Author: ScarletEdited and Reviewed by: J.P. Donahue A story is a journey. We create the journey through our main characters. The character’s journey becomes yours and your readers’ journey. You need all three of those elements to create a cohesive and interesting story, and you need them all to be thoroughly developed and planned. Otherwise, your readers may slip through the lines on your pages into another book.
So, today, I’m going to tell you what you’re — most likely — doing wrong in your character arcs so the seams of these incredibly delicate elements fit together perfectly in your story. Creating Change out of Nowhere This one may seem obvious, but it can be easy to fall into. Have you ever read a scene where the main character is confronting some big issue, and somehow, it completely changes the character, but it is unclear why? This could be something like the main character suddenly running into someone they used to know but the reader has never heard of them. Seeing this person again makes the main character freak out. At the same time, the audience is being jarred because this new character didn’t exist a book ago, yet they are heavily influencing the protagonist. As the author, you know your characters inside and out, or at least you should. So to you, the why of this situation is obvious. But your readers might get that feeling of, “Where did that come from?”. They might get confused or wonder if they missed something somewhere. The author might try to make up for this by explaining things after this catalyst event, but it doesn’t hit the reader the same. Imagine that same scene, but all throughout the story, you’ve read about how the protagonist was great friends with that character. They saved each other in hard times and always had each other’s back. Until the protagonist saw that character die or they got separated and couldn’t find each other again. And when the main character finally sees them again, they’ve been the villain the whole time. Now, seeing the protagonist freak out makes sense, and the reader is freaking out along with them. That is change that came from somewhere. This is what we call foreshadowing. If you plan to add something big to your story that really changes your character, the reader should know something about it before the reveal. It can be small, it can be consistent, or it can even be a red herring! Readers need to have heard of it. Readers also need to know how your character feels about the big event before the reveal. If you only want to mention this “big thing” once, don’t just leave it hanging on the page. Give it meaning for just a moment with the main character so your audience has context and some feelings about it. Remember, though, that if it means a lot to your protagonist, it should mean a lot to your audience. Creating a Completely New Character This issue is likely why you’re struggling to connect with your character. When the big moment comes for your protagonist, it should not create a whole new person. Unless your main character is an infant, this just isn’t possible! Your character is already a person. There are things about them that simply won’t be changed, and that’s okay! Having a character go from one personality to a completely new one, no matter how impactful the event may be, won’t do well in your story because your audience can’t connect with them consistently. As an author, you have to realize that events in your character’s past have shaped them into who they are, just like you! Any event that happens doesn’t just erase that long history they have lived through. You’re only writing about a portion of your character’s life, but what happened before and after your story still exists even though you don’t write about it. For example, your character has always been an artist. For years, they studied and practiced art. It was their life. The event might change their art, but not that they’re an artist. They might have loved to use color in their art before the event, but now they only use neutrals. They’re not going to magically hate art and become a computer scientist. Yes, that example is very straightforward, but if you look at your character at the beginning of your story and at the end and don’t find any similarities, then they’re not the same person. And your audience probably won’t have a consistent character to connect to throughout the story. Not Planning Ahead A few blogs ago, I talked about the benefits of outlining. Now, you don’t have to outline your character arcs, but you should. Your character arc is your plot and theme, so outlining helps you track and coordinate all of them. Everything should have a purpose to the character arc and push it along. Otherwise, your readers could feel empty in some scenes because you threw something in that wasn’t planned, and you tried to make it work. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but if you want an experience to really shine, connecting it to the rest of the story is key. Knowing, ahead of time, what your character is going to experience gives you power as a writer. It gives you opportunities to foreshadow, build up to those scenes, and greatly impact your reader. Have you read a book that at some point made you feel like “holy crap, it’s all connected!”. That mind-blowing feeling can be achieved when you plan things ahead. The author made that feeling happen because they knew what they were doing in the first chapter. All that is to say, having the big picture in your head gives every word in your chapters meaning. Nothing was put on the page that didn’t have a purpose; therefore, you won’t let your readers down with empty plot points. Conclusion Getting into the intricate parts of writing a story can feel overwhelming. Realizing how much each decision impacts everything else can cause some writers to experience paralysis. That’s something I experience all the time. But remember this, my dear friends. We can do hard things. I’m sure you realized when you started this journey that it wasn’t going to be easy. Yet, you still followed your passion anyway. Remember why you started. And always remember that you can do hard things — because you’re a writer. And writers don’t quit when the goings get tough. Keep writing, my dear readers. Until next time, cheers!
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EditorsJ.P. DonahueJ.P. is the very first editor and proofreader for The Writing Hub blog. He's been making sure all of our articles are clear and easy to read at a glance since the very beginning. ScarletScarlet is not only one of our fantastic blog writers but she is also a occasional blog editor with our editing team, often working to cross check and review articles before publishing. ZevarZevar is an integral part of our editing team keeping everything to a high standard of quality by editing for our blog and writing showcase. They do outstanding work regardless of tight deadlines or lengthy projects. RyanRyan is our last line of defense against errors and typos by proofreading nearly every piece of content we release. His expertise and fast turnarounds are what keep our words polished and our facts checked. |