How to Create Character Arcs

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In this video, I explain what Character Arcs are and how to correctly incorporate them into your screenplay.
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Instagram: @mowery
#Screenwriting #CharacterArcs

[@TylerMowery]

Get Practical Tools to Write Your Great Screenplay: www.practicalscreenwriting.com

[@silverback7348]

Whiplash may actually be challenging the whole storytelling premise of choice/free will on a philosophical level where compulsion consumes choice and compels greatness even as loss and self-destruction mount.

[@thatoneseen]

A good lie a character believes in is like a drop of blood a shark cannot resist. Viewers are hungry to see to the end if that lie is compelling and relatable!

[@stgrozdanovic]

This is some Tarantino-like analogy

[@Author_SoftwareDesigner]

Do you have an example of a lie like this?

[@notverypog]

@@Author_SoftwareDesigner donald trump is orange

[@soccerandtrack10]

​@@notverypogfanticy is better then reality,because reality hert me,so im chooseing fanticy?... Its still about trump,but different.

[@soccerandtrack10]

@thatonscreen does mine count as a example or not?...

[@bimbo9970]

I thought this video had a million views or something, it's quality was spectacular, thank you for this.

[@DannyBott]

For anyone who has seen Matt Reeves' The Batman, it's not only visual style and genre that is lifted from Se7en - Batman's entire character arc mirrors Somerset's, with The Riddler representing John Doe's exaggeration of this core belief. Super interesting!

[@rixx46]

some good stuff here - the importance of the midpoint cannot be overstated. The midpoint MUST be a choice - not an external event - by making that choice, they can NEVER go back to who they were at the beginning of the story

[@josepabloamadornieto7794]

hey rick

[@shrutijohri7297]

This is an extremely relevant tutorial on making character arcs. It simplifies the task of tracing characters in the story without complicating the ideas.

[@doritochipgamer474]

Let’s be real, we knew he would cover Michael Corleone in the corruption arc.

[@davidfernandez8515]

Every single video about it does lol. It's such a great film

[@Miragephan]

Probably the clearest, piece by piece breakdown of character arc construction I've found for beginners. Thanks for the video

[@Mitch-nx2ic]

Your comment seems a little condescending.

[@sdprz7893]

@@Mitch-nx2ic How?

[@Denis461997]

You inspire me so much, dude. I really appreciate all your work! 🙋🏻‍♂️ You're AWESOME

[@ruly8153]

Denis Alcantara Are you looking for a love heart there man?

[@davesy22]

One of the best screenwriting channels on youtube

[@yolyd]

This is the first time I hear an explanation like this, it's eye opening to me. Thanks!

[@davidjadunath1262]

Captain Willard is a flat arc character. He knows from the beginning that the meek shall inherit the earth, and he causes a change in Kurtz. Although Willard's introspection at the beginning of the film brings him to an unresolved conflict without a method, and he knows that he is a ghost who can never go home again, he postpones his inner turmoil by being occupied. He has a mission. Notice how Willard is the only one who had it together, on the mission. All of the others on the boat would die, except Lance. Each one had a kind of incompleteness and frustration, as in Chief and Chef. Clean was too immature, though Lance is the searching meek who will inherit the earth. On the journey, Willard explores how Col. Kurtz descended into darkness, resulting in Kurts being marked for death by his superiors, and Willard's mission. However, in the end, a changed Kurtz is merciful. He spares Williard's life. Although Kurtz murdered many, he wouldn't kill one of his own who is that remarkable soldier that Kurtz wished he had, in order to win the war (Go to Kurtz's monologue about the inoculations and the VC's courage to chop off the children's arms). Therefore, Kurtz is the one who changes. Willard goes out of the story, the way he came in -- another mission completed, and how he would come to terms with his own inner demons, remains a mystery, and perhaps, another story.

