character developement

[asher marquering]

ok everyone knows that characters drive a story and how they develop depicts the story and themes ect

now say ure developing a group of characters (antagonists) similtaneously which would be better to develop the group as a whole or individually

 

[dustinzgirl]

Both. People act in many different ways. There is "group think and group behavior" and then there is the "individual"

For example, I used to work at a fortune 100 company, and would behave rather differently with my team than I would at home.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I would think that if you develop the characters as a group they are likely to fall into clichéd or stereotypical roles -- and even if those are roles they might outwardly assume, you, as the writer, need to know them at much greater depth than that.

On the other hand, how the characters reveal themselves and undergo change as the story progresses would naturally come out through their interactions with each other.

 

[kyektulu]

Great advice Madaline, I think that you should develop every charecter individually.
This helps you 'get to know' each charecter personally, thier traits and faults, this helps you know how they would interact with others in the group and develop group behaviour and banter.
Basicly I find it much more benificial to my writing developing my charecters in this way.

 

[dustinzgirl]

The other point to that is background characters who further the plot but are not part of the story. Take battles in movies, for example. The focus is never on one character, it is on the battle. The people in the battle fight and interact, but they are part of the plot of the battle, the story is not really about them. It may be about one or two key figures, but not about all the players in the battle. Its like being a DM. You have a bunch of background characters, the fighters, thieves, ect...often with low hit points and mediocre ability...they are there to fill space and further the plot of the game, but they are not the players in the game. So, when dealing with minions, I tend to make one outline, and adjust each slightly....this gives them all the same purpose,with different definitions. But, they should all be alike enough for the group to be similar, to think and feel as a group. So, I suppose it depends on your scope and plot, really.

 

[flynx]

Characters don't necessarily have to drive the story, they can be equally swept along by the plot. If it were me writing a group story then I'd go for plot and let the characters come out how they will.

Flynx

 

[asher marquering]

The other point to that is background characters who further the plot but are not part of the story.

ya its like that with this group of antagonists