"Story is about how the things that happen in the plot affect the protagonist, and how he or she changes internally as a result" I am reading the Wired for Story and Story Genius for probably third time and I have a problem. The problem is that if I was to write a usual novel with invented characters this would be easy to do but my stories are short and involving famous real life people and I am stuck with this "Inner Issue". It feels as if I am imposing it on them just because. Everything else makes my stories better but this Inner Issue, I just can't bend it in. Do you have any solutions? Do they really need to change through my story or a story with a usual internal struggle that stands in a way of them achieving what they want is enough without having some internal deep character issues that they must face in order to move forward? Thx, Charly
No, you don't have to have a character flaw they overcome, that's just the standard positive arc. You can also have a negative arc (character goes evil) or a flat arc. Here's some good info about it: How to Write Character Arcs @ K M Weiland Blog
I think some internal issue has to be present, but it doesn't necessarily have to be resolved. The internal issues of a character don't have to be literally spelled out, but it should be clear what these issues are. As for famous people, I use them in my fiction all the time. But they more or less have walk on roles. I wouldn't write from a famous person's POV and try to guess there inner issues. Back to the inner issues. You shouldn't have to guess what they are or try to cram something in. They should already be part of the story.
