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Q&A Are there times when delayed character development is acceptable in fiction?

In my screenplay, I have my female protagonist wear Prada, and perhaps drop other hints of her character, but not act like Miranda Priestly for the first two acts, until she gets a promotion at the...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:15:15Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/17240
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Tom Au‭ · 2019-12-08T04:15:15Z (almost 5 years ago)
In my screenplay, I have my female protagonist wear Prada, and perhaps drop other hints of her character, but **not** act like Miranda Priestly for the first two acts, until she gets a promotion at the end of Act II. In Act III, having arrived, she lets loose her inner Miranda, perhaps surprising the audience.

A female critic of my script said, in effect, that the late character development is interesting, but did I have to wait so long? Does the plot (as I have outlined it) justify or support such a format?

In most movies I've watched, or screenplays I've read there is a strong burst of character development as early as the first Scene of Act I. Is there a "conventional wisdom" for writers as to when, or how early, character development should take place?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2015-05-13T16:47:30Z (over 9 years ago)
Original score: 5