Flat character arcs
I said recently that in MARAG, neither Marag nor Sinowa has a real character arc, that neither of them changes much during the story, that they are both confident in who they are to begin with and they stay confident throughout the story. I said that the overall arc in the story is a combined arc of each protagonist developing confidence in the other person, not in themselves.
Given all that, this post here caught my eye: No, Your Characters DON’T Have To Change In Your Novel Or Screenplay. Here’s Why
Various examples in the linked post, but here’s one I hadn’t thought of that I liked:
The Change Agent: This is a character who changes all the other characters in the story just by being themselves. Example: Forrest Gump. Love or loathe this character, he doesn’t change. But he DOES change the outlook of everyone he comes into contact with in the movie.
That was an interesting movie, and that’s a fair point. We all know that iconic characters such as Superman or Sherlock Holmes don’t change. That’s the point of being iconic. But how about this other idea, that you can have a protagonist who pulls other characters into his orbit, so they change and the protagonist doesn’t?
Forrest Gump doesn’t change anyone because he’s powerful or influential; he’s operating on a very simple plain of existence compared to most of us. Being around him causes people to see things differently and see themselves differently. But you can imagine a protagonist who exerts powerful influence by, for example, deliberately refusing to change. Or through being masterminds and manipulative.
Who are some characters who stay the same while other characters move through the story around them, following much stronger character arcs because of the protagonist’s influence? Maybe Lymond in Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. Maybe Kit in From All False Doctrine. Possibly … possibly Daniel in the Death’s Lady series? He changes a bit. Other people around him change more, but perhaps the only one who really changes a lot because of Daniel is Tenai.
Just a note that you can pick up all four books in the Death’s Lady series via my Patreon if you like. That series will become exclusive to Amazon in March or April.
Who are other protagonists like that — characters who are solidly themselves while everyone around them changes?
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