Quite the Character

Just as I had wrapped my head around building a more dramatic plot, I learned that character development, similarly, has formulae to ensure believability and further engross the reader. A succinct summary would be this: If they fall in love with (or love to hate) a character, they are more likely to keep reading.

Ugh! There’s more to good writing than just telling a story? But, truth be told, I’m enjoying every bit of this, even though it momentarily slows the creative part of the writing process as I learn. I’m thrilled with how my narrative, and the people in it, are evolving. In addition, I’m paying more specific attention to other works that I am reading, and recognizing these elements in them.

A character arc is the transformative, inner journey a character undergoes in a story. It may be an emotional status, moral, psychological, or other belief that is challenged and ultimately adjusted to some degree. Key components of a character arc include flaws and desires.

Usually, the character begins with a desire, believing they want or need something. What they actually need to grow, however, is different from what they think they want.

There are four major types of character arc: One that creates a positive change in the figure, such as overcoming personal flaws to become a better person; a corruption arc, where the person embraces a negative perspective; a flat arc that sticks to beliefs or behaviors regardless of challenges; the V-shaped arc where the subject drops to a low point due to conflicts, then perseveres to rise to a higher, heroic state.

The character arc lends to the reader engagement and story depth, and is closely tied to the plot. Characters react to plot points, which drives the story forward. Writing is truly a puzzle. The challenge is to put all the pieces into place in such a way as to create a world where the reader wants to remain immersed.

Speaking of immersed, the photo above is the LeConte Glacier near Petersburg, Alaska. We watched in wonder as an underwater shelf broke off and emerged with bubbling and roiling before settling into its journey to the sea. Even glaciers have hidden driving forces. Each one behaves a little differently in its environment. Each one is quite the character.

I’ll post a video of the iceberg eruption on my Instagram post. Part of the overall process is to grow my audience before “pitching” the book. Please share this website, the newsletter, and social media with others, and ask them to follow along in the journey. I appreciate your support.