Character Building

Not to be confused with the act of creating characters for the story.

When somebody changes over time, let it be positively, negatively, or neutrally. There are countless influences able to spark Character Building, most of them being events that occur over the course of the story. In order to see the greatest change to a person, their role generally must be Basic. With this as a starting point, there isn't too much already established about them and more facts can be added to them as the story progresses. The people the person meet have a strong impression on their character. Friends, good family, and passive animals have a positive impact on somebody. This can lead to them being in a more frequently high mood and showing healthier behaviors like better manners or more patience. This is the beginning of Character Improvement. Conversely, those who set a person in a bad mood (anger, hatred, fear, hurt...) will be the ones to warp them into a worse individual. These memories will harmfully transform the person through Character Corruption. In terms of the quality of the overall franchise at hand, helpful or harmful tweaks to any character can make for a more engaging experience the audience will care for vastly more than an overload of definite characters. Personal events are another powerful method of altering a person in behavior and mindset. The most effective writers build their characters up to tear them down. This can be achieved by allowing somebody to bask in the joys of life, like meeting close friends or moving to an exciting new home, then robbing them of what made their existence so meaningful. This is a pain that can be more damaging than outright suffering without the prior happiness. Returning to the matter of personal bonds, many "Ded" UnTrashes are strong players here: Ded Friend, Ded Loved One, Ded Parents (maybe even a whole Ded Family), Ded Pet, and Ded Teammate. Losing a person a character cares for to their inevitable demise has heavy effects on their emotional state and worldview. What's more, if that person happened to be a Leader who died, it may be up to one of their followers to assume their position for the sake of the organization.

Character Building is an excellent tool for livening up the characters in a franchise. It can turn the most uninteresting one-dimensional Paper Cut-Outs into three-dimensional realistic people rich with history and personality. Character Building's only bane is the Fix, someone who has little to no change in personality or other characteristics over the course of the story. The opposite of Character Building is Character Destruction, when a character is made simpler. Flanderization is the most extreme level of Character Destruction in which a person only has one attribute to them after they used to have more diverse elements.

The positive promises Character Building has for a franchise are nearly boundless. For starters, its lead can be renewed in just about every area of their character. Redefining the state of somebody's existence is one of the best tools for keeping a franchise fresh and convincing the audience they don't know everything for sure. While a great approach for anyone in a franchise, it helps fix multiple types of problems with a cast member. The Shamed, Fix, and One Note all benefit from Character Building that makes them more likable, dynamic, and fleshed out. Even if someone doesn't have any of these roles, they can still see an improvement in themselves if their issues are more meta than the other roles. Those who cause the creators trouble in real life will probably need to undergo serious change, which is a problem Character Building can resolve. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a very shallow role often criticized for being sexist. Giving her depth as a person can mitigate the incoming complaints without resorting to Canon Bannin'. One person's own transformation can have a Domino Effect that affects multiple other people. The Hero being corrupted by the Villain to turn to evil can leave the rest of the Hero's team to wonder how they can function without their leader. They may need to shift their professions or learn new skills to make up for the loss their group suffered. If the Hero's absence is disastrous or prolonged enough, it can force the remaining Good Guys to switch their roles, opening the possibility for one of them to become the second Hero.

Character Building is loaded with praiseworthy upsides that more creators ought to include in their stories. Despite this, it isn't a perfect UnTrash. A creator must be mindful of how they want to evolve their cast with the flow of the story. At best in this situation, somebody may transform in a way that doesn't mean much in respect to the plot at hand. For instance, the Buddy might suddenly hate the Saint along with the Main while the plot never brings this new fact into relevance. A second flaw with this tweak in the Buddy is how it comes out of nowhere and might come with a Sock Puppet Explanation behind it. People in real life often don't have their personality morph so quickly, so when a character in fiction does this, it might come off as poorly planned or merely for the sake of editing their attitude out of desperation. As stated in the beginning of this page, quality Character Building typically ties into events in the story. Someone on the Main Team wanting to become a Fisherman for no reason distracts from the storyline and provides no substance to it. Abrupt alterations to a character's behavior also run the risk of conflicting with what's been established about them. It's acceptable, sometimes even encouraged, if somebody goes from being a Jerk to a Goodie, but doing so too soon might Confuse The Audience. A similar situation is equally detrimental to the story's health. If somebody on the Main Team transforms and becomes more helpful to the team's objectives, it can feel too convenient for viewers to accept, namely in times when this change is unprovoked by previous events. But the problems with immediate changes don't end here. Modifications to a character's motives and way of thinking can be so fast as to skip over the facts in the story or that character. This makes continuous Suspension Of Disbelief very difficult for and possibly even undesired by audience members. As for the story, whatever themes or messages it introduced to the audience may go ignored since the character is no longer in line with the story's core ideas. It should be known that not every little change made to a character has to be in tune with the story's concepts. The most important transitions between behaviors, motivations, or whole roles are best advised to be under the rules and logic of the franchise so they don't feel out of place.