Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development

by K.M. Weiland

Character’s Arc in the First Act 1. How will you introduce and reinforce your character’s Lie in the First Act? 2. How will you use the “elbow room” in the First Act to space out the various layers of your character’s Lie, goals, and personality? 3. How will you indicate your character’s latent potential to overcome the Lie? 4. What aspect of the Truth can you share with the character in the First Act? How will you share it (through another character’s mentoring, etc.)? 5. What will be your Inciting Event? 6. Why will your character initially reject the Inciting Event? 7. How quickly will your character get over his initial rejection of the Inciting Event’s “call to adventure”? 8. Toward the end of the First Act, how will your character’s belief in how he serves the Lie begin to evolve? 9. What decision will the character make that will engage him in the Inciting Event?