What is the most important part of characters besides motivation and a goal? Right. Character Arcs! I mean, would you like Luke Skywalker if he didn’t become a Jedi. Would you like Harry Potter if he still lived by his relatives instead of going to Hogwarts and defeat Voldemort? I think not. That change makes the story to this we love. I mean, it isn’t interesting to read about an ordinary person. There has to be a change. And at least when a character is falling in love with someone. But how do you write good character arcs, who aren’t illogical, dumb and not understandable?
When a character's world view evolves because of the obstacles in his/her path. It's my favorite to write because it makes the plot of a story more authentic when a character arc changes something about that character. I also think the ideas expressed through writer's characters are easily significant. The most important thing is to make sure when you write you have something to say. Art cannot be meaningless unless the viewer interprets art in such a fashion. I think I locked myself in a paradox of sorts.
I'm a believer (after nearly 70 years of life) that people don't fundamentally change. I meet up, occasionally, with friends I had 60 years ago (or longer) and they are still the same underneath. As am I. However, people do discover strengths they didn't know they had over the course of life, as well as weaknesses they didn't know they had. They can certainly develop a talent or skill. They can acquire confidence, or lose confidence. They can end up losing or gaining religion. They can screw up, big time, and end up dealing with the consequences. They can realise something about themselves or somebody else that they were unaware of before. What triggers these evolutions is often some major event that challenges them. Something they hoped wouldn't happen does. They stand to lose something that really matters to them. They find a cause they believe in. They find love in the least predictible place. They are presented with opportunities. And etc. I think if you focus on events, and deal with how your character reacts to these events, that you'll be hitting your story's stride. That's how arcs develop in a realistic way. You can try to simplify an arc: This guy starts out weak and ends up strong. However, then you have to tailor your story so this arc happens. That's a bit restrictive, and can end up with a fairly flat, plot-heavy story where you're just pulling strings to fulfill your character's arc. Instead, why not throw a character you've created into an event he didn't expect, or feared would happen, or hoped would happen? And then see what happens. This is where you will have fun, because the person might not do what you expect them to do. Follow their arc, rather than force it? You won't actually know what the arc is, till your story is finished. It's kind of like theme, really. If you start with a THEME, you can end up writing some predictible hash that simply services the theme. However, if you write characters and events honestly, from your own heart, your theme will emerge. As will the arcs your characters take.
@jannert A good story has a change. Even if you don't see it. I mean, if a cat turns into a cat, who is as brave as a big lion. Then, it's a character arc, isn't it? Even in the YA novel The Red Queen there is a character arc. (Spoiler!) In this book, Mare recognizes that you can beat the system and that she got some powers (Spoiler end!). Even when we have a group of adults, who have superpowers after a space trip (which gone wrong), and they have to beat an old friend (who turned into a villain). Then, it's a character arc. At least, because the old friend turned into a villain and maybe wants to rule the world. A theme can be a good bridge for the message of the story. But it's also a block – after my opinion – for the character arc. Because you have limits. I mean, when your theme is friendship; then, you can't have a weird relationship. That's too awkward. Especially, in YA novels. But if friends turn into lovers, it's a character arc. A simple one, but it's one. So, think about the theme stuff.
You might have misunderstood what I was trying to say. I don't mean nothing changes, or that a character isn't different at the end from what he or she was at the beginning. But what usually changes is the person's outlook, not their basic personality. They learn something, or do something they hadn't dreamed they could do (and discover that they can) or meet somebody who changes the way their life will go, etc. But they basically don't change. At least not in my experience. Maybe that's hair-splitting, though. But I think it's more fun to take a character as they are, and see how they will react to the changes around them. As for your cat ...it may discover it's braver than it thought it was before, but it is still a cat! It is not a lion. It hasn't changed. It's just discovered something about itself that, I believe, was always there. It has grown, rather than 'changed.' I'm digging a hole here, aren't I?
My point is, it probably always did have that braveness. It just didn't discover the braveness, till it was challenged. The opposite can happen as well. We've all seen it. The dog that barks fiercely (I am SO brave!) until it's challenged. Then it runs off, tail between legs, to cower under the sofa. It's not changed from brave to coward. It's discovered that, underneath, it's been a coward all along.
