People (and characters) are resistant to change. They do not wish to break out of what they find comfortable, and will often staunchly defend their position even when evidence to the contrary piles up. Think about sports, beliefs, and politic viewpoints. How hard is it to change the minds of those around you?

To write more realistic characters, you need to ask questions that define why they don’t want to change.

“Do I have problems? Sure I do, but I’m trapped because ____” “I am happy with who I am, because ____” “The greatest failure I can imagine is ____” For more: https://writerunboxed.com/2019/09/04/the-anti-arc/

After defining why they don’t want to change, as a writer you must come up with reasons to push them over the edge. Stacking the consequences against your character can budge them to action. Example: Frodo did not want to leave the Shire, but if he didn’t all of the world, including his home, would be lost.

This information came from a 90 minute course by Donald Maass regarding the inner journey of the character. The inner journey consists of how the character changes or adapts to overcome the obstacles that face them, as opposed to the more concrete outer journey.

The course was taught at The Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association (PNWA) 2019 four day conference. I have attended the last two years, and can say it means a lot to me to be associated with so many writers that I admire, as well as learn from some of the sharpest minds in the writing craft.