[@zacharyhicks4398]

I have to give it to you man, after reading dozens of books on screenwriting and taking other online courses yours has absolutely been the most informative. Where other books and courses try to lock you into a constrictive structure, or just lack the info of what actions to take to move the story along, yours has an entirely different and eye opening approach. Your method really gives the power back to the writer and has inspired me to stop worrying so much about structure and just write the darn thing. Thank you for making this openly available to all creatives and sharing your knowledge with the masses. You're doing a huge service to us all.

[@Sonia-xl2zf]

this is beyond helpful. In our filmschool, we just read mckee`s book and that was it. thank you so much for these videos, it really gives me the medium in which to make my ideas come alive.

[@Dramedia]

Daniel Plainview. I think something remarkable about this character is the relationship he has with childrens (HW and also the blond girl) this gives him another dimension and a layer above the fact that he is moved almost only by power and ambition. Is like a compassionate side of him.

[@mikehiebert6227]

Yeah absolutely, it's such a great piece of writing IMO. Even though Daniel is a reprehensible character he still has some humanity in him, but I think what makes it really great is that it isn't really explored in depth. The writing presents the complexity of humans; he's not truly evil and isn't an archetype, but we don't get to hear his tragic backstory and why he defends the blonde girl so fiercely, , and we don't get anything to overly humanize him. The writing just presents this complex, multilayered character and let's the audience come up with their own moral judgment of who he is

[@Drakhas12]

I would love to see an "Apocalypse Now" analysis from you about character arc and how the story moves deeper into the darkness.

[@aah3703]

gotta love that the ad i got on this Tyler Mowery video was an ad for a Tyler Mowery video.

[@jeagerbomb5121]

absolute stunning work thank you so much for this, you're videos are not just informative but inspiring too

[@nikhilganesh6547]

So a "ghost" is a traumatic event in a characters past that haunts them and is a pivotal reason for the lie they hold throughout the story? its great to learn about stories haha movies are crazy

[@emmacarena7103]

I dont want to become a writer or something but I love your channel because Its super interesting to looking for the pattern you explain in the movies series novel I like

[@markrodriguez9442]

I would say SEVEN is very poetic. It may be a gross movie,yet, it's a great story.

[@benjaminhertzog5951]

Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men is a good negative arc example.

[@zaianmiguel]

Do you think it's a Disillusionment arc?

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

@@zaianmiguel Yeah.

[@zaianmiguel]

@@TomEyeTheSFMguy The np country for old men arc? Yes?

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

@@zaianmiguel yeah.

[@singaravelsudeeksha281]

I really love Jack Thompson's s Character arc in the Peggy Carter series...the gradual change he has in his life due to Carter was amazing. The best part is that they don't change him from a so-called bad guy to a good guy... They add more depth to his already layered character... I love characters who're neither completely good nor completely bad... By the way...thanks Tyler for helping me out!!!

[@voixyz]

Man, I have been stuck with my script for a few weeks already (its my first time writing a script for my scriptwriting class) and I just gotta say your videos really are helping in moving forward with my storytelling. Thank you and keep it up!!!

[@melodid5023]

Omg... this is plot guys.. Character arc is the STORY and plot is what happens for the arc to come true, damn it! XD how did I NOT see this all this year's.. My mind is blown.. and then he goes:"but a character arc can be even more interesting than this." Me:"yes, teach me sensei." Thank you man. I've been doing a lot of this subconscious as probably many people are, but this gives me a true direction.

[@abhijeetsibartie]

What a masterpiece of a video! Great analysis, more of this please!

[@sheppazii]

dude you need more subs. This is criminally underrated...

[@greatteachertahar512]

this is literally the most useful and the clearest video i'v seen on internet thank you so much a lot of love

[@toluwaniobayanworks]

Thank you, Tyler. You're such a blessing.

[@Sergiopoo]

I'm loving your videos and started binge watching them, so glad I found this channel. Keep up the fantastic work!

[@uscitizen3252]

Wow, thank you for putting in all of this work. I learned so much from this as character arcs have been my biggest struggle.

