These are the notes from my Character Development class. This is week 4.

The setting tells you where and when a story line is occurring. It has to be believable for it gives you the opportunity to deliver a backdrop for your book.

For example:

If you are in the tundra or jungle odds are the book is an adventure.

If the dust bowl in the Midwest is where you are at the character might experience tough times in the story line.

Mood and setting can change through the book one just has to make it believable for the reader.

Location and weather also hints where the reader will find themselves. The setting gives us the physical boundaries, it develops the plot and characters.

The protagonist is the central figure that readers can identify with but they must go through changes through the book or else they will fall flat and one dimensional. The antagonist is working against our hero, the protagonist You want your characters to be well rounded. They should have positive features and still be flawed making them dynamic as they change with the experiences they encounter.

Static characters- Static characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as “two-dimensional characters” or “flat” they play a supporting role to the main character, who as a rule should be round or complex.

Flat characters- A flat character is a minor character in a work of fiction who does not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as “two-dimensional characters” or “static characters,” flat characters play a supporting role to the main character, who as a rule should be round.

Characterization-Ways to develop characters directly or indirectly. Directly we state what the character looks like, what they say, do or feel. Indirectly we let the readers draw the conclusions by the words written.

Plot- An arrangement of sequence of the story including conflict and obstacles.

There were a lot of notes to put in one post. So will make this a two parter.

Next post will be on the different type of plots.