Character Arcs

Paths of transformation

Characters Unfold

A character arc is the status of the character as it

unfolds throughout the story.

●It is the emotional change of the character within

the narrative.

●Characters begin the story with a certain

viewpoint and, through events in the story, that

viewpoint changes. (Often this change is for the

better, but it can also be for the worse or simply

different. )

Some examples

●In Tootsie, Dustin Hoffman’s character begins as

a misogynistic chauvinist but when he is forced

to play the part of a woman, he also experiences

a change in how he views women and becomes

a different character by the end.

●In Empire of the Sun, Jim begins as a carefree

young boy. After the Japanese take over

Shanghai and he is separated from his family, he

is forced to suffer trauma because of the war.

●In The Godfather, Michael Corleone at first does

not want to have anything to do with his father’s

crime business. When his father is attacked and

barely survives, Michael realizes his love for his

father and begins a war of retribution on those

Character Development drives

ConflictAll stories are about people, even when they're about

rabbits. And the stories that move us most, the ones that

stick inside years later, are those inhabited by characters

we can connect with and admire.

And no characters resonate more than those who in the

course of a story learned how to transcend their own flaws

and weaknesses to do something great—this is a

Character Arc.

And by great I don’t mean saving the world, for often the

quietest moments are the ones in which characters find

their greatness. The moments that truly define us are

almost always personal, times when we’re able to

overcome our own limitations and rise to be something

more.

Character Arc—the rocky path of personal growth and development a

character undergoes in a story, usually unwillingly, during which the

character wrestles with and eventually overcomes some or all of a

serious emotional fear, limitation, block or wound.

In a character's development he or she might

overcome:

1.lack of courage or inner doubts

2.lack of ethics

3.learning to love

4.guilt

5.trauma from the past

6.errors in thinking, etc.

Weaknesses, imperfections, quirks and vices make

a character more real & appealing

●They humanize a character. The audience

can identify with them.

●Flaws and imperfections give a character

somewhere to go and progress toward in

the story.

●The development of a character is only

interesting if they overcome something.

●A great example of a character

arc – Tom Cruise’s character in

"Rain Man."

●Beginning – Cruise is a ruthless

car dealer who kidnaps his

autistic brother because he feels

cheated about not receiving any

money from his father's will.

●End of Arc – After a cross-

country journey with his brother,

he learns the importance of

family and turns down the

money.

Role of a Character Arc

●Keeps the tension high and the conflict

going.

●Serves as the “inner” conflict and is

always mirrored by the story's “outer”

conflict.

e.g. DieHard: Inner conflict =

overcome internal weaknesses to be

able to get back together with wife;

Outer conflict = fight bad guys who

have taken over wife’s building.

The Arc is the internal change

the hero goes through

●It can be positive change of character—a

happy ending

●Or a negative or no change—which gives us

a tragedy.

Characters who remain essentially the same

from beginning to end are fatally flawed. They

have learned nothing from their experience and

have shown no growth.

●Or the character is already ‘good’ and

doesn’t change (e.g. James Bond,

Braveheart, John Wayne).

Development of a Character ArcPersonal changes in a Character’s Arc require

smooth development—changing is really hard.

●Flat verses Round Character development

oFlat--Jumping abrupt changes in character create 2

dimensional characters.

oRound--natural, step-by-step development of a

character create 3 dimensional characters

We see how the personal beliefs that cause internal flaws are

torn away little by little by forces within a character and by his

surroundings.

The filmmaker shows us conflicts/transitions as the character

evolves from one state of mind to another in a slow even pace

until he is compelled to make a life changing decision.

Conflict and Character within

Story Structure

The Basic Three Act Structure The simplest building blocks of a good

story are found in the Three Act Structure. Separated by Plot Points,

its Act 1 (Beginning), Act 2 (Middle), and Act 3 (End) refer not to where

in time in the story they lie but instead fundamental stages along the

way.

In the Beginning the reader is introduced to the

setting, the characters and the situation (conflict)

they find themselves in and their goal. Plot Point 1

is a situation that drives the main character from

their "normal" life toward some different conflicting

situation that the story is about.

Great stories often begin at Plot Point 1,

thrusting the main character right into the thick of

things, but they never really leave out Act 1,

instead filling it in with back story along the way.

In the Middle the story develops through a

series of complications and obstacles, each

leading to a mini crisis.

Though each of these crises are temporarily

resolved, the story leads inevitably to an

ultimate crisis—the Climax.

As the story progresses, there is a rising and

falling of tension with each crisis, but an overall

rising tension as we approach the Climax. The

resolution of the Climax is Plot Point 2.

In the End, the Climax and the loose ends of

the story are resolved during the

Denouement.

Tension rapidly dissipates because it's

nearly impossible to sustain a reader's

interest very long after the climax.

Filmmakers finish the story and get out.

The character’s arc follows the rising and falling action of the plot as

they transform through the choices they are forced to make by the

events of the plot

Character Arc and Story Structure

Act 1 In the Beginning of a story the main character, being

human (even if he of she isn't), will resist change (inner

conflict). The character is perfectly content as he is; there's

no reason to change.

Plot Point 1 – Then something happens to throw

everything off balance.

It should come as a surprise that shifts the story in a new

direction and reveals that the protagonist’s life will never be

the same again. o In Star Wars this point occurs when Luke's family is killed, freeing him to

fight the Empire.

It puts an obstacle in the way of the character that forces

him or her to deal with something they would avoid under

normal circumstances.

Act 2-- The second Act is about a character’s

emotional journey

Characters face all sorts of challenges to

overcome during Act 2 that make them

struggle towards their goal.

The key to Act Two is conflict. Without it

the story can’t move forward. And conflict

doesn’t mean a literal fight. It could be any

obstacles (maybe five, maybe a dozen—

depends on the story) leading up to your

plot point at the end of Act 2.

In the second act the stakes are continually

raised in the character’s emotional journey.

Simultaneously the character encounters both

inner and outer conflicts—the character alternates

up and down internally between hope and

disappointment as external problems begin to

seem solvable then become more insurmountable

than ever.

Reversals of fortune and unexpected turns of

events—surprise the viewer with both the actions

of the main character and the events surrounding

him.

Plot Point 2

Act Two ends with the second plot point,

which thrusts the story in another

unexpected direction.

Plot Point 2 occurs at the moment the hero

appears beaten or lost but something

happens to turn the situation around. The

hero's goal becomes reachable.

Right before this unexpected story turn, the

hero reaches the Black Moment—the point

at which all is lost and the goal cannot be

achieved.

In order to have a "Climax", where the tension is highest,

the hero must have a "Black" moment, where the stakes

are highest and danger at its worst.

During this moment, the hero draws

upon the new strengths or lessons he's

learned in order to take action and

bring the story to a conclusion.

oDorothy’s gotta get a broom from the Wicked

Witch before she can go home.

oLuke’s gotta blow up the Death Star before

fulfilling his destiny.

oNeo’s gotta do battle with Agent Smith

Act 3 dramatically shows how the character is able to

succeed or become a better person.

Resolution/denouement ties together

the loose ends of the story (not

necessarily all of them) and allows the

reader to see the outcome of the main

character’s decision at the climax.

Here we see evidence of the change in

a character arc.