Comments on: Slow & Sudden Change: Character Building

By: Steve Ward

Steve Ward — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:33:45 +0000

Just as with God, day is like a thousand days, and a thousand years is like a day. God has the best perspective, because all eternity is laid out before Him like a blanket. He takes it all in, and He is still aware of the minute details.

By: semmie

semmie — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:09:57 +0000

Hi Rebecca! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about character development! I love your perspective on how even the “missteps” are part of forming a person. And I totally agree with you. In my own life, I remember the moment when I clearly realized how one mistake changed me for the better. It’s hard to call it a mistake in that case.

And I think all three of you are right in terms of internal change. I think, though, that there are changes that occur suddenly and without any warning–like a car accident or a death in the family. Any situation, really, where the character in question lacks control, where the force of the change is solely external, is going to bring about sudden changes for the person. Even in these cases, though, I think there must be a combination of things happening–the emotions, the physical pain, etc,–and they are not all immediate changes.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone!

By: Rebecca Laffar-Smith [The Craft of Writing Fiction]

Rebecca Laffar-Smith [The Craft of Writing Fiction] — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:38:11 +0000

I feel that all changes are slow. Even the ones that seem sudden have been coming upon us, building themselves into our lives, long before we feel their impact.

When I was younger I lived a great deal of life in regret. As I grew I felt shadowed by the choices I made in the past and felt like everything I did steered my life down rockier roads. Now I see things differently. I see all those choices have lead me to where I am today. I’m proud of the person I am right now. In acknowledging that, I look back on “mistakes” with new eyes. Without every step and seeming misstep through life I wouldn’t be who I am.

I think when we consider our characters and the events that shape their lives it is the same. Every step and seeming misstep is a part of their larger wholeness. It completes the person they are and shapes the person they are becoming. Everything that unfolds in their life is the result of that slow evolution from past to present and everything that lies in their future has a foundation in what is going on right now.

By: semmie

semmie — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:16:26 +0000

Hi Abby. I think you and Steve may be right about this. I need to chew on it a little more.

By: Abby

Abby — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:07:51 +0000

I feel as if it has a lot to do with perception, as well. Some things could be a slow process that we barely mention until one day when it hits us.

By: semmie

semmie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:42:49 +0000

Hi Steve. So…is it all about the perception? Like “the watched pot never boils” sort of thing?

By: Steve Ward

Steve Ward — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:39:36 +0000

Fast changes tend to hit you “like a bolt out of the blue”, while slow changes are barely noticed until you one day begin to contemplate about “then” and “now” in the same context. Your kids growing up are one of those slow changes. But, when it’s a niece or nephew that you haven’t seen for at least a year or two, it’s almost like you were struck again by a fast change.