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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
K.M. Weiland
Read between
December 31, 2020 - January 4, 2021
[The protagonist] comes to understand both the promise and the price of the two ways. He comes, in other words, to truly understand his choice…. The moment … is not complete unless the hero understands not only what he stands to gain by choosing one option over the other, but also what he stands to lose.
the harder his choice, the more readers will begin to doubt his final decision—and the more powerful his choice will be when he makes it.
The Third Plot Point will often feature actual death, either literally or symbolically.
One of the biggest things to watch out for with this type of ending is making sure that the character learns her lesson very close to this climax. If these events occur too far apart, the causal link between learning the lesson and the ultimate success at the climax is weakened. If it’s possible to make the final choice in learning the lesson coincide with the climax instead, that helps to prevent the timing problem.
In identifying your Climactic Moment, look for (or create) the one scene readers have been waiting for from the beginning of the story. The bad guy dies. The hero proposes. The girl gets the job she’s been after.
…the protagonist changes his perspective, learns different skills, or gains a different role. The end-result is not “better” or more than the starting point, just different. The protagonist has not overcome a grand inner resistance or anything, he simply gained a new set of skills or assumed a new position, maybe discovered a talent he forgot he had, or a different vocation.
FLat arc
What Truth does your character already believe at the beginning of your story? 2. Does he have a Ghost in his backstory that prompted this belief? 3. What Lie, as represented by the antagonistic force, will he have to fight?
Does his Normal World represent the Truth he will be fighting to protect—or does it represent the Lie he must overthrow in order to establish the Truth?
If he is already committed to battling the Lie, what obstacles in the First Act prevent him from a full-on confrontation with the Lie?
How does the First Plot Point force your character into a direct confrontation with the Lie? 2. Does he willingly confront the Lie—or does he confront it only because he has no other choice? 3. How will the character be tempted away from his Truth?
In a Flat Arc, the protagonist won’t actually doubt the Truth, but he will be brought to a point where he seriously doubts his ability to use the Truth to defeat the Lie. This is the scene where he throws stuff against the wall and rages against his own impotence. What’s the point of the fight—what’s the point of everything he’s already suffered—if all he’s been able to do so far is put a dent in the antagonistic force’s armor?
The protagonist always needs to be the primary catalyst in the final victory.
What defeat will nearly break your protagonist—physically, emotionally, or both—at the Third Plot Point? 3. How can he face death—literally or figuratively—in the Third Plot Point? 4. How can you make this defeat as personal as possible for the protagonist?
How will your protagonist doubt his ability to conquer the Lie—without actually doubting the Truth itself?
How can minor characters’ new grip on the Truth support your protagonist’s final attack on the Lie without stealing the limelight from him? 11. How will the Resolution prove the changes created by the protagonist and his Truth?
Which of the supporting characters will manifest the Truth in the Resolution? 14. Will the protagonist demonstrate any exterior or personal differences from who he was at the beginning of the story? 15. How can you reinforce that his core Truth has not changed at all?
Stanley D. Williams provides this formula for Negative Change Arcs: Virtue leads to success, and Vice leads to defeat, but Unrelenting vice leads to destruction.
The Disillusionment Arc CHARACTER BELIEVES LIE > OVERCOMES LIE > NEW TRUTH IS TRAGIC (Examples: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Training Day directed by Antoine Fuqua)
The Fall Arc CHARACTER BELIEVES LIE > CLINGS TO LIE > REJECTS NEW TRUTH > BELIEVES STRONGER/WORSE LIE (Examples: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Doubt directed by John Patrick Shanley)
The Corruption Arc CHARACTER SEES TRUTH > REJECTS TRUTH > EMBRACES LIE (Examples: The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Star Wars, Episodes I-III directed by George Lucas)
In a Negative Change Arc, the Lie is about something the character already possesses but devalues (e.g., he’s already filthy rich, but he fails to value or be responsible with his blessings). There will be one specific, objectively good thing in his life that he will take for granted. Worse, he will be willing to sacrifice this good thing (and its inherent Truth) in order to pursue the false promise of the Lie.
The Thing the Character Wants, the Thing He Needs, and the Ghost will be basically the same in both a Negative Change Arc and a Positive Change Arc. It’s only how the character deals with his Ghost over the course of the story that significantly differs—as he falls prey to its power over him, rather than overcoming it.
This encompasses more than just the character’s personality and focus (both of which are important). It also needs to hint at the character’s potential, specifically as it pertains to his relationship with the Lie.
Negative Change Arc 1. Will your protagonist fulfill a Disillusionment Arc, a Fall Arc, or a Corruption Arc? 2. What Lie will your character fall prey to? 3. How does this Lie manifest in the beginning of your story?
What is the Thing the Character Needs? 8. What is the Thing the Character Wants? 9. If you’re using a Disillusionment Arc, why does the Lie’s Normal World appeal to the character? 10. If you’re using a Fall Arc, how is the character already entrenched in the Lie’s Normal World? Why has he not yet made a move to escape this Normal World? 11. If you’re using a Corruption Arc, how is the character’s Normal World nourished by the Truth? Why is the character still less than comfortable in this world?
How can you use the Characteristic Moment to introduce your character’s proclivity toward the Lie?
As a result, the First Plot Point will frequently be a positive one.
But no matter how comparatively positive the First Plot Point may seem, it must always be dogged by the portent of bad things to come. Foreshadowing must be wielded deftly in a Negative Change Arc more than in any other. If an unhappy ending is going to resonate with readers, they must be prepared for it. They must feel it was the only logical outcome.
What is your character’s great fault in the beginning of your story (e.g., lust, hatred, etc.)? 2. How does the First Plot Point initially seem to be a good thing?
If you’re writing a Disillusionment Arc, what is your character learning about the Lie in the First Half of the Second Act? 6. If you’re writing a Fall Arc, how is your character suffering for his devotion to the Lie? 7. If you’re writing a Corruption Arc, why is your character growing more and more enamored with the Lie?
The Third Plot Point No matter what type of arc you’re writing, the Third Plot Point is always a place that reeks of death.
The ending scenes in a tragedy are often comparatively short. Unlike a positive story, Negative Change Arcs leave few loose ends and don’t usually inspire in readers a desire to stick around in the story world. The great tragedy in the Climax is underscored with a sense of finality that doesn’t require much mopping up.
How will your character fail in the story’s end? 2. How will his actions irrevocably damage others? 3. What tragedy will confront your protagonist at the Third Plot Point?
Should you decide to incorporate a character’s arc as a subplot, plan it just as thoroughly and specifically as you would if it were in the main plot. Its plot points and revelations may not be as blatant, but they should still be evident subtextually, in order to give your story its greatest possible psychological impact.
Back to our original question: How many character arcs should you plot in your stories? Give attention to your protagonist, antagonist, sidekick, and love interest.
Every time he makes a Lie-based move, out comes your omnipotent authorial stick to give him a good whack on the backside. Unless the character is a total dope, he’s eventually going to get tired of getting spanked and try a new tack—a Truth-based tack.
The key is that Flat Arc stories still incorporate a Lie/Truth. But unlike in Change Arcs, the protagonist already possesses the Truth and is able to use it to change the characters and world around him. By contrast, in stories with no arc, there will be no battle between a Truth and a Lie.
1. One Character Arc for the Entire Series
2. Multiple Character Arcs Throughout the Series
Each book in your series can be more than just a building block in the structure of the overarching arc. They can also be smaller, supporting, standalone arcs of their own. Each book can create a smaller arc, based on a smaller Lie—one that will ultimately contribute to your character’s ability to overcome the big, overarching Lie.
