Character Development: Action

Series, Character-building method 3 of 6

Oct 24, 2024

You've probably heard the oft-described notion that story is conflict, and successful works of fiction are those with well-developed conflicts that move characters forward on their journeys of transformation. And this is true.

But chalking up story to conflict alone leaves something to be desired. Story is conflict, yes, but within the conflict, the main characters must make changes and be changed.

After all, what is conflict without resolution?

Cause without consequence?

Discovery without decision?

Character without action?

This article focuses on the third method of building believable and relatable characters: action. Because it's the actions characters take that will ultimately usher in the necessary changes to keep conflict and tension fresh and keep readers reading.

Let's dig in.

On Action

Have you ever taken a walk in your neighborhood and found a $20 bill on the sidewalk? Or walked your grocery cart all the way to your vehicle only to discover a pack of toilet paper on the bottom of the cart you forgot to pay for?

What happened? Did you pick up the cash or leave it there? Did you bring the toilet paper back into the store to swipe your card again, or did you stuff it into your trunk and pretend it never happened?

Every day, humans face chance and choices—whether we choose to act on the chance presented or purposefully choose not to act. And these actions, small or large, tell something about our characters.

After all, you may feel differently about a person who begrudgingly brings back the toilet paper than about one who engages in casual, opportunistic theft. And your character will have thoughts and feelings about these actions, too.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Choosing how to show your readers who your main characters are is a challenge even for skilled writers with many books under their names. While it's easy to tell a reader that a character is a coward, for example, showing your reader that your character is a coward requires that you put your character in a position to demonstrate cowardice.

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, is a coward. But Hosseini, being a skilled writer, doesn't tell the reader that. Words don't mean anything unless they are tied to action. So, Hosseini puts Amir's cowardice on display in a turning-point scene.

White text on a blue background reads: I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan—the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past—and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran. —Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner — Quote from Khaled Hosseini's

Cowardice itself is the major character flaw Amir must resolve on his transformation journey to become a real man who will stand up for himself. And Hosseini doesn't shy away from truly brutal circumstances to highlight Amir's cowardice for the reader. In this critical moment, Amir purposefully chooses not to help his friend (who is about to become a victim) because Amir is afraid of what the bully may do to Amir for intervening.

While Amir didn't create the causal circumstances in which he found himself, he was irrevocably changed by those circumstances, and the choice he made—not to act—drives his character transformation through the novel.

We Become What We Do

Beyond the major conflicts and associated choices within a character's transformative journey are all the small choices a character makes that help readers understand just who that person really is. Sure, cowardice, especially when it's the focal point of the story, sticks out for readers. But what happens when the choice is so small, so automatic, that it almost hides in the text waiting for the careful reader to dig it out?

In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Offred, the hero of the story, visits the fertility doctor in Gilead just before the obligatory monthly ceremony with the Commander. While with the doctor, Offred has a chance to become impregnanted, which will serve to stop the monthly ceremonies—at least for the time she carries the child.

White text on blue background reads: None of this has been said, but the knowledge of his power hangs nevertheless in the air as he pats my thigh, withdraws himself behind the hanging sheet. “Next month,” he says. I put on my clothes again, behind the screen. My hands are shaking. Why am I frightened? I’ve crossed no boundaries, I’ve given no trust, taken no risk, all is safe. It’s the choice that terrifies me. A way out. Salvation. —Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale — Quote from Margaret Atwood's

Here, Offred's choice not to allow the doctor to impregnate her is a purposeful choice. Her primary mission within the story is to locate her daughter who was taken from her when the governmental transfer of power happened (which resulted in Gilead) and get her daughter to the safety of freedom for those who can cross into Canada.

While Offred can make the choice to accept the doctor's pregnancy unbeknownst to the Commander and his wife, Offred ultimately chooses to continue with the ceremony instead. The way out for Offred would leave her daughter behind. And it is because she is not ready to leave her daughter behind that she makes such a choice. And readers will see that Offred herself becomes a symbol of salvation for the women trapped in Gilead.

Forced Hands and Forced Choices

Have you ever taken a job or sold something important to you simply because you needed the money? In fiction, as in life, sometimes a character's choice isn't entirely up to them. Whether it be a downward spiral of choices that leads the character to a sort of rock-bottom state, or a promise of something to come, or a promise of something left behind, external forces may control the character's hand.

In Colleen Hoover's Verity, Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling novelist who can't pay her bills and is facing eviction and financial ruin when a chance presents itself to her in the form of a car accident and a high-dollar contract. Lowen is approached by the spouse of a bestselling, popular novelist, Verity Crawford. Verity can no longer fulfill her publishing contract, and her estate wants to hire Lowen to ghostwrite the rest of Verity's series on her behalf.

While Lowen appears to have a choice, there are external factors at play that ultimately force her hand.

White text on a blue background reads: “The eviction notice says you have two days to be out.” “I’m aware of that.” “So where are you going? A hotel?” “Eventually. I’m leaving Sunday for Verity Crawford’s house. Her husband says I’ll need to go through her office for a day or two before I start the series.” —Colleen Hoover, Verity — Quote from Colleen Hoover's

Lowen's choice to accept the contract and ghostwrite Verity Crawford's series seems to be her choice, but housing and financial ruin led her to that choice. To have turned away from the contract and the money that came with it would have meant accepting defeat, and for a loner with few friends and no place to go, that choice may have also meant homelessness.

As it turns out, the internal moment of change is where the action lives.

Using Action to Show Character

Think about your main character and the major flaw they have. Focus on a tough moment in the story when the character must make a choice of whether to act on a chance before them.

What factors weigh on your character's mind?

What personality trait are you highlighting when you present the chance to your character?

What action must the character ultimately take to embody that personality trait and show your readers that fundamental side of themselves?

In Case You Missed It

I've been noodling over ways to work with more authors at lower costs while building a community of folks who want to write and publish good stories. And as these things often go, it was my daughter who pushed me in the right direction when she asked: “Why don’t you just start your own book club, Mom?”

The Novel Nest is my answer to building such a community.

I'm still working through all the details including membership tiers and pricing, which resources to include, and how to structure community time together. But if you're interested in writing with a group for ongoing accountability in a safe space to get curated guidance on your writing and story, I invite you to sign up for my Novel Nest Newsletter, where I'll share more details, including the official link to the community once it's live and ready.

If you have questions about The Novel Nest community, I'll do my best to answer them. I'm very much looking forward to co-creating a community that works well for tenacious authors with important stories to share.

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Happy writing and editing!

♥ Fallon