I assume you mean good and bad in terms of effective writing, not good and evil. I'd say predictability can hurt a story. While the character can certainly end up where you thought he would, the way he gets there should pull some big surprises. Or maybe where he gets isn't quite what people expected after all. I'd give the character's arc some unpredictable twists. Which brings me back to my original point about changes. The changes are less predictable if they aren't forced. I'd say let the character do what he does, and see where that gets him. People are always citing Lord of the Rings, so I'll do it myself. Frodo. Did anybody ever doubt, while reading the book, that he wouldn't eventually reach Mount Doom and throw the Ring into the fire? And...how did that turn out? Not EXACTLY what everybody expected.
Only because character evolution is anything but simple. I agree that people, in the main, don't fundamentally change. But they do learn hard lessons, and they can evolve dramatically given extraordinary life events. And isn't that what makes a great story? Put an extraordinary stress on a character, and what happens? If she crumbles, that's probably not a great story, at least not from a character perspective, although it can convey just how a particular kind of stressor can destroy lives. If she prevails, something may flake away, shining a brighter light on the steel at her core. Maybe she learns some compassion for others in similar straits, and becomes a bit less selfish. Maybe she becomes more confident and drops habits that were compensations for her diffidence. But even with all that, other aspects of her will persist in some form. She will still be recognizable to those who knew her before, but they will also see the changes.
Couldn't disagree more. Change arcs--positive or negative--are the most obvious forms, but you can get some great stories with flat arcs. Instead of the world changing the character, the character changes the world around them.
I agree 100 percent. I'm reading this manga (Japanese comic), One Piece. The main character never fundamentally change at all however he does change the large, ever expansive world around him. It makes for an epic story where the world really feels tangible.
I couldn't figure out the character arcs in the last 2 books I've read..... They end up either in the exact same spot they started, or worse off. I guess in one, she finds her birth mother, but that literally goes nowhere. I'm like, why was this even mentioned? In the other one, you could say that the whole book was about sisterly love and how the MC recognized this... but I feel like the MC started off trapped by a secret, and ends up trapped by obligation. can there be an arc that puts you right back to where you started? Is that a "bad arc"? I feel like "bad arcs" are ones that leave you feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. That just kind of leave you hanging.... that dont really feel "done"
I work on a (real) novel with superheroes now. But I can’t take the OMG! I'm a superhero now and I have to save the world; but a girl/boy, who I loved, is kidnapped by my greatest enemy and I have to save her; but before this, I have great depression stuff again (*cough* Batman *cough*). Do you have an idea? P.S.: The inspiration for my characters are the Fantastic Four. (And the other superhero project is stopped for now.)
Well, what themes do you want to explore? Because character arcs cut straight to the themes of any given work itself. It could be a principle that the character champions: Batman's belief in the Dark Knight trilogy that people as a whole are fundamentally good and will strive to be better if given the chance, or Captain America's stance that security isn't worth the loss of key freedoms. It could be circumstances forcing a character to change for the better: Thor learning humility in the first Thor movie after getting exiled to Earth, or Green Arrow realizing what a jerk he was--and making amends for it--after his life unravels in Benjamin Percy's recent run on Green Arrow. It could be a character succumbing to a critical flaw: Matt Murdock's inability to balance his day job with vigilantism leading to the collapse of his law firm in Season 2 of Daredevil, or Frank Castle's relentless drive for vengeance ultimately leading to his death at the end of Punisher MAX. You could give each of your characters an arc or, if they're part of a team like the Fantastic Four, you could give them a sort of collective arc. Really, the sky is the limit here.
My favourite character arc is the Disillusionment arc because it doesn't have to have a dark ending like Star Wars with Anikin. (not a star wars fan so excuse any mistakes or incorrect names). It's not really a negative Arc but I find the truth in this arc is more impactful. I love seeing a character in their 'perfect' little bubble, thinking they know it all, thinking they know the world and the people around them. Then they get a taste of reality. The characters truth isn't sunshine and rainbows; but cold hard facts. Think of Jurassic Park or the Great Gatsby. I don't know but I think people do change. My Dad passed away people I thought I could trust became people I soon discovered I couldn't. I learned a hard lesson but now I am a lot more wary of people and not so trusting. I have changed. So I think people can change.
