Developing Your Characters

So you've created an awesome character.  They're not a Mary Sue or a Hood Ornament, and they have both strengths and weaknesses.  What now?  Should your character remain exactly the same for the rest of the story/it's existence?  The answer is no.  An integral part of any good story is character development.  Just like real people grow, learn, and change, your characters should grow, learn, and change.  This doesn't mean that they should change into someone completely different, although it could.  This just means that you character develops throughout its life.  they could be tiny, seemingly insignificant changes, but they should exist nonetheless.  Character development also means that you, as the creator of your character, will get to know you character hopefully as well as you know yourself.

In this post I will provide some links that talk about character development which might be helpful to you.  In another thread in this section, I will post a character development question once a week, which you can answer if you want to.  The questions should make you think about your character, who they are, and how what is happening to them is changing them.

Please remember that you are not required to do any of this, it is merely here to help you if you want it.