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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/31894
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/31894
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

At the core of every character is a desire. They want something. They are where they are, they do what they do, because they believe that it is leading them to what they desire. They also have a set of values and beliefs that shape how they are willing to behave in order to achieve their desire -- the boundaries they will not cross even to achieve their desire.

For the main character, the story leads to a confrontation between their values and their desire and a fundamental moment of decision where some choice, some sacrifice must be made that changes or reveals their character.

All the secondary and tertiary characters have the same arc. Their arcs may not be worked out fully in the course of the story, but they have them. To make them convincing as a character (and not have them act as simply a convenient plot device) you have to identify their values and their desire and make sure that their actions are consistent with their values and their desire. This does not have to be done in any great detail, and their arc does not have to be fully worked out, but for them to read as real, these basics need to be in place and need to be handled consistently.

Once you understand their values and their desire, you have them, and the reader has them, and everything around them makes sense.

Original score: 13