Thank you for helping me connect what was wrong with a story I was working on! I thought the character had to have a failing arc but I now see that because of his growth, he has to succeed. I love the topics you cover and the advice you give.
Traci, thank you! I'm glad to hear you got something useful out of the post.
I didn't delve into it in this piece, but sometimes characters DO fail, and that's okay. Sometimes their "growth" isn't positive. Instead of a positive growth arc, they'll experience a negative arc. (We see this a lot in tragedies, where the hero may reject their lies, but instead of adopting a more positive worldview, they actually adopt a warped/twisted/more negative view of their lies.) Flat arcs also exist, often in superhero stories, where the hero (the superhero!) already knows the truth and is trying to convince those around them to reject lies and adopt their positive worldview.
It sounds like you've figured out what your hero needs, but I just wanted to share this also; it's not that a hero HAS to succeed to have satisfying growth. They just have to change, rejecting one way of thinking and adopting another.
Excellent tips!! I feel like writers organically do a few of these steps when developing their characters, but having them listed out like this is so helpful with initial plotting or revision work! Great questions to create an interesting and well-rounded character that may also fix plot issues writers are struggling to repair.
Yes, many of us definitely do a lot of this instinctively. I like to figure out my hero’s lies before a first draft, but I always reevaluate them before revisions too! Often times they change in small ways that have BIG impacts.
An excellent post, as always, Erin! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, friend!
Dear Erin,
Thank you for helping me connect what was wrong with a story I was working on! I thought the character had to have a failing arc but I now see that because of his growth, he has to succeed. I love the topics you cover and the advice you give.
Traci, thank you! I'm glad to hear you got something useful out of the post.
I didn't delve into it in this piece, but sometimes characters DO fail, and that's okay. Sometimes their "growth" isn't positive. Instead of a positive growth arc, they'll experience a negative arc. (We see this a lot in tragedies, where the hero may reject their lies, but instead of adopting a more positive worldview, they actually adopt a warped/twisted/more negative view of their lies.) Flat arcs also exist, often in superhero stories, where the hero (the superhero!) already knows the truth and is trying to convince those around them to reject lies and adopt their positive worldview.
It sounds like you've figured out what your hero needs, but I just wanted to share this also; it's not that a hero HAS to succeed to have satisfying growth. They just have to change, rejecting one way of thinking and adopting another.
Excellent tips!! I feel like writers organically do a few of these steps when developing their characters, but having them listed out like this is so helpful with initial plotting or revision work! Great questions to create an interesting and well-rounded character that may also fix plot issues writers are struggling to repair.
Yes, many of us definitely do a lot of this instinctively. I like to figure out my hero’s lies before a first draft, but I always reevaluate them before revisions too! Often times they change in small ways that have BIG impacts.