How do you "develop characters" using an event driven format?

For instance, in my high school novel, I have the main characters attend a football game, the Homecoming Dance, the basketball game, other dances, the Prom, etc. Then I have the characters react to, or comment on the occurrences that happen at these events.

For instance, at the games, one character "jumps up and down" (not literally), when the home team scores, while another character analyzes the flow of play in trying to determine the likely result. Or at the Prom, one character merely observes other peoples' words and actions while another tries to interpret those words and actions.

Another format used to develop character is to have long conversations between the main character and others. This, in my experience, usually "does the job," but also seems "contrived" to me. Most characters (that I know in "real life") are not highly introspective, and will reveal themselves primarily at critical points and events in their lives.

Can an event driven format, with brief (introspective) post mortems be sufficient to develop the characters in my novels? Or does one need to "make time" in a story for strategically placed "asides" to produce character development, even though this may or may not happen in real life?

posted almost 5 years ago

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Tom Au‭

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