As promised last week, I am pleased to follow up on the Lair of the White Wyrm story excerpt with a guest post on writing, specifically on writing good characters, courtesy of author Lea Ryan. And also as promised, there’s a special treat lurking in the post - the opportunity to win your very own copy of Lea’s book! So take a visit to her site(s), check out her thoughts on character development, and enter to win…

***

The Importance of Character Evolution

by Lea Ryan

Making characters believable is important to every story. The more life a writer can breathe into their characters, the more the reader
is able to relate to them and the more compelling their struggles become.

So how does one ease a character into change? First, there must be some personality trait or possibly a physical trait that hinders their ability to deal with whatever situation into which the author drops them.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For example, in my novel, Lair of the White Wyrm

His plans for escape take a turn for the worse when strange things start happening around him. His fragile mental state is weakened further by the fear that reality is slipping away from him. He’s ill-equipped to handle new trauma.

In order for a character to evolve, outside forces need to alter their perceptions or their thinking process. This happens with significant events like Eric’s move to the tower and all that happens to him there. Other similarly dramatic events might be a loved one in danger, the loss of a home or a mentor, or maybe some new element like a person who exerts a hefty amount of influence.
How a character processes the events and/or situations gradually leads them to the person they are at the end of the story. Some component of who they were in the beginning has changed. They might be stronger or more alert to threats. If they were arrogant or reckless, maybe they changed their ways. The possibilities are endless.

Every person’s life is a story. Every story is a life. Giving the people on the pages the chance to evolve makes them more human and relatable.

***

Lair of the White Wyrm is available on Amazon and via Smashwords. There is also a limited print edition available on Lulu.