Character Arc
Hi everyone,
I’m still working on my YA Fantasy novel The Search For Magic. My computer screen can’t be fixed, unless I pay and arm and a leg, so I’m getting a new laptop. I have to wait until this weekend to get it. Right now I’m working with an external monitor and keyboard (my keyboard hasn’t been working well for a while now). I miss the mobility of my laptop as I bring it everywhere and tend to write in the cracks-waiting to pick my kids up etc.
Like I said last week, what I’ve been concentrating on is my character arc. It wasn’t a problem for the first half of the book. However, for the second half, I’ve been a bit stumped. Not on where my character is going—that I’ve always know—but more on showing the journey to this ending point, and showing it relatively quickly. Like a snow storm, rather than a light dusting of snow. That means that I want to sort out my ‘must have’ scenes from my ‘nice to have’ scenes.
I looked up a lot of youtube videos and read some craft books. What resonated with me the most (and un-stumped me) is the advice to focus on the emotional decision of the scene as well as the cost of that decision.
Once I considered this, three particular scenes jumped out at me that led to the BIG emotional decision which leads to three scenes where the decision is carried out, completing that arc and setting her up for her crisis and resulting climax.
The theory behind focusing on emotional beats is:
Catalyst (Inciting Incident and resulting climax of act 1)-what is the emotional decision in these two scenes that HAS A COST. Once this decision is made there is no going back from it.
2nd Major EMOTIONAL decision: This must have a cost. It must be a choice between two things. Your MC can’t have both. There must be a sacrifice of some kind. A value, a desire, a friend, a critical option. Again, there is no turning back from this.
3rd Major EMOTIONAL decision: Midpoint of your story. It should coincide with you midpoint plot point for greater impact. What big emotional decision is made in the middle of the book. Again, it is something that comes with a cost. Something MUST be given up. A principal, a way of life, a loved one, etc. And again there is no turning back from this decision.
Crisis: a BIG EMOTIONAL decision should lead to the all is lost point of the novel. Again it has a cost-whatever the character has given up that’s led to this all is lost moment. What did they sacrifice to get here? Their morality? A friendship? A value they never thought they’d go against?
Climax: there needs to be another Emotional Decision made in the climx which is the cumulation of the arc. At this point she should be the person you, as the author, have been growing. Once the decision is made, then she must act on it in ways consistent with this New Her to prove that SHE IS NOW A NEW PERSON, thus, completing her growth arc.
I am on the third major emotional change in my story. Like I said last week, this section is sometimes called the Bad Guys Close In (using the save the cat plotting method). If the all is lost scene (crisis) is at the 75% mark and the midpoint of the story is 50%, then for me this point comes around the 60-66% mark. An anchor point in between these two big plot points. This must lead to the crisis. In the Bad Guys Close In, there are generally three plot points-bad guys close in 1, 2 ,3. For me and my story, my big emotional decision comes at the Bad Guys Close In plot point 2. Bad Guys Close In 1 leads to 2 and 2 creates 3 and 3 creates the crisis. And after some soul searching and digging deep by my main character, it leads to the climax.
So I’m summary, if you want to check you HAVE a character arc, then plot the EMOTIONAL decisions that your main character makes. It ONLY counts as an emotional decision if there is a COST-that it’s a lose-lose situation for the character. If you don’t have 5 emotional decisions that HURT the character, then you need to add one in to show a full arc.
Here are examples of emotional decisions that cost the reader.
Leave a safe and loving family to follow her dreams far away. Cost: loving family or dreams. She can’t have both.
Attacked at home: kill or be killed. Cost: her life or her value: killing is wrong.
Agree to go out with her best friend’s new ex-boyfriend (who she has been in love with for years). Cost: lose the boy she loves or lose her best friend.
Or the ultimate emotional decision:
Volunteer in her sister’s place in a game to the death: COST: lose her life or watch her sister die (hunger games).
This week, I’m going to try to write to my big ACT 2B emotional beat (Bad Guys Close In 2). It will take three scenes to get there. I have other things going on in the story-subplots—but I’m ignoring those for the moment. I just want to get my MC’s arc right first.
I’ll let you know how it goes next week.
Until then,
Happy writing,
Joanne.
