Elements of Fiction (60)
Element 60: Growth
Although not too many writers have commented on Growth as an element of fiction, I still regard it as one of the most significant ones; I’d go so far as to say indispensable.
John Gardner once commented that when you’re reading a great novel (or story) you get the feeling that you’re onto something. And for my money, the something that you’re onto is the potential growth of one or more of the characters involved, reader included.
That said, here are a few quotes.
This from Barnaby Conrad, ”The change may be subtle or extreme, but should be growth.”
Who then elaborates, “The growth may be an epiphany, a sudden dawning or a subtle realization, or it may be a slow change.
“This growth, this result of the conflict upon the character will demonstrate the story’s theme, what is meant by the story. The writer must see this theme clearly before the final re-write or the reader will not see it.”
Flannery O’Connor puts it this way, “If there is no possibility for change in a character, we have no interest in him.”
My own take, “The protagonist should be a different person by the end of the story.”
And to wrap up, this from Virginia Woolf who discusses, “The growth and development of feelings, which is the novelist’s aim.”
Happy Writing.
© Wolfstuff
