STORYSPACE: Character Growth
It’s no new wisdom that we grow from what we experience, from the toddler’s first tumble to the failures and successes of adulthood man learns something from every episode of living. We are what we have been and what has happened to change us along the way.
When we write story, we have a character who comes to us full grown. We throw a few things out there for him and watch to see if he will avoid, stumble over, and face them head-on. We don’t always understand the reactions we get from him, and here’s where backstory comes in handy. Not to merely set up a situation by event, but by the character’s reaction to that event to more importantly round him out to comprehend him.
That’s what’s happening for me now in my current wip, and likely why it’s taking me so long; each character is being revealed slowly as they walk to the heartbeat of the park; the scenario and setting where they will meet in some manner for just a fraction of a moment but one that changes them each in certain ways forever.
Hypertext is the perfect medium for such strong character development. We get an idea of who someone is by what they’re doing, and when we ask why? we take that trail and discover an answer. In hypertext, we can mark that trail for others who are curious enough to follow. Is it vital information? Maybe not–to the plot of story anyway. But to the understanding and enjoyment of the story? Yes.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology