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No, every character, even a main character, does not have to change. There's nothing at all wrong with writing stories about characters who go through a change, but saying they have to do so is fiction writing 101 BS.
A character should learn something from what he goes through, but even this isn't necessary.
Let me put it this way. You write a novel where the character goes trough an arc and changes. That's fine, and it may be a brilliant story. But, whoops, the publisher asks for a second book featuring that character. It happens all the time. So does he have to change again? To what?
And now the publisher wants a third book, and a fourth book, and a tenth book. Series are not as popular as they are because the character changes in every book, but because he's a great character and readers love him. There's an old saying I've always liked. "You live, and if you aren't totally stupid, you learn." That's fine, but sooner or later anyone who isn't stupid figures it out.
Certain kinds of stories are about change, or coming of age, or redemption, and I like them, but they can also get old very, very fast, and there are other kinds of stories. Many of them. If you're writing a story about change, then the character should change, but real life isn't always about change, and good fiction isn't, either.
A character should learn something from what he goes through, but even this isn't necessary.
Let me put it this way. You write a novel where the character goes trough an arc and changes. That's fine, and it may be a brilliant story. But, whoops, the publisher asks for a second book featuring that character. It happens all the time. So does he have to change again? To what?
And now the publisher wants a third book, and a fourth book, and a tenth book. Series are not as popular as they are because the character changes in every book, but because he's a great character and readers love him. There's an old saying I've always liked. "You live, and if you aren't totally stupid, you learn." That's fine, but sooner or later anyone who isn't stupid figures it out.
Certain kinds of stories are about change, or coming of age, or redemption, and I like them, but they can also get old very, very fast, and there are other kinds of stories. Many of them. If you're writing a story about change, then the character should change, but real life isn't always about change, and good fiction isn't, either.