Character Development via Breakout Stories
Have a pesky, wooden character (or many) you’d like to develop fully? Want a way to pull them out of their shell and let them shine? Feel frustrated because they have such a small part in your story, but they just don’t feel real to you?
I know I struggle with those issues and more. Character development is rough! The answer came to me in a flash of inspiration this week: Breakout stories. While NaNoWriMo may not be the ideal time to spend your time on writing side projects that you may or may not be willing to count as part of your overall word total, there’s never a bad time to make your characters better. As November’s end nears, you may be many thousands of words away from finishing your first draft, and wouldn’t you like to do so with characters that come alive on the page?
Let me break down the idea of the Breakout Story. Take a minor character in your tale and give them a scene that would not go in your novel. The scene doesn’t propel the plot forward. It’s a scene just for them — much like a deleted scene from a movie. Perhaps it’s set in their childhood or recent past, or maybe in their future, picking up just after an important scene in your story ended. If you’d like an example, you may read my first breakout story here. It’s still a work in progress, but already I can see its positive effect on how I write the characters contained within it. If you want to try and build a fan base for your character(s) and perhaps even get some feedback on them, I suggest posting your breakout stories on a site such as Wattpad or Inkitt. If your characters gain enough attention, they may even have some fans clamoring for the novel that features them by the time it’s released. Of course, ultimately the breakout stories are for you and your characters, to help them find their voices. You may even find that you enjoy writing the stories so much, they develop into something more.
If you like this idea and use it, I’d love to hear about it. Please drop me a comment and let me know. Have a wonderful week, and Happy Writing!
