Between the beginning and end of your novel, if your main character hasn’t evolved (‘moved on’ if your prefer!), your story probably lacks dynamism.
It may not be true to life, either, because as human beings every event we go through changes us in some way. You might have a great plot for your story, but if it doesn’t affect your main character in some way it will lack depth. Perhaps your protagonist might have learnt something about themselves along the way, come to a particular decision, found a new and needed skill, or in some way improved themselves or decided to improve the lives of others.
If, during the process of your story, your character becomes a Christian, you will have needed to move them on from perhaps being diffident or antagonistic to realising their need for a saviour, to recognising that Jesus is the way. You don’t, of course, have to do that, just because you are writing ‘Christian fiction’ – that’s just by way of example. Equally, your protagonist may have gone through a process from being fearful of a particular situation to finding peace. They may have gone from being excluded from school due to their destructive anger to channelling their anger into working for a positive change in attitudes at their community . . . the possibilities are, of course, endless.
If you have a manuscript already written, have a read through and see how your main character if different at the beginning of your story than at the end. Is the change obvious, realistic, inspirational? Will it encourage your readers?
I hope that helps! Please do leave comments, share with your writer friends and subscribe to updates 🙂
May the Lord lead and guide you as your write!
Janet
Thanks for that…currently in the middle of my main protagonist’s battle against …evolution! Your title nearly gave me kittens! Even our very young children are spoon fed this “theory” and this world view is propogated with glee. Talk to any teenager and it quickly comes up…no creation – no Creator. Simples!
To pick up your point though – my main characters are on a journey to discovering Him – and they are also recognising that all is not as straightforward on Earth as they have been led to believe. Fully rounded characters need to be immersed in complex situations in order to engage with the conflicting world they find themselves in. The battle is real! Too much Christian fiction is two dimensional “Janet & John” stuff…
Trying hard to “move my characters on” while not selling them short.
Hehe, mentioning evolution must have come as a surprise – it was kind of a last minute title which just came to me, though nothing much to do with creative writing in the usual way! Sounds like a fun story you are writing – enjoy 🙂