[@j-new6278]

Great information!!! I have watched a few of these channels and you dig in deeper and have better instruction than most. Much appreciated!!!!!!!

[@tonigarcia3430]

Thank you for all of these videos, great job, they have been so helpfull. I've started to analyze all the people around me, friends and family under these arches and it's amazing how organic it is. Each could be a perfectly written character.

[@itsbella2162]

in love with your videos, it help me so much to outline my screenplay!!! keep it up Tyler!

[@TheGameCouncilor]

character arks: the narrative you want to enforce

[@sdprz7893]

BINGO

[@ghostofdeath663]

So in other words the quality of the character is mostly up to the writer than is to the actor......

[@sdprz7893]

@@ghostofdeath663 This should've been obvious from the beginning, the actor is just that, an actor, they may contribute to a story but why we credit them with the quality of a story has always been beyond me.

[@ghostofdeath663]

@@sdprz7893 yeah I always say this good performance doesn't equal a good character both performance and writing are completely two seperate things people are dumbed down to think that the actors wrote down the whole thing but it's mostly up to the writer than is to the actor in other words the director and writers make and finish the character and the actor comes very last, no matter how well you act the character maybe decent at best depends on how you are written acting doesn't work for this argument........

[@sdprz7893]

@@ghostofdeath663 Agreed

[@cnfilmsss]

These videos are always top notch, great stuff!

[@juliaz9843]

This is packed with so much educational content, thank you so much!

[@joaquinhernandez6940]

The music you use in your videos is very soothing. I love it.

[@kimberlyagyarko792]

So insightful. Brilliantly done. Thank you very much!

[@EdgardoGeorge]

Thank you so MUCH!!! This is an important part I overlooked on my first draft. You are sharing great information!

[@sohraabsingh9743]

Aside from the fact that this was extremely helpful, I especially appreciate the fact that my man kept in all of plainview's iconic lines.

[@ChemicalLama]

Your videos are helping me so much! Great job man 👌

[@JunebugPresents]

Nice video for anyone who doesn't know this stuff already. Good of you to share to them. Good point about Plainview. My favorite flat character arcs: Gladiator Rudy Forrest Gump Uncut Gems 12 Years A Slave Ratatouille To Kill A Mockingbird Philadelphia Glory Rocky I'm not normally a fan of flat character arcs but when they work for me, they work big time.

[@advaitmore3144]

This is so helpful! You're doing amazing work.

[@siphelelemhambi2697]

Thanks for the tips will sure use them in the future and keep doing your good work cause you've helped me

[@RiversBliss]

Another example of _Flat Arc Character_ is in the movie *The Shawshank Redemption* .

[@amarachinwaozuzu6935]

This has to be the most rewound video on screenwriting. Thanks man!

[@GagiTheBoy]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You realy endevour in this explaining. Calm voice, and great insights into the subjectmatter. I am at the beginning of my writting / scenario / director carrier. And am watching videos of such sort. Your this one was exceptional. I will watch more of your content. Keep up the good work man. You are heaven sent for people like us, the beginners. :)

[@blackcatanimations8396]

Just came across this channel today. What an incredible resource. 👏 Bravo!

[@cjkalandek996]

K.M. Weiland's book is pretty much the Bible of writing characters and character arcs.

[@joyoffilming9500]

Best video on character arcs I ever came across!

[@theDarkness558]

Incredible job, man. Please, keep going.

[@RainbowRoger]

Hi, Tyler. I really love your videos. I think you should see Abbie Emmons, another author in KZbin. She too talks about internal conflict in her videos. I think you both will learn a lot from each other.

[@bradleywilliamsmith1599]

Can’t wait to watch this once I’m done working! Had to drop a quick like though.

[@bookwriter4438]

Excellent video. Thank you.

[@cineman3881]

Wow! throughout my viewings of video essays on film and TV, this helped a bunch. Thank you!

