The most common and popular arc sees your main character face myriad obstacles and challenges, which—in the end—he overcomes and becomes heroic. Establishing the Lie your character believesNot long after the inciting incident, another unexpected event forces or prompts your character to accept this change. Of course, not every member of your cast needs a character arc of their own. This false belief ultimately leads them to continue making mistakes that hurt themselves and others, even as they enjoy the benefits of the Truth.In a positive change arc, your character should begin their journey gripped by the Lie that they believe. If your character doesn’t believe themselves worthy of love, then love is a theme in your story.

While their arcs are less of a focal point than your protagonist’s, the growth they undergo should still influence your plot. As I’m sure you can imagine, this arc is popular for a reason!Want Versus Need: the Secret to Character ConflictUltimately, Anakin’s “Resolution” is the death of Padme by his own hands. External conflict breeds internal consequence, just as internal conflict drives external action. Internal conflict plays a large role in shaping a character’s words, deeds, and motivations. Not only that, but these arcs influence a whole variety of other important story elements, so you don’t want to neglect them!Hey Steven! Well-Storied. They’re unequipped to resolve this struggle, and it isn’t until their story’s conflict pushes them into action that this will begin to change. Finally, remember that character arcs often reveal a story’s thematic statement. Like plot arcs, a character arc is not a plot in and of itself. Click to learn more about The Well-Storied Podcast and view a running list of episodes.This is a concept we first discussed in our article on themeKristen Kieffer is a fantasy fiction writer and the author of Furthermore, the Truth your character comes to believe directly correlates with your book’s thematic statement, the subtle message readers can derive from the story’s subtext. Yes it is. Demonstrate how your character’s positive arc has impacted their life and the lives of those around them by showing the way their life has changed for the better.How Character Arcs Work With Story StructureUnderstanding these two character arcs can help you create believable growth and change in your characters, growth your readers can identify with. As you’ll see later in the article, your character’s arc follows the structure of your story.Just as the Midpoint marks a turning point in the external conflict it’s also the culmination of your character’s first series of tests and trials and sees them learn an important lesson that changes their goals moving forward. Consider using your newfound knowledge to develop your story’s character arcs today!Roughly halfway through your positive change arc, a major conflict occurs that forces your character to confront the Truth. Whatever their flaws were starting out, they have tripled or quadrupled in severity here. So, here’s After all, there are few better testaments to the quality of your story than the characters you create. Same character. key moments in your story), a structure that is nearly universal across positive change arcs. The climactic sequence of an arc is the moment at which its central conflict is resolved. before they become entangled in the arc’s core conflict) and introduces how the Lie that they believe impacts their daily life, creating conflict within themselves and with others.Sometimes these moments are one and the same. THE FIRST PLOT POINT. This creates an internal push-and-pull in which they try to reconcile their Lie with the Truth and attain the “best of both worlds.” Nevertheless, your character believes they can have the best of both worlds — the goal associated with their Lie and the effects of the Truth — and so foolishly chooses to fulfill their goal. In a positive change arc, this moment isn’t your character’s decision to reject their Lie but rather the moment in which they fully embrace their Truth. In most cases, your character will hesitate to accept this change. During this beat, your character also determines to pursue a goal based around the Lie they believe.Like plot arcs, characters arcs can be structured before drafting and further refined in revision. It’s Palpatine’s influence that encourages the snowball effect we discussed earlier.This holds true for your side characters as well.

A strong understanding of this structure is key to crafting an effective positive change arc no matter how you prefer to approach the pre-writing, drafting, and revising processes. This obstacle can be mental, emotional, or spiritual in nature and often results in a false belief that shapes your character’s identity. Let me know in the comments!Character Arcs 101: Positive and Negative ArcsThe bulk of your story occurs in Act 2, as does the bulk of your character’s arc.The 4 Reasons Your Protagonist’s Blue Eyes Don’t MatterThis post is the first in a series about character arcs and character creation in general.