To be interesting, our characters need to learn from their experiences. They need to grow and change over the course of the narrative.
As a people, though, we're not really fans of change. In fact, we're pretty resistant to it. A lot of us are firmly rooted in our opinions and beliefs. Sometimes we'll go through something that makes us question and adapt, but most of the time we are who we are and we don't really veer off course.
But for a character, it's not that simple. Your reader wants to see progress, and in order for a big change to be believable, we need to see a pattern of smaller (but still believable) changes.
In Cross My Heart, we accept Jaden's choice (in Parker) because she's spent most of the story shedding that "good girl" image. Each chapter she does something that pulls her closer to him and away from who she was. They're little things, but they add up, and, by the end, it's easier to believe she's a different person because of Parker.
Use those seemingly small, insignificant changes and insights to your advantage. They prepare us for the bigger change to come.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