[@eaglegp2541]

@Tyler Mowery You are amazing in your understanding and articulation of the higher levels of story, script structure at a A List level.

[@rajkumarg.v6095]

Most powerful video about Character Arc explained. Thank You Tyler..:)

[@Dilburtus]

Pretty excellent masterclass on character arc with examples... spiffy!!

[@ShekarRangarajan]

As an Indian, the Western World is relatively easy for me to cope with because the World view there (my belief) is largely black or white. As we move Eastwards, we struggle to make peace between between profound truth and blatant lies. .Life is a mass of grey; neither black nor white. Do you have an archetype (arc) that deals with the ironies of life where the jury is still out? Something that can resolve an open ended arc? Thanks for a thought provoking video.

[@utsavdhyani8839]

What do you think about RRR? Ram is a ruthless fellow who can do anything to get on his goals, be it beating the shit out of anyone, sacrificing people like a goat, even betraying his best friend. All these are negative traits of a character. But the movie justified them with his past story as how as a child he has to watch his family die due to britishers and even has to sacrifice his father to save the village. So now he is fulfilling his father's dream to start a revolution- A hero here. So these 2 traits makes him an anti hero and a character with shades of gray.

[@jenniferariesta6635]

True examples of flat arc i can think of : Forrest Gump and Paddington Bear.

[@amritaoxymoron1944]

Brilliant video! Loved it,Subscribed and pressed the bell icon. Cheers!

[@makotoyuki345]

New upload, new motivation Thanks

[@danabramovici]

Really great lecture Tyler.

[@luiz_ed76]

I just want to say thank you, your videos are really helpfull. Unfortunaly I can't afford your course (the dolar in Brazil is six time more expensive), but one day I'll. Continue doing this wonderful work!

[@TheFPSGaming1]

you are amazing!!! Great video. Thank you!!!!!

[@4citi]

This was informative and well done.

[@humanperson365]

Just subscribed. This video is really helpful, keep up the good work 👍

[@mariokarter8915]

John Murphy from the 100 has the best character arc I’ve ever seen

[@m-hellothere4167]

Thank you so much for sharing this insightful and very beneficial information. May God bless you all

[@trevorcamelot1502]

Really love your videos.

[@Leto85]

I didn't realise that Kate Macer was following a disillusionment arc. but now you've shown it, it sounds rather simple: the world turns out to be more complicated than Kate initially thought. In other words; she was disillusionalised about it.

[@melodyclark1944]

An example of the flat arc character is Sam from the movie Charly based on the book by Jack Weyland. His truth is the teachings of repentance and eternal marriage. Charly challenges his belief in the truth. She changes throughout the story by her conversion. I guess that would make hers a change arc.

[@scottedwards459]

another excellent Video. Well done!

[@kennycampbell6146]

thank you once again for annother insightful video. now i have to adjust my templates and incorporate.

[@julibalenzano]

Awesome videos man

[@haiderjasim5093]

Great video luv it

[@toefl.rodrigo]

This video is perfect. It's one of those videos that I'll have to revisit from time to time. Great work man!

[@pumpedupkicks5791]

The best video ever 🔥

[@egvillaproductions4112]

I needed this bro thank you

[@mercurious6699]

many thanks, well presented

[@raphaelmorgan2307]

the "seeing an extreme of himself is what got him to finally change" part reminded me of my own "character" arc lol... but I can't really put mine in fiction bc it's kinda a tired trope

[@burtonryan50]

Im actually a fan of the flat character arc. Those stories are more compelling. Thanks for your videos. They are very informative.

[@alfredmorris4511]

Great video 👍🏻 thanks

[@joshuaoneill3118]

12:52 When I left my Tomagachi at school.

[@sudhakarreddyseelam2692]

Fantastic ❤️ video

[@OirichEntertainment]

Wow. This is so helpful. I am taking note of all of this. This will really help out my film-making journey. If there are no character arcs, there is nothing that would be considered beneficial after a film. This is so great to see what characters arcs are composed of in its raw form. Amazing work!

