Here’s something I don’t see writers practicing enough: how big things can permanently change your character.
I see people putting their characters through war, abusive relationships, health disorders, and intense grief. Since popular writers often fail here, I hope you guys are also considering how these things will affect your character in the long run. I don’t mean “Oh, they have bad dreams now and are jerks to everyone, but only for a little while.” I mean has their entire outlook on life changed dramatically, and if so how? Does it show? Do they try to hide it and move on, or do they accept that this is who they are now? Does it take them a long time or a short time to realize things can never again be the way they were? How does that affect them? Do they choose to keep this new personality, or do they try to change it?
Not everyone wants to acknowledge this type of development in a character because it gets in the way of their plans or disrupts plot. Also, some characters are made of stern stuff or are just flexible enough to survive with their personality intact. Yet, major events in a story should leave a noticeable impact on a character, the more personal the event generally the bigger the personality change.
Just think about it if you haven’t already, y'know?
The concept of ignoring the development of a character because it interferes with the plot is a completely foreign concept to me. Your character development should drive the plot as much as the opposite. Your character development is the plot.
as someone who has gone through life-altering experiences, there is no way nothing changes. it could be as small as a change in their step (ex: they walk slower, more paranoid in certain spaces) or as big as a change in their lifestyle (ex: they can’t approach crowds and public spaces like they used to, gradually developing a deep rooted case of agoraphobia).
things change even if nothing extremely drastic in life happens, time changes things. if you have an especially big time gap in your story, something will have to change. friendships change, relationships change, the colours of the fucking leaves change. everything changes. if your story doesn’t acknowledge the fact that life is full of constant change and adapt accordingly, something is missing.
Good time transition advice!