Character Transformation: Dynamics in Character Development
Unlock the secret to creating characters that drive your story forward and resonate with your readers. In the third layer of my 3D Character Framework, discover how to master character transformation.
The evolution of characters—how they grow and transform—convinces readers to invest in characters in your story. The third dimension of my 3D Character Framework, Dynamics, is dedicated to exploring this crucial aspect.
By Dynamics, I mean the Transformational Arc of your Character over the course of your story. Understanding and implementing character dynamics is no simple task; it requires a nuanced approach that extends beyond mere checklists. And by definition, Dynamic means that your character is not monolithic; they must bend with the wind lest they break. And by break, I mean cease being believable or exciting. Unchanging monoliths are an anathema to good storytelling. Find a way for your character to change, then "sell" that change to your reader.
My journey in crafting this framework wasn't driven by an inherent skill in writing but rather the opposite—it stemmed from my struggles and the gaps in my own understanding of story construction. In short, my stories sucked, and my characters were dull, or worse, they were self-righteous jerks. From these mistakes, I created an adaptive system, a flexible approach, not rigid like a comprehensive list of formal attributes that must change. Instead, it is a range of transformational options and categories of commonly transformative traits.
Choose one focal trait that resonates with your story and its deeper theme. Only pepper in some of the other traits if you have the narrative space for it. If you're writing a novel, you'll have plenty of opportunities to sprinkle them throughout the myriad scenes. If you're creating a 24-page comic, you'll be lucky to "sell" one transformation. You might need an entire graphic novel to pull it off convincingly.
The Essence of Transformative Arcs
Transformative Arcs focus on the most visible and impactful areas to the reader: Wisdom, Relationships, Altruism, Integrity, Trust, Healing, and Engagement (WRAITHE). The framework directs writers toward categories of potential growth in their characters, providing a structured way to think about and "sell" transformation to your reader. It is by no means the last word on character traits and transformation, but I found it WRAITHE memorable, which means I will likely remember it in a pinch.
Wisdom: Characters learn from their experiences, altering their approach and philosophy toward life.
Relationships: Changes in personal connections that shape the character's emotional landscape.
Altruism: Evolution in the character's actions for the benefit of others over themselves.
Integrity: Shifts in moral principles and worldview that drive character's choices.
Trust: Development in the character's capacity to trust others and earn trust in return.
Healing: Overcoming past wounds that have distorted character motivations and actions.
Engagement: Increasing involvement with the world around them, signaling active participation in their life stories.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Wisdom
How It Manifests: Characters displaying wisdom often show a nuanced understanding gained through experiences. They learn from past mistakes or successes and apply these lessons to current challenges.
How to Write It: Portray your character facing a similar situation as before but handling it with a new perspective that showcases their growth. For example, a leader who once rushed into conflict might use diplomacy after experiencing the costs of war.
Practice: Create scenarios where your character's initial approach fails but revisits the problem with a learned strategy.
Shadow Side: Initially, a character may be naive or impulsive, making decisions without forethought or learning from past mistakes.
Light Side: Transformation involves the character evolving to become more reflective and insightful, applying learned lessons to new challenges.
Example: A headstrong youth who often rushes into danger learns the value of strategy and caution through hard-won battles.
Relationships
How It Manifests: Changes in relationships reflect evolving trusts, loyalties, or conflicts that challenge the character's emotional landscape.
How to Write It: Develop scenes that test relationships through conflict, temptation, or changes in circumstance. Show the character's depth by how they deal with these tests.
Practice: Write a reconciliation scene after a betrayal, highlighting what each character has learned from the ordeal.
Shadow Side: Characters may start with toxic relationships, mistrust, or isolation.
Light Side: Growth is shown as they build meaningful connections, learn to trust, and contribute positively to relationships.
Example: An isolated loner learns to open up and trust a new ally, eventually forming a deep bond central to their mutual survival.
Altruism
How It Manifests: A character's selfless actions for the benefit of others can significantly alter their narrative arc, presenting moral dilemmas or sacrificial choices.
How to Write It: Illustrate altruism through pivotal decisions where personal gain is forsaken for the greater good. This could be saving a rival or sacrificing a cherished goal.
Practice: Craft a short story where the protagonist must choose between a personal desire and a moral imperative.
Shadow Side: Selfishness or indifference to others' needs characterizes their initial state.
Light Side: They learn the importance of selflessness and sacrifice, often putting others' needs before their own.
Example: A greedy merchant facing a moral crisis decides to use his resources to save a starving village, transforming from miser to benefactor.
Integrity
How It Manifests: Integrity involves steadfastness to a moral code, which dictates the character's decisions and grows through the story.
How to Write It: Show the character in a situation where they must choose between easy options and the right ones, particularly under pressure.
Practice: Introduce a tempting offer that would solve all of the character's problems at the cost of their moral principles.
Shadow Side: Characters may begin with a flexible moral code, justifying unethical actions.
Light Side: They develop a strong, unwavering commitment to a moral philosophy, often at great personal cost.