[@cecilabbott6092]

I know I’ve said this like twenty times but you just keep showing up on different channels

[@OirichEntertainment]

Yep. I love movies

[@doritochipgamer474]

Yep. Character arcs are so important.

[@sripabbaraju]

Thanks for putting out great content with each video. Would love to see your analysis of plot development and character arc of Amy Adams in The Woman in the Window

[@rajsingharora26]

Thank you.

[@jashchaudhary43]

Great Video

[@ShawnsImagination]

Fantastic video thank you 🙏

[@s.sumbrella7616]

BRO I NEEDED THIS

[@babibunting2924]

Whenever i get stuck in a story, i always told myself to watch this guy's channel and see if it works

[@nicoefstratiou9390]

Amazing video!

[@hotsauce7124]

Thank you

[@JunebugPresents]

Also, I don't think Whiplash works as a negative fall arc. The supposed worse lie isn't that much worse than the original lie you say he believed. He got what he wanted and no one around him went down in flames with him because of his actions. Everyone is happy, really. There is nothing wrong with believing that "achieving greatness will make him feel fulfilled," depending on what one's definition of greatness is. In his case it involves him being a great drummer. There really isn't anything wrong with that, is there? It might work better as what you christened the open arc ending. I would even say that it works best as a negative corruption arc even though he won his goal in the end.

[@alexman378]

Yeah, but he gave up people who actually cared for him, to sell his soul to a guy who only wanted this from him. Sure, it works out in the short term, but how far do you actually go like this? Remember how this other great student committed suicide and Fletcher lied about why it happened? He seemed like he was sad that he lost this rare find, not about the actual person he drove into suicide. Detaching yourself from people who actually care for you only gets you so far.

[@cosmicdropout8187]

Amazong video, really helpful bro

[@portraitofalion]

Excellent

[@Iaiiao]

I've just subscribed today, but these videos have already helped me a lot. I can't belive how much about writing I was able to learn in such a short time. And subject of character arcs is probably my favorite. When I listen about it I can't help, but think "Death Note". It's actually a manga/anime. (There are a few movie adaptations, but I do not recommend them) The character arc of the protagonist is probably the best I've ever seen and the philosophical conflict is a masterpiece. It's so nice to see these concept explained. I think like I'm so much closer to finishing my script. Sorry if my English is bad.

[@Iaiiao]

@James Lucas Oh, That's nice to know and I mean both of that. I'm so glad people know Death Note.

[@Iaiiao]

@James Lucas Sorry for a long answer, but Yeah - Light started using death note because he believed that killing bad people is the right thing to do if they wanted to reach world where good people can life peacefully. And it did work, but not everyone shared his opinions. Some people say the opposite side of conflict was represented by L, but I don't really agree. We don't know if L was doing it for justice or Maybe just from boredom. I think it's the task force. It' obvious that they considered Kira's actions evil and did not support fighting crimes with crimes. And as the story progressed Light lost the sight from his original motivations to kill, but he was still doing it and the world have been already split in two groups. First- carrying on his beliefs and second- thinking he's a Monster. So conflict stays the same. To put it simply I belive it's about using any means to reach the goal. Is it morally right to break the law if the goal is noble?

[@Iaiiao]

Also there's Matsuda who was just confused. I just thaught that I should add this since I didn't specify that not every one in task force fully disagreed with Kira.

[@Iaiiao]

@James Lucas I will wach it. Also I recommend Death Note the Musical. It's so underappreciated. and no proplem.

[@AScreenwritersJourney]

GREAT video. I realize I tend to write Positive Change arcs, and don't like most movies with Negative Change arcs. I enjoy Flat Arc characters (aka Traveling Angels) in comedies.

[@stevenvprasad5029]

awesome

[@abdrhmn7093]

Great video