Showing Character Development in Hidden Ways

It took a decent while but Book 4 is finally edited and finished. It clocked in at 302 pages, 195.5k words, and perhaps one of the best climaxes I've ever written. It was a fun book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In the span of this novel, Roan has developed from an overwhelmed soldier into a seasoned leader and politician, realized the true, gritty depth of war, and come to terms with his role in it.

One of my proudest plot points in this book was showing the steady development of Roan being an at-ease, unpolished soldier and barely leader material into an experienced warrior and a leader willing to step up to the plate and take responsibility for his and his administration's faults.

In addition to the plots and dialogue, this was also demonstrated in a far less obvious way. The novel begins with Arobin first seeing Roan after a four-week separation and, by noting he wore a grey tee and unbuttoned flannel shirt, mentioning how he looked like any other kid off the street. In the first few chapters Roan stuck to wearing his flannel shirt and jeans. However, as both the story and Roan developed, he wore the flannel less and when he did wear it he wore it buttoned up. He occasionally reclaimed it and the comfort it provided by sleeping with a flannel blanket but eventually left behind this blanket as well.

In the final chapter, Roan is seen preparing a statement to the nations. Throughout this scene, Roan struggles to come to terms with the fact that he indeed screwed up as leader. As he reminds himself that one of the best qualities in a leader is the ability to admit fault and claim responsibility, he also slowly puts on the garments of a businessman. He buttons up his collared blue shirt, representing the boy who grew up with a blue-collared job turning into a white-collared professional. He then puts on his tie and ties it up, demonstrating his willingness to be tied down by his responsibility and duty to the nations. After a pause for dialogue, he then pulls on his suit jacket. This is the defining moment for Roan as he once in the past refused to dress up for any interviews. At this point in his job/life, Roan is willing to pull on the garb of the professional, figuratively stating that he is prepared to take on any punches the public or enemy might throw at him by wearing the armor he has learned to forge over the past year.

While that plot may seen unnoticeable to most readers, I find it's the little aspects like this that make a story credible and, in turn, make your main character relatable and realistic.