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| Amy Deardon |
Solving the Character Arc
by Amy Deardon
Maybe
it’s because I am trained as a scientist, but I love to deconstruct story
(fiction and film) to figure out how to deliberately incorporate the important
elements that make a story “work.”
Since
Annette has so kindly welcomed me to her blog today (waving to say hi), I am
happy to return the favor to you, her readers, by talking about a
straightforward method to create a powerful character arc. Despite popular
opinion that the character arc is a mysterious alchemy of emotions, careful
writing, and hope, it can be done by simply inserting a few key plot points at
the right places in your story.
These
points will sound formulaic. They are like cartoon lines of a picture that, if
you use them with some subtlety, will blossom in your narrative. See what you
think. I sadly have to keep this description short because of space limits, but
trust my explanations will be understandable for you. Feel free to e-mail me
from the contact form on my website!
Here
are the elements:
1. A
Hidden Need. You solve one and only one emotional problem in your story. The hidden
need belongs to your protagonist, and is usually something that damages relationships:
how the protagonist deals with other people. For example, your protagonist may
love money more than doing the right thing, or may be afraid to trust others.
2.
Within the opening scenes of your story (ordinary world) you demonstrate in one
or a few ways how this hidden need is hurting your protagonist and others.
3.
Again at the beginning, you have someone tell the protagonist straight-up what
is his problem. “You are so selfish you are never going to see that saving
puppies is good for your soul!” The statement you make will probably be more
subtle, but you get the idea. Having the hidden need explicitly articulated tunes
in your readers to watch for the character change.
4. In
the third quarter of the book (Act 2/2), after the midpoint but before the
climactic set-up begins, you insert a “hidden need triplet” that solves the
protagonist’s hidden need. This triplet consists of:
a.
the protagonist clearly demonstrates his hidden need
b.
the protagonist realizes he is doing something wrong
c.
the protagonist shows that he’s now “got it right”
5.
Finally, around the climactic scene the protagonist often uses his solved hidden
need as part of his arsenal to win against your bad guy.
I’ve
found this pattern in story after story. Try it! You’ll be surprised how well
this works.
Thanks for visiting, Amy! Waving back. Readers, you'll find my review of her book over at Net's Book Notes. A great resource in the craft for writers.
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AMY DEARDON is a story analyst,
writer, and publisher. In her previous life she was a Ph.D. scientist who did
bench research, and came to faith through studying the historic circumstances
surrounding the death of Jesus. You can contact her through her website at www.amydeardon.com.
Amy’s newest book is Create a Strong Emotional Experience for Your Story Readers: Build Captivating Story Characters and Use the Power of Point of View to Communicate Your Story.
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| Create a Strong Emotional Experience |
The
close emotional experience a reader experiences with your characters is perhaps
the most important reason he or she keeps reading and loving your story. You
can strengthen that bond between your reader and characters by using
straightforward writing techniques that transform your characters into
sparkling individuals.
In
this book you will …
—Discover
the essential traits that a story character must have to become a “real person”
for your reader.
—Review
techniques to translate your character’s personality onto the page so your
reader knows him or her as well as a best friend.
—Grasp
the powerful point of view technique that plunges your reader into your
character’s mind.
—Master
these tactics in your own writing by going step-by-step through examples that
will show you exactly how to make them work.
It's
easier than you think! You can continue to be frustrated building characters by
trial and error, hoping you've captured the elements that will "unflatten"
them... or learn the powerful proven techniques that generate vibrant story
people.
