Writing Tips for
Story Structure & Storytelling
by Melanie Anne Phillips
Creator StoryWeaver,
Co-Creator Dramatica
Character Arc 101
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Does your Main Character Change or Remain Steadfast? A
lot of writers think a character must Change in order to grow. This is
simply not true. Characters can also grow in their Resolve. In that
case, they Remain Steadfast as they must grow stronger in stronger in
their beliefs in order to hold out against increasingly powerful
obstacles.
Regardless of whether your Main Character changes or not, how does he
or she get there? Does your character simply flip a switch at the end of
the story? Or does he or she grapple with and grieve over the issue
right up to the moment of truth?
In fact, there are a quite a number of different dramatic pathways by
which a Main Character can arrive at the moment of truth. The more you
have in your writer's bag of tricks, the more dramatic variety you can
bring to your characters' journeys. Let's look at a few of your
options….
1. The Steady Freddy
This kind of Main Character starts out with a fixed belief about the
central personal issue of the story. Act by Act, Scene by Scene, he
gathers more information that leads him to question those pre-held
beliefs. His hold on the old attitude gradually weakens until, at the
Moment of Truth, he simply steps over to the other side – or not. This
kind of character slowly changes until he is not committed to either his
original belief or the alternative. It all comes down to which way the
wind is blowing when he ultimately must choose one or the other.
2. The Griever
A Griever Main Character is also confronted with building evidence
that his original belief was in error. But unlike Steady Freddy, this
character suffers a growing internal conflict that starts to tear him
apart. The Griever feels honor-bound or morally obligated to stick with
his old loyalties, yet becomes more and more compelled to jump ship and
adopt the new. At the end of the story, he must make a Leap of Faith,
choosing either the old or the new, with such a balance created that
there is not even a hint as to which way would ultimately be better.
3. The Weaver
The Weaver Main Character starts out with one belief system, then
shifts to adopt the alternative, then shifts back again, and again, and
again…. Like a sine wave, he weaves back and forth every time he
gathers new information that indicates he is currently in error in his
point of view. The intensity of these swings depends upon the magnitude
of each bit of new information and the resoluteness of the character.
4. The Waffler
Unlike the Weaver, the Waffler jumps quickly from one point of view
to the other, depending on the situation of the moment. He may be
sincere but overly pragmatic, or he may be opportunistic and not hold
either view with any real conviction.
There are also two kinds of characters who change, but not really.
5. The Exception Maker
This character reaches the critical point of the story and decides
that although he will retain his original beliefs, he will make an
exception "in this case." This character would be a Change
character if the story is about whether or not he will budge on the
particular issue, especially since he has never made an exception
before. But, if the story is about whether he has permanently altered
his nature, then he would be seen as steadfast, because we know he will
never make an exception again. With the Exception Maker, you must be
very careful to let the audience know against what standard it should
evaluate Change.
6. The Backslider
Similar to the Exception Maker, the Backslider changes at the
critical moment, but then reverses himself and goes right back to his
old belief system. In such a story, the character must be said to
change, because it is the belief system itself that is being judged by
the audience, once the moment of truth is past and the results of
picking that system are seen in the dénouement. In effect, the
Backslider changes within the confines of the story structure, but then
reverts to his old nature AFTER the structure in the closing
storyTELLING.
An example of this occurs in the James Bond film, "On Her
Majesty's Secret Service." This is the only Bond film in which 007
actually changes. Here, he has finally found love which has filled the
hole in his heart that previously drove him. He resigns the force and
gets married. End of structure. Then, in additional storytelling, his
wife is killed by the villain, and his angst is restored so good ol'
James Bond can return just as he was in the next sequel.
Variations….
Each of these kinds of characters may be aware that he or she is
flirting with change or may not. They may simply grieve over their
situations, or just breeze through them, not considering how they might
be changing in either case. Each of these character may arrive at a Leap
of Faith where they must make a conscious decision to do things the same
way or a different way, or each may arrive at a Non-Leap of Faith story
conclusion, where they never even realize they have been changed, they
just are. The important thing is that the AUDIENCE know if the Main
Character has changed or not. Otherwise, they cannot evaluate the
results of the dramatic argument.
There are many ways to Change or Not to Change. If you avoid getting
stuck in a simply linear progression with a binary choice, your
characters will come across as much more human and much more
interesting.
Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips
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