Katherine Frances's Blog, page 106
December 4, 2017
For part one in which I define character arch and explain it’s importance, click here.Character...
For part one in which I define character arch and explain it’s importance, click here.
Character Motivation vs. Character ArchMotivation is something that can be easily confused with arch, so let’s get it out of the way before delving in on how to create a character arch. Motivation is what makes your character want to do something. Arch is how your character changes. So, James Bond, who we already established as a flat arch, meaning no change occurs and basically no arch, is still motivated to do the bad ass stuff he does, because it’s his job. If he had no motivation to do it, he would become a very boring guy because he would avoid danger at every possible turn and probably get fired or something.
So motivation can be as simple as liking doing something, and in many plot driven stories, it’s literally surviving or stopping the world from basically [or literally] ending. Every character in every story [pretty much] must have motivation no matter how basic or simple. Otherwise, why are they doing this? Why does the story exist?
While character arch is arguably almost as essential, it’s not quite as much. And, it’s arguably more complicated and difficult because a motivation can be implied [like will to live pretty much always is] or told to the reader. Arch has to actually happen in the story.
How to Make Your Character ArchFor Character Driven Stories
So, this one is really simple, but I wanted to include it to draw attention to the fact that you should probably identify whether or not your story is more character or plot driven before you start thinking about arch. If your story is character motivated, then you probably already have a character arch, unless you are in the really early stages of idea development, in which case, here’s what you do.
Know your character. They are driving your plot, so you can’t go far without this step. Who are they? What do they want? What’s stopping them? How do they overcome this barrier? This line of questioning will give you both your plot and your character arch.
Hint: If you are writing a character motivated plot, you probably [and imagine I’m saying probably as if I really mean definitely] should not have the resolution come about by random chance. What I mean is, if you are writing a story driven by the character, the resolution usually should come about because the character changed, not because some plot element swooped in and saved the day. It will usually feel forced, and will take the reader out of the story.
For Plot Driven Stories
This can be way harder. If you’re like me and you come up with very plot heavy stories [as many fantasy and scifi stories are] then the character’s arch is not always in your mind at the conception of a story. You might know that your character is going to need to learn to be a warrior because if they don’t they’ll die, and when the King recruited them they can’t refuse, but you don’t know how they are going to change internally to meet these challenges. Maybe the MC is afraid of sharp objects, making the change for them obvious. But it’s not always that simple, so I want to talk about a psychological principle called Cognitive Dissonance. Understanding this principle will help you to identify your character’s natural arch.
The full explanation of cognitive dissonance will be coming next week!
Prompt #42
Write something based upon this photo
(photo is not mine)
December 3, 2017
"Cold electric music
Damage me
Rend my mind
w/your dark slumber
Cold temple of..."
Damage me
Rend my mind
w/your dark slumber
Cold temple of steel
Cold minds alive
on the strangled shore
Veterans of foreign wars
We are the soldiers of
Rock & Roll Wars”
- Jim Morrison, Wilderness (via m-l-rio)
aehterial:
“The appeal to stop being yourself, even for a...
“The appeal to stop being yourself, even for a little while, is very great,” he said. “To escape the cognitive mode of experience, to transcend the accident of one´s moment of being"―Donna Tartt, The Secret History
