Character attitudes and sentiments must develop as the story progresses. Whether a character saturates the pages with his presence, or if he has disappeared for a few pages or more (even for a few hours), the character must exhibit something new or redescribed to align his role with the conflict. 

Example: Three young women join a reality-based model search contest on television, wherein they will have to stay together along with the other contestants in a secluded mansion somewhere in Beverly Hills. Carly is a seasoned lingerie model, but condescending. Margot, still wet behind the ears, would stop at nothing to achieve fame and glory. Dana is calculating and cautious in forging friendships with the other models.

Regardless of what point of view the writer chooses, character introspection and motivation will be revealed. The shifting of viewpoints reveals a conflict that only the reader knows. Characters’ lives become intertwined as we get a glimpse of their respective agendas. In the process, the plot, through a carefully-executed narration of action and introspection, unfurls the roles each character must perform. The above example is an outline of how character relationships can be developed to show how they change in the course of the story.

Detailed example: Carly becomes the favorite of the judges, as she requires minimum direction whenever she faces the camera. In her introspection, she has an affair with one of the judges. Margot tries to spread nasty rumors against Dana that the other models were quick to believe. Shifting to Dana’s point of view, we discover that she is demoralized from all the backstabbing, but she still tries to pull herself together and stand tall and proud. She discovers that Carly is having an affair with one of the judges.

When one of these characters does not appear for a few or more pages, to move the plot the writer must show the reader that the character has changed. This change could be physical, moral, or emotional. The writer is not redefining the character, but rather establishing a significant development in attitude that is of vital importance. 

Example (Let’s say that Margot was absent for twenty or thirty pages): Margot doesn’t like the way Carly has warmed up to Dana. Carly even persuades the other models not to believe the nasty rumors about Dana, and this has made Margot even more resentful.

Then, after another twenty or thirty pages of absence, Margot discovers that Dana knows Carly is having an affair with one of the judges. She plans to confront the two women on separate occasions as well as the judge involved. Margot intends to blackmail both Carly and the judge. First, she will ask Carly to withdraw from the top model search--that’s one less model to get catty with. Then she will blackmail the judge before the next elimination round. Getting rid of Dana would be easy. 

In her first absence, Margot becomes hostile on the blossoming friendship between Carly and Dana. On her next absence, she has been illustrated as a devil within a beautiful exterior.