TECH: Character Arcs (Part 1)
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writercisesOriginal Posting 8/17/2019
I decided to start reading Creating Character Arcs by K. M. Weiland. I'll try to remember to put the Amazon link in here, but you can find it there pretty easily. Incidentally, she offers a free related book at https://www.kmweiland.com/free-characters-book that you might want to get.(Link? Right. https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Character-Arcs-Masterful-Development-ebook/dp/B01M6VC68U/ should get you there, I think.)So, in the front material, she raises some interesting questions. Which arc is right for your character? Positive arc, negative arc, flat arc? You don't want to pit the plot against the characters. Instead, we want to blend the structure and character development, but how do you do that? What are the pitfalls you might run into? What about using overarching character arcs for trilogies or series?Now, you might think that character arcs are pretty simple. Just three steps. The protagonist starts one way, through the story learns some lessons, and bam, the protagonist changes. But, of course, it's not quite that simple when you look at the details.First, character arc and structure go together. Plot is structure, but what is character arc? Well... "The character drives the plot, and the plot molds the character's arc. They cannot work independently."Then, guess what, character arc ties into theme, too! So with plot, character arc, and theme all working together...In the last bit of the introduction, K.M. suggests that there are three basic arcs we need to look at. First, the positive change arc. The character starts out with personal unfulfillment, lacks, problems. The story challenges their beliefs. And, eventually, they conquer their demons and change to a better person. Second, the flat arc. Typically, these are heroes who are acting as catalysts to change around them. Often, minor characters experience growth around them. Third, the negative change arc. It's the positive change arc, flipped. Here, the character ends up worse than they began.Okay? So this book is about characters who change, who start out with some problem or issue, and either improve, stay the same, or get worse. Now, how does that work? Well, K.M. says she is going to mostly talk about the positive change arc, but we will cover all three. So, watch for the next episode in this series!
I decided to start reading Creating Character Arcs by K. M. Weiland. I'll try to remember to put the Amazon link in here, but you can find it there pretty easily. Incidentally, she offers a free related book at https://www.kmweiland.com/free-characters-book that you might want to get.(Link? Right. https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Character-Arcs-Masterful-Development-ebook/dp/B01M6VC68U/ should get you there, I think.)So, in the front material, she raises some interesting questions. Which arc is right for your character? Positive arc, negative arc, flat arc? You don't want to pit the plot against the characters. Instead, we want to blend the structure and character development, but how do you do that? What are the pitfalls you might run into? What about using overarching character arcs for trilogies or series?Now, you might think that character arcs are pretty simple. Just three steps. The protagonist starts one way, through the story learns some lessons, and bam, the protagonist changes. But, of course, it's not quite that simple when you look at the details.First, character arc and structure go together. Plot is structure, but what is character arc? Well... "The character drives the plot, and the plot molds the character's arc. They cannot work independently."Then, guess what, character arc ties into theme, too! So with plot, character arc, and theme all working together...In the last bit of the introduction, K.M. suggests that there are three basic arcs we need to look at. First, the positive change arc. The character starts out with personal unfulfillment, lacks, problems. The story challenges their beliefs. And, eventually, they conquer their demons and change to a better person. Second, the flat arc. Typically, these are heroes who are acting as catalysts to change around them. Often, minor characters experience growth around them. Third, the negative change arc. It's the positive change arc, flipped. Here, the character ends up worse than they began.Okay? So this book is about characters who change, who start out with some problem or issue, and either improve, stay the same, or get worse. Now, how does that work? Well, K.M. says she is going to mostly talk about the positive change arc, but we will cover all three. So, watch for the next episode in this series!