Why You Should Spend More Time on Character Development Than Action

Authors sometimes feel pressured to dive right into the action of their stories—at the expense of important character development. Because the last thing we want to do is write a boring story, we sometimes overreact by piling on explosions, fight sequences, and high-speed car chases to the point we’re unable to spend important time developing our characters.

Character development is especially important in the first half of the story, since readers need to understand and sympathize with the characters before they’re hit with the major plot revelations at the Midpoint and the Climax.

Summer blockbusters are often particularly guilty of neglecting character development, but in Stephen Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, we have an enduring exception.

>>Click here to read a structural breakdown of Jurassic Park in the Story Structure Database.

A viewing of this movie provides important insight into its success. No one would claim this film is a leisurely character study, but it rises far above the monster movie genre through an expert use of pacing and loving attention to character, principally in its first half. It may surprise some viewers to realize the action in this movie doesn’t heat up until almost precisely an hour into the film. Up to that point, we have no scream-worthy moments, no adrenaline, and no extended action scenes.

Spielberg used the entire first half of the movie to build suspense and encourage viewer loyalty to the characters. By the time the storm hits and the dinosaurs attack, we sincerely care about the half dozen main characters and our nerves have been effectively strained to the breaking point through the magnificent use of foreshadowing.

Spielberg understood what all authors must—that if you can hook viewers through your characters, you can take your time building your story to an artful Climax.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! Do you prefer stories to open with character development or action? Tell me in the comments!