Story Arcs

When I start to write a new novel, I write down an overall outline on 3x5 cards. I number each one, and each has a note or two about what's going to happen at that stage of the plot. All together, they tell the arc of the novel.
But, within each chapter, you should also create an arc. Each chapter should have a purpose - something that it does to push the story forward.
And that means having a mini story within the chapter.
At least, that's how I write.
The chapter title and the basics of what should happen in the chapter from the 3x5 card tell me the parameters under which I'm working. But how I get whatever has to happen to happen - well, that's up to me on a given day. And it's usually where the "magic" happens. Where a character may take a turn that's different from what I had planned. Or a conversation happens that ultimately changes one of the other plot points - and makes me have to update or develop a new 3x5 card.
Each chapter should have a beginning. Just as it's important for the novel to have a catchy first line or paragraph, so too, should each chapter. Why is this chapter important? What will the reader learn? Why is this chapter needed in the plot?
By the same token, the chapter should wrap up with something intriguing. Maybe it's the first part of a story that will play out in the next chapter. Maybe it's a lesson learned. Maybe it's a major change in direction for the reader - something the author intends, but hopes the reader doesn't see until he or she gets to that point in the novel.
And what comes in between should have an arc. Not necessarily following the course of time - the start of the chapter to the end of the chapter doesn't have to be sequential. But the ideas, the plot points, the characters' development - those should have an arc.
Through the story arc of the chapter. Through the story arc from chapter to chapter. And from the beginning to the end of the novel's story arc.