As a writer we're always delving into our characters and how we develop them, to bring them to life and to have them as engaging for our readers as possible. So, I decided to check what the 19th century thought of character development in writing. I didn't find a writing source with that term, however the term was used in the 19th century. Below is a brief paragraph as it was commonly used in the past.
Character.—The development of character should be the chief aim of the teacher in his work. A great nation is always one whose foundation is laid upon men—its rulers—of noble character. We desire to keep this thought before the minds of our readers. Men of character are the conscience of the society to which they belong, and we would also have you remember that you cannot dream yourselves into a character; you must hammer and forge it for yourself. Instil this idea into the minds of your pupils and you have done a far nobler work for them than simply to take them through the branches, or even to have led them to acquire a vast knowledge of the subjects taught.— W. Va. Journal.
Source: The Virginia School Journal ©1896
Lynn, Thanks for your character development blog. As a fiction writer, I strive to make that character jump out at you from the page. I read published authors'techniques to help me make my characters come alive. I'm careful to include all five senses in their make-up. So many beginning writers fail to do that; thus, their characters and their ms. are flat.
ReplyDeletePlease join the Writers of Any Genre group on Facebook. We have a nice group that discusses issues like this.
Also, I have a writers' tips blog that you might enjoy. I'm dealing with punctuation right now. Go to www.marshahubler.wordpress.com
Nice to connect with another writer!
Such an interesting post on character. Thanks for sharing it.
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