How To Show Character Change Without Telling
Learn how to show character change without telling. Use actions, behaviour, and external changes to reveal your character’s emotional growth.
It is interesting how we immediately relate to change and uncertainty in our own lives, but we sometimes forget to do this with our characters. Character arcs are important. The person at the end of the book cannot be the same as the person at the beginning.
If you want your readers to be satisfied, your character has to change. How can you show these changes?
How To Show Character Change Without Telling
Before you start writing, list five or six major changes or developments your character will go through.
For the purpose of this post, I will tie them to the five major plot points.
Remember, you must show and not tell when you do this. Internal monologue has its uses, but you run the risk of too much ‘telling’.
How will you show me the change? Try my outside/inside approach. If you do, you can use external change to show emotional change. I have illustrated two examples below to show you how this works.
Example One: A character who goes from being a follower to being a leader
| Action | Change | Appearance | Body language | |
| Inciting moment |
A plane crashes on a desert island. The other survivors are weak, injured or very young. | Take away the existing leaders. He has no choice but to lead. | Neat, short hair, clothes still clean, but becoming more dishevelled. |
Small steps, soft spoken. Limp arms. Bad at public speaking. Cannot find the words. Panics. Avoids eye contact. |
| Point 2 | There is a system where the survivors vote about everything. | He cannot make decisions without consultation. | Longer hair, beard, dirty clothes, buttons missing. | Forced to intervene and resolve issues. Speaking improves. Bigger steps. Uses his hands more. Learns to remain calm. Turns head to the side when listening. |
| Point 3 | He is challenged by another survivor and stands up to them. | Create a stand-off. He has a choice and chooses to lead. |
Hair even longer, thick beard, shirt with no buttons, pants cut off at knees. | Confident speaker, gentle but firm. Strides, swings arms, folds arms. Engages and looks people in the eye. |
| Point 4 | He makes decisions that affect the group without consulting them. | He makes decisions without much thought. | Long hair, very thick beard. Open shirt, wears only cut off pants. | Speaks with conviction. Long strides, gestures and uses big hand movements. Creates a steeple with his fingers. |
| Ending | He can evolve into a diplomat. Instead he becomes a dictator. | He goes too far. | Even longer hair and thicker beard. Wears only cut off pants. | His speech is obsessive and deranged. Requests become demands. He gestures wildly |
Example Two: A woman who leaves an abusive relationship
| Action | Change | Appearance | Body language | |
| Inciting moment | Show the abuse or her injuries. | Show her as powerless and at the mercy of the abuser. | Long hair, heavy make-up to cover injuries. Conservative clothes. Long sleeves. Long skirts and long pants. Tries not to be noticed. | Quiet, shaky. Barely speaks, and if she does it is almost a whisper. Cries quickly. Small, birdlike gestures. |
| Point 2 | Her will to live outweighs her fear. | She manages to escape. | Badly hurt, desperate. Clothes dishevelled. | Injured, jittery. In tears. Avoids eye contact. |
| Point 3 | She moves to a different town. | She builds a new life. | Changes her appearance. Cuts her hair. Wears lighter make-up. | Jumpy, scares easily. Moves quietly. Speaks more. |
| Point 4 | A new friendship helps her adapt. A romantic interest may develop if enough time has passed. |
She learns to trust again. | Wears less conservative clothes like sun dresses. Takes care with her appearance. | Looks at people when she speaks. Touches people lightly. Talks more and she is louder. Glances and makes eye contact for short periods. |
| Ending | Her abuser finds her. | She makes a stand and is triumphant. | She will still wear less conservative clothes like shorts and tank tops. No make-up or maybe bright red lipstick. Perhaps she will regrow her hair. | Scared, but confident. Bigger movements. Looks her abuser in the eye. |
Everything will influence your character’s development. Some stories take place in a matter hours or days. Others take place over an entire lifetime. Some events are bigger and some smaller, but they should all affect your character.
The Last Word
Your characters need to change if you want readers to feel that their journey has meaning. Show this change through their actions, choices, behaviour, and the events that happen around them. When you use external change to reveal emotional change, you create stronger, more believable character arcs.
Image by andreas N from Pixabay
by Mia Botha
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