Example: A corrupt politician redeems himself by blowing the whistle on a greater conspiracy despite the risk to his career.
Trust
How It Manifests: Development in trust can be portrayed through a character's willingness to rely on others or their efforts to be more trustworthy themselves.
How to Write It: Explore trust through built or broken relationships. A character might initially doubt allies but learn to rely on them.
Practice: Create a subplot where the protagonist must decide whether to trust a former enemy with a critical task.
Shadow Side: Initial distrust, paranoia, or betrayal.
Light Side: Learning to trust others and to be trustworthy, building bonds based on mutual respect and honesty.
Example: After being betrayed by a close confidant, a wary hero learns to trust a new partner who consistently proves their loyalty.
Healing
How It Manifests: Healing, whether emotional or physical, often represents overcoming past traumas and is a strong driver for character development.
How to Write It: Use backstories to establish wounds and depict healing as a gradual process influenced by new experiences or relationships.
Practice: Write a sequence where the character confronts their past in a way that fosters healing, perhaps through forgiveness or facing fear.
Shadow Side: Characters often carry deep-seated traumas or unresolved grief.
Light Side: They confront and overcome these issues, often leading to emotional breakthroughs or reconciliation.
Example: A warrior haunted by the deaths he caused finds peace through forgiveness offered by the victims' families, leading to his emotional healing.
Engagement
How It Manifests: Engagement involves a character becoming more active in their community or within their own story, moving from passivity to decisive action.
How to Write It: Transition your character from sideline observer to key player by placing them at the center of action and decision-making.
Practice: Chart a path where the character goes from questioning their role in the world to taking a leadership position in a crisis.
Shadow Side: Detachment or passivity concerning their surroundings or stakes.
Light Side: Becoming proactive and deeply involved in the events around them, often taking a leadership role.
Example: A bystander to evil rises to become a leader in the resistance, actively shaping events rather than watching from the sidelines.
Implementing Dynamics: More Than Just a Checklist
While the WRAITHE framework provides a roadmap for character development, it's crucial to recognize that it is not exhaustive nor prescriptive. Storytelling thrives on the writer's creativity and intuition—this framework merely points you in helpful directions. It's about helping writers choose which traits should change, how these changes are manifested and perceived, and which intensify and reinforce the theme of their story. By theme, I mean what their story is really about under the surface.
Selective Transformation: Not all traits need to or should change. Select transformations that are most crucial to your character's arc resonate with the theme and impact the story. Consider which transformations will reinforce your story and its theme and resonate with your reader.
Categorical Guidance: The WRAITHE categories guide your thinking about character development or possibly digression. Each WRAITHE component is a direction your character might head in the story. Use the framework to help you organize and prioritize certain aspects of your character's development. Only try to get some of these traits to transform; find the ones that harmonize with what your story is about, is REALLY about, deep down.
Character Baseline: Establish a clear starting point for the focal WRAITHE attribute in your story. Beyond the focal transformational attribute, consider organically developing others, but be wary of confusing your reader. Your story can quickly devolve into a chaotic and convoluted mess. For that one key Character attribute, determine where your character is at the beginning, consider what key scenes will test this, and how the character will grow, change, and ultimately transform by the end of your story.
Plot Integration: Ensure that the character's environment and challenges naturally provoke changes in the key attributes. Scenes should force the characters to clash with outside forces and test everything they thought they knew about the world. Only then will your character earn the changes they make, and only then will your readers believe in the story you're telling them.
Gradual Transformation: Character growth should occur progressively and logically, and by logically, I mean story logic. Humanity is driven by emotion, not logic, but your story's logic needs to remain intact; sudden shifts, without proper setup or evidence expressed in behavior and action, will feel unearned and disengaging.
Show, Don't Tell: Use visual storytelling to show character changes. For instance, show how a character solving a problem at the end of the story reflects their increased wisdom compared to earlier attempts. How the characters look and hold themselves may change as an external representation of their internal transformation.
Reactions and Consequences: Highlight how transformations affect the character's world and relationships, providing a tangible measure of change.
Harnessing Dynamics in Your Writing
The Dynamics section of the 3D Character framework is one tool in your creative toolbox. It invites exploration of a character's core traits and challenges you to write their growth on the page. Remember it is your creativity and your unique voice that breathes life into characters. Your ability to write convincingly makes the transformations profound. If you succeed, your readers will walk away satisfied, and your characters will linger long after the turn of the last page.
This 3D Character framework is a catalyst for your nuanced exploration of deep character motivations and transformation. The goal is to use this framework not as a checklist– a rigid, unbending tool– but as fertile soil from which complex, dynamic characters can grow, captivating your reader and leaving a stamp on their soul.
Remember, the WRAITHE framework is built for utility; it is not an objective truth. It helped me wrangle the creative chaos, reducing the range of infinite choices down to a more reasonable subset. This hones my attention onto a single focal transformation for my character, so I write the most compelling, captivating, and satisfying story possible. If I nail the focal transformation, the secondary ones are gravy.
Enjoy; I hope your characters transform. I love werewolves.
Charles Merritt Houghton
14 April 2024