If you're story arc for the individual character is illogical, dumb, and not understandable, then it's probably because your entire plot is illogical, dumb, or not understandable. You see the character arcs in your examples, involve a protagonist who was completely incapable before, now becoming capable by the learning of a skill. Those are pretty easy. Where it becomes difficult is when a character is already capable in some degree. That's when the character arc shifts from an external struggle to an internal one. And that's where there comes the fatal character flaws and the things they have to overcome.
Uuuuh, how about personality??? Care to tell me how Gandalf the Grey is different from Gandalf the White??? (outside of being more powerful), or the difference between Dumbledore at the start of HP and at the end??? I think your idea of a character arc is flawed (or at least the way you describe it); when I read your post I get the idea that character 1 has to be character A (or 2 if you want to stick to numbers) by the end of his/her arc, however this drastic change in personality only comes in the face of major events in one's life and this kind of events aren't exactly common (Shouya Ishida from "A Silent Voice" is a good example of this kind of events). I would say that a character arc has character 1.0 at the start of the story and character 1.x by the end, he/she is somewhat different but essentially the same individual, this is why usually we see "Arrogant -> Not arrogant" or "Reckless-> Not as reckless". By writing challenges that will change them; a reckless character won't stop being reckless just because someone finger waggles him about the importance of careful planning, they have to both suffer because of their recklessness and see first hand the advantage of careful planning. It is also worth mentioning that a completely reckless character won't be a completely level-headed character at the end of your story (unless the story takes decades and even still is unlikely), think of a character arc as moving a character trait in a scale. The C stands for "character is here" Start of the story: Reckless]C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[Level headed End of the story: Reckless]---------------------------------------------------------------C---------------------------------------------------------------[Level headed In the example that I just gave you (hope it's easy to understand) I would say that there is a parameter to where the character should end up, the character can't go all the way to level headed or it would be unrealistic but it has to move enough to see a change, so somewhere in the middle would be a good point to end the arc (the longer the story the more the character moves) Somewhere around here Reckless]------------------------------------------[---------------------------------------------]---------------------------------------[Level headed Edit I forgot to mention that a character arc can change more than one trait of said character.
@AbyssalJoey The goal and motivation of the character. Often, it's kinda the same. But it's also different again. You know. Like Gandalf’s goal (yes. It was one of his goals if I remember it right) to destroy the ring. His motivation was to destroy the evil (or the power) within the ring. But that started the story/his character arc. Those pieces are like a puzzle – a good story can’t work without them.
Goals are often more flexible and dynamic, but more concrete, discernible objectives. Motivations are the drive, and usually are incorporated into, but are not necessarily the same as, their goals. Conveniently, its also worth noting that a dramatic change in motivations can be considered a character arc, as well as a change of one's perception of their own motivations.
@isaac223 Ok. I understand your opinion. But most – especially, in modern YA books – they’re the same. (These days' authors often haven’t the skills of old-school authors) I mean in the French book The Little Prince the whole story/character arc is a metaphor for emotional problems. Maybe even depression.
Emphasis mine. The only old school authors you read are the ones who were good enough to be remembered. Today's authors have no such filter. Go back and read some pulp mags from 1900 and tell me those guys were inherently better.
Exactly this ^ Not to mention availability. Nowadays most people enjoy different types of rather fringe works because its much easier to just stumble upon any random thing, good or bad. You didn't have as much unchecked access to video games, books or TV shows before, and so a lot of what you'd experience was primarily due to marketing. Mainstream marketing has become a lot less of a deciding factor in the producer's choice of purchases than it use to be. It isn't that there's any less good thing for every bad thing. You're just now more likely to be able to stumble upon the bad things because you're more able to experience more in general than you were before, mostly because you aren't being led to what everyone already knows is good.
Characters like Gandalf and Dumbledore and, to a lesser extent Paddington, are Paragons, and as such, don't really have an arc (or they typically have a fairly flat arc with maybe an upward tick somewhere), but are stories about how these characters inspire an arc in others around them. Also, don't forget about circular arcs, where the author spends the whole story trying to convince you that this character will change before being all, "Nope! lolz" If you want to see a story where the main character never changes, watch Memento.
