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

by K.M. Weiland

Or the Normal World may be safe but boring, with the protagonist chafing ineffectually against it without making any real effort to move on with his life (as in George Lucas’s A New Hope or Robert Schwentke’s RED).

The Normal World dramatizes the Lie the Character Believes.

Good inciting events at first appear to be bothers out of the blue, but they end up being individually tailored for the hero.

Use the First Half of the Second Act to explore the depths of your character’s personality, beliefs, and desires. The result is a well of endless possibilities for fun, conflict-powered scenes!

[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.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to create an instance in which your character can reject the Lie in a physical way. In the midst of all the other drama and trauma going on, this is usually best presented casually, even offhandedly.

Sometimes, the only renewed attack your story will be able to support this close to the Climax is a brief paragraph or two of a minor character’s shaking his head and telling the protagonist, “Are you crazy?”

For example, Book 1 might feature a “mini” Lie about how doing brave acts (e.g., stopping a mugging) is a task that belongs only to socially designated heroes (e.g., the cops), while Book 2’s Lie might be that fear is tantamount to cowardice.