: Character development in a story? I am working on a book for fun and have thought a lot about character development. Is character development as important as the actual dialog of the story?

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I, as a reader, cannot really know what a character is like until I see that character tested. Any clod can say “I love you”, but what if the beloved replies “If you really loved me, you’d kill my ex-husband”?

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I like reading stories where the characters are given an initial run-down as they are introduced into the story.

The run-down could roast the character in sarcasm, describing what others say and had said about the character, or praise him/her, would include their hitherto history and known accomplishment, rumours and hearsay.

I classify the contents of a run-down into

The author's personal description about the character/personality of the character. (Character of the character? Silly, but how else could I say it?)
The author's revelation about the thought history, desires and disappointments of the character that only the author would have known.
The character's known history

known by general public
known by a select few
known by a partner

History of chatter, opinions, roasts, allegations found in item 3 concerning the character, but written without direct opinion from the author about the character.

General public chatter
Excerpts of chatter within family, colleagues, nemeses, small unknown parties
Past interactions with spouse, children, close friends, nemesis.

The run-down is lightened up and made entertaining with roasts and sarcasm. A run-down is written as an intriguing short story within the story. I am not saying the run-down is compartmentalized into the four categories. Rather, the run-down relies on those four categories written as a short story.

But as the story proceeds, the actual character of those persons would take twists and turns, that would prove the initial run-down as wrong, inadequate or vindicated, besides the changes in the personality and experiences of the character.

I remember reading Dune. I remember the doctor who betrayed Duke Leto Atreides. However, I also recall observing Frank Herbert's writing of the series having become darker and relying more on author's personal perception in the initial run-down of a character, after the death of his wife. I think when an author becomes lazy making the initial run-down an op-ed piece rather than an intriguing short-story - that ruins the whole story.

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I agree with Lauren I think you're confusing character establishment with character development. Character development is something you do before or while you're writing the story.

I'm the type who develops the characters while writing the story (throughout the story not only at the beginning). For me, they can only become alive if I see them interacting with the story because, in a sense, they are the story. Then after they are somehow developed I go back and develop them a bit more.

Although I think developing too much a character is never a bad thing, I don't understand why you want to see it as something separated from the story or dialogue. The story is the character, and the character is the story.

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When I started out i got a lot of dialog on paper. But I was missing something, personalities. I recently downloaded an app that helped me with that. It asked detailed questions about my characters. From fears and education to eye color. Now it is easier for me to write out feelings. knowing your characters is very important.

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You should establish the character early on, but I don't think you can develop anyone all in the beginning. What point is there for the story, then, if the character is done developing?

The reader should have some sense of who the person is before the real meat of the tale gets underway. Revealing parts of the character as you go is part of the point of a story.

I think either you misunderstood your teacher or the teacher was flat-out wrong.

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