Character Arcs: What? Why? How?

So many newer writers jump into their first book without any idea about how to create a character arc or why it even matters. That's exactly what happened to me...

Upon finishing my first draft, I reread my novel and realized it was entirely soulless. It was just a collection of events that happened one after the other, and while they technically made sense, there was something missing.

There was nothing keeping the reader interested in following the story. It basically read like a news report: this happened, then this followed, which caused this other thing... By the third chapter, even I was bored.

Then, I read Lisa Cron's Story Genius and it changed my life. I'm not being dramatic, that book saved MY book. In it, Cron argues that your main character's character arc is THE most important thing to learn and develop because it is the thing that grabs on to your readers and doesn't let go.

I started off hesitant, but she converted me. I have joined the cult and I will shout it from the rooftops: Character arcs make or break your story!

So, let's find out how to create one, shall we?

What is a character arc?

Character arc refers to the transformation that a specific character undergoes throughout your story. It is the journey.

Some character arcs are positive. That is to say, they depict a happy transformation. Your character goes from flawed, unsatisfied, and seeking solace in all the wrong places to slightly less flawed and with a new understanding of what they truly need to do to be happy.

Other character arcs are negative. In that case, the change is not a happy one. Your character goes from moral to immoral, or they go from having everything to losing it all, or maybe they go from kind and understanding to fed up and done with the world. You get the idea.

There is also a third option, your character's arc could be flat. They didn't grow, they didn't change, they didn't learn. Neither positive nor negative. Nada.

Flat arcs might be okay for a few side characters, but I would caution you against having your protagonist's arc be flat because your readers might feel like your story went nowhere. They might be left feeling like there was no point. In other words, you might leave your readers unsatisfied, unless the flat character arc is the point you're trying to make - something like 'some people never learn.'

Why do my characters need an arc?

According to Cron's Story Genius, the thing that makes stories exciting is getting attached to a character and seeing them overcome obstacles in pursuit of their goal.

Character arcs make your readers relate to, care about, and become intrigued by your characters, and your protagonist's character arc, should be what drives your plot.

In simpler terms, your protagonist's character arc is the whole point of your story. If you take the time to plan it out before you start writing, it can serve as your guiding light and help you find your way when the going gets tough (aka when you get stuck or find a massive plot hole).

How to create and plan out a character arc?

Now we're getting to the good stuff...

Character arcs, the way I see them, are made up of the following three essential components:

• Starting point: This is who your character is at the beginning of your story. When planning out your protagonist's starting point, you should aim to understand their strengths, weaknesses, personality, and beliefs. You should also come up with answers to the following three questions:

  • Desire: What does your character think will make them happy? In other words, what is their goal? What do they want more than anything else?

  • Need: What will actually make them happy? Note that at the beginning of stories, characters usually don't know what will truly make them happy, so their desire is ill-informed.

  • False Belief: What limiting belief is keeping them from getting what they need/from realizing what will truly make them happy?

• Trajectory: This refers to whether your character is going to become better before they become worse, just get better continuously, progressively get worse, or any other path they might take to the end point.

  • Knowing your trajectory will help you plan plot points that will bring your character closer or father away from the end point, depending on your goal.

• End Point: This is who your character is going to be at the end of the story, once they have undergone the transformation and learned the lesson they had to learn.

Once you understand who your character is at the beginning of the story and who you want them to become by the end, you can use that to design a plot that will test their convictions, ruin their plans, break their beliefs, and finally, teach them the lesson that will make them who they were always meant to be.