How do you know if your characters are developed enough?

But I am. That's my point.

I don't feel particularly articulate tonight and I'm obviously failing miserably to make myself understood.

It's simply not viable to seek out BRs for every single element of your writing that you're unsure of.

I don't really know what I'm trying to say tonight. My brain just isn't functioning properly.

 

Its usually not something the author can tell, but the reader. The reader might find interest in certain characters, and wonder why characters act a certain why or just want to know more about them.

Have someone read the story and ask questions about how they felt about the characters. If they misunderstand or are confused by a character, maybe you need to show them more.

 

The number one tip I go by to decide whether my characters are developed enough is just whether or not I can find anyone who hates them. If they piss someone off, they're done.

 

This.

My alpha isn't a writer, but she's an avid reader (not a writer) who saved an argument scene with surprise feedback that the character's temper was too much and she couldn't understand why his girlfriend didn't dump him after the argument. I knew what I was going for but hadn't hit the mark at all and didn't realize it until she pointed it out to me. It took objective avid reader, who enjoys my particular genre, to point it out.

 

That's a very important point. Unless this kind of reader is your target audience, DON'T use a beta reader who doesn't read thoughtfully. Or, if you do, keep in mind that their feedback is likely to be shallow and maybe not very helpful.

It's important to pick betas who are committed to helping you, and who will be in tune with your intentions. Once you find these people, then pay attention to what they tell you. You don't have to do anything they suggest. They are not your instructors or publishers. They are your READERS. But as readers, they will give you a clue how well you are communicating your intentions.

Nobody is perfect. No, not even you, the writer.

Like @Shenanigator pointed out, you WILL get feedback from readers once you self publish or are fortunate enough to be traditionally published. This will come in the form of reviews. So why wait till it's too late to make changes, if changes are necessary? Get some feedback beforehand.

 

1) For a character to be fully developed in me, I need to be able to imagine him/her sitting across me at the kitchen table as a 'physical presence', or having him/her knock on my door. (No, I'm not a case for the mental ward ).

2) For this character to come across in writing: My gut feeling. With time and practice I got more proficient to relate my gut-feeling to what's actually there on paper and predict how readers will react, but it's not always spot-on. Yeah, I think I know how my characters come across, but sometimes reactions still surprise me, like ...

I've had the case where I wrote a secondary character and, even if I was/am still dubious if this character was/is as fully formed in my mind as he should be, readers have consistently told me they hate him with a passion (you know who you are ). Wasn't my intention at all, but apparently the character came across as fully formed.

When readers tell me that they react strongly to my characters, then I know that I've done good. Then my gut is validated. Not before. I don't like to confuse 'feeling' with external validation.

 

I'm not trying to bash betas at all. Some people on this site have read my work. I'm not completely opposed to the practice, but I feel like I've done all that. I've been in a million workshops. I've had my work read and critiqued by friends, lovers, and strangers. I've been mentored. I've mentored... and I've done just about everything someone who wants to take this seriously should do. I have one of those glorious and perhaps useless MFAs. I just thought we could discuss character development. I said in my OP that I thought this story was pretty good. I think I also said I wasn't sure. I guess I'm just having a hard time dealing with my lack of success. The only option, really, is to get better. Honestly, I'm not even sure I'm confident enough to get feedback on my newer stuff. I was kind of hoping to have more of a craft talk on character development than I was seeking any specific answers for specific characters.

 

@Lifeline

To expand on what I said in my (probably too curt) post, I think most people will default to liking a character, or at least pretending to, purely because they are a character. But when a protagonist has some people who say, "yeah, they're great," and then other people who say, "no, they're a shitbag," then clearly they have a little depth.

 

It sounds like you're submitting to some very high-level and extremely selective publications. Even if your writing is fantastic, you may not be seeing success because you're competing with a bunch of other fantastic writers. Even if you're equally matched in the quality of your writing, there's a million subjective or subtle reasons why that particular publisher/agent/magazine editor didn't feel like that particular story at that particular time was a good fit. Your writing may very well be the best it could possibly be, but having reached that level isn't a grantee of success - it's just one part of a bunch of different things that factor into their decision-making process.

I don't blame you for being frustrated. The last time I was job searching, I had several interviews for jobs that I was absolutely qualified for, and for which I had very successful phone interviews which led to in-person panel interviews where everyone seemed extremely excited about my candidacy. But time and time again, I didn't get the job, and to this day I don't know why. Maybe I have too strong of a personality and they were afraid I'd intimidate other people already on the team. Maybe they had an internal candidate that already had industry knowledge that would take me significant time to acquire no matter how smart I am and quickly learn things. Maybe I'm perfectly qualified for the current position, but they could tell I'm lacking a degree or certification that would be required for me to move up the ladder eventually.

My point is, sometimes it's not you; sometimes its about the competition, or the specific area you're trying to break into, or who the gatekeepers happen to be at the time your submission in received. Frankly, sometimes a writer by sheer luck finds the right person at the right place at the right time for their s, and only through the stars aligning they get accepted. I mean, maybe your writing is missing something - not being a reader of literary friction I don't think I'd know if there was even if I read it myself. But it seems like you're hung up on the idea that if you can just get good enough it will inevitably result in acceptance, and unfortunately I don't think that's always true.

 

@Laurin Kelly -- Ain't that the truth. Yeah I'm trying to run with the big dogs but feeling more like a chew toy. It is so frustrating and so hard.

@jannert -- I started this thread after writing the story you just read. Thanks for all your help. But character development wasn't something that seemed to be lacking, I guess. I am taking a little more time with this one to fix some other issues and to just make it as perfect as I can.

I think maybe the most important thing when it comes to character development is that the characters are developed enough or seem real enough for readers to connect with them or understand them. But I still think it's a little tricky and I would like to be able to spot this in my own work. Anyway, thanks to everyone who responded and may all your characters develop to the fullest.

 

Yeah, your character development was definitely there!

 

Part of the problem - at least I have found this sometimes - is that sometimes I know the characters too well. I know their likes, dislikes, thoughts, hobbies, loves and hates... hair and eye color, tastes in clothes and music, deepest fears etc etc etc, which we are all told is good. Even when it doesn't turn up in the story, it's supposed to deepen your character that you know all this.

Except that when I know, I sometimes run the risk of forgetting that the reader doesn't know what I know and therefore when I read it back and hear it with all that backstory ringing in my head.... the reader hears squat.