Here at Good Story Company, we talk a lot about character development, because how a character grows and changes is the engaging part of the story. The plot and action entertain us, but how the characters react to that action, how they make their decisions, and most importantly, how they feel about what happens is what sticks with us long after we’ve closed a book. As readers, we relate to the character’s emotions because emotions are universal. Battle a dragon? Nope, never done that. But we have felt apprehension and intimidation in the face of a seemingly unsurmountable task. And seeing how a character overcomes adverse circumstances gives us ideas on how to handle situations in the future.

Wherever you are in your writing journey—from an initial outline to a draft to pitching your project—the experienced team at Good Story Editing can take your work to the next level.

create a character development arc outline

Many writers I talk to say their novels are character-driven. They have the ideas of a character, or characters, then stick them in a story to see what happens. In early drafts, though, this character can flounder. Without a story outlined, writers tend to overshare backstory because that’s what they know at the beginning. Will it be relevant to what eventually happens? Not always. Is it immediately important in the first twenty pages? Practically never. Take what you know about your character and create a character development arc outline. Show who the character is in the beginning, and then how they change by the end. This will also help you work in the necessary backstory organically.

Start with an empathetic character

What matters in the beginning is that readers are able to find your character likable. Yes, your character needs flaws. But as Blake Snyder outlines in Save the Cat, we need a reason to empathize with a character within the first few pages. This helps us immediately engage emotionally, and compels us to keep reading. Your protagonist might start off in a dark place, and the purpose of the story is to show us how they pull out of it and change, but from the beginning we need a reason to root for them, to want to accompany them on the journey. And we need a reason to know why this character in particular is important.

what’s unique about your character?

Last month I wrote about Chosen One stories, and asked whether the hero is worthy of the journey. This can be expanded to all protagonists when you ask yourself what makes the protagonist unique. I love the question “What’s so special about you?” It comes from a past life, when I worked with grad students, many of whom were international. Early one year the class reps asked to run an icebreaker exercise with this as the title. We were slightly alarmed, concerned some students might be offended by the question, but the reps went on to explain that it would be the top of a Bingo-style sheet. They wanted a way to make icebreaker Bingo more fun, and it worked. As a class, they represented much of the United States and over forty countries. But as the Bingo sheet showed, they had much in common. Each square showed commonalities, but the sheet as a whole made a unique individual.

The same is true with characters. They will have specific traits we can relate to, but when taken as a whole, there should be something that sets them apart, that makes them the primary person we’re rooting for in a story. What makes them unique will also enforce the plot logic. Why do certain people come together? Why do we want one person to win over another?

Define your character’s want and need

At the beginning of your story, the main character has a want and a need, which will change as the plot unfolds. The plot is the catalyst for character development. Think of the plot as what happens, and the character development as why what happens matters. Each scene impacts the character somehow, and then by the end, the character’s self-awareness has shifted, changing the want and need.

To develop engaging characters, know the backstory for yourself, but eliminate it from the story opening. Show us what’s special about your protagonist. Give us a reason to care about them right away, and build on that reason to sustain our interest as they embark on the story. Also show us how other characters relate to them, and why. Even heavily flawed characters need redeeming qualities, which can be developed over the course of the story.

Show your character DEVELOPMENT VIA emotions and reactions.

A unique character with a clearly defined want and need, who engages with the reader, sharing their emotions and vulnerabilities, can carry a story. If you can define this at the beginning of your process—even if you have a total aversion to outlining—you can create the foundation your story needs. And if you understand how this character needs to grow and change, you can create a character development arc that will show you what needs to happen for the plot to fall into place. This is how, if you write character-driven stories, you can use basic outlines to help your process. And this will help you tell a good story.

Need help creating a character development arc? Kristen Overman is here to help you! She's an experienced editor with expertise in middle grade and young adult fiction, picture books, adult fiction, and memoir. She can work with you to develop your plot, characters, and narrative voice, as well as assist in the brainstorming and outlining stages of your project.