlet through the tragedy of war, she's left a young widow, other loved ones die, she's met daily with starvation and fear. She's suddenly responsible for feeding her family, and to add insult to injury....she has in her care, Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, the woman who married her beloved, Ashley. In her own way, Scarlet meets each of the challenges she's given. She finds within her a strength she didn't know she possessed....we didn't know it either until Mitchell's story unfolds. Her selfishness brings her new-found guilt. Her mistakes make her wiser, more powerful.....and eventually break her heart. But in the end, she rises again. Pulls herself together, and stands to face another day. She's come a far way from the stubborn, self-centered young woman we first met. And although she's not perfect, you can't help but admire Scarlet's tenacity, her fight to stay in control of her life, and the sacrifices she's made for the people she loved.

Dorothy's journey in L. Frank Baum's, THE WIZARD OF OZ is another lesson in character growth. When Dorothy's dog, Toto has to be taken from her for biting the mean neighbor-lady, Dorothy decides to run away. With no regard for her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, Dorothy makes her escape during a tornado. Her journey through OZ teaches her responsibility, as she helps three new friends, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, find their way down the Yellow Brick Road, to the Wizard. In the mist of the journey she encounters the Wicked Witch of the North....who torments Dorothy at every turn. Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion also experience character growth. No one is the same as they were, and many lessons have been learned....Dorothy's being, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

The growth these characters experienced made the stories they starred in, page turning, best-selling novels. As a reader I feared for them, cried for their sorrows, cheered them on during the dark moments, and thought of them long after the book ended.

It is essential for a writer to create three-dimensional characters.....with dialogue, challenges, and mistakes encountered along the way. It's all about the journey....in real life....and in a novel.

HAPPY WRITING! :-)

Roberta C.M. DeCaprio
www.robertadecaprio.com