Characters and development

I've always been a fan of character driven stories. Rich diverse characters are as important as a good plot.

I've read books where the plot has been intriguing, like Star Wars; Deathstar, but the characters have been like generic cardboard cutouts drifting through it and become neither likeable nor detestable. Sort of like characters in a 90's teen slasher movie, they are there to fill a purpose and that's it.

Others, that are part of a series will try to rely on your past experiences of the character and take it as a given. There has been no real character development of Leia Organa-Solo in a Star wars book for decades, since Courtship of Princess Leia really. Then, we all know Princess Leia don't we?

It can work in a small trilogy, the Darth Bane series for example uses the whole first book developing Bane from a troubled youth to hardened soldier, wide eyed apprentice to embittered Sith master with a mission. As you've seen this journey you don't need to re-establish it in the final two books but the development goes on and you can see the rich character grow and react.

I admit that some books go to far the other way and whilst you know the characters like you would an old friend nothing seems to happen. This is indeed the case for Dostojevski's The Idiot.
Rich vivid characters but a slower paced plot which can leave readers feeling like they've waded through marmalade to get to the end.

I found Sarah Waters' The Nightwatch and The little stranger hit the nail on the head for plot vs character development. By the end you are really interested in what happens to each of the characters and how their journey ends.

The problem comes with character generation, it is really easy to stray into generic stereotypes; the brash fighter pilot, the damsel in distress, the galant knight - it takes little imagination on the part of the reader or author. It's like type casting the same old actors in movies and takes something away from the enjoyment.

So what am I doing in my character development?

Some of the people I've met in my lifetime cannot be made up and I must admit I've borrowed heavily from my friends and acquaintances and how they'd approach situations. For example Lieutenant Bell is based on my friend Caroline and how she felt about work about two years ago where as Doolan and Jonathan are two separate parts of my own personality, youthful naivety versus the realist who has realised now it is time to grow up.

I've kept the plot as a broad arc with incidents and events (some lifted from history) and given the characters to deal with them within their own personalities. That's probably why it is taking me so long to write the bloody thing!

I've always tried to write strong female characters. It is easy, especially for male writers, to keep the females as purely the love interest or in need of rescue by the gun toting hero. I've always thought that was wrong and it is refreshing to see that this is changing in books and movies. Charlotte/Caroline and Stacey are not girly girls but are trying to prove themselves in a male dominated world and profession. For Doolan, her abilities speak for themselves and she is lucky to have a female superior who has already tread the path that she is on. Hopefully they'll be well received!