Is Your Character a Changer or a Stayer

An essential part of your character development is deciding whether each character will be a changer or a stayer.

Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. Other characters or events influence them, and they evolve into better or worse people. By the end of the story, they are not the same personality they were initially.

Stayers are just that; they do not change throughout the book. No matter the turmoil, physical trauma, loss, or even triumph, they are locked into their patterns.

Choosing a given character as a protagonist and then choosing whether they will be a stayer or a changer can result in a totally different novel, depending on which route you take.

For example, in my novel Under the Roof, my protagonist, Aggie Drakos, loses her husband in a scandalous accident. In order to get away from the inquisitory stares and baseless gossip of her neighbors, she decides to move to a new neighborhood in search of a new life.

She is grieving, cynical, and bitter when she arrives at her new house. Before I begin writing her story, I must decide if she will remain bitter and angry throughout the book. Or, will she become a changer, soften, become empathetic, or even find new love?

My decision will significantly affect the emotional arc of my protagonist. It will also impact the emotional arc of the reader! If Aggie softens, makes friends, and begins to heal, the reader will walk through that journey with her. Perhaps, as they read of Aggie's rejuvenation, the reader discovers steps in personal growth they can apply to their life?

If Aggie remains bitter, no matter how wonderful her new neighbors treat her, this will also create emotions in the reader. Perhaps the reader will become frustrated or even angry with Aggie. Will they identify with her? Maybe they, too, have suffered loss and want to remain bitter? Am I attempting to present the idea that people cannot change but are locked into their destructive patterns? Or am I suggesting that people who have suffered loss can get through it and even improve their lives?

What do you want your readers to experience?

Or, perhaps our protagonist is fun and witty, and you don't want her to change? This is especially good if you plan on writing a series. If you are thinking or writing more than one book with the same characters, you really need to think through, from the very beginning, where you want to take your protagonist's emotions.

And now for the age-old question: Are protagonists better as stayers or changers? It all depends on the particular story you want to tell. It is good to know that you have the flexibility to make choices before you begin writing.

There are a hundred ways to tell any story. Fire your imagination and find the best fiction that you can write.