What Are the 3 Types of Character Arcs?

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Welcome! I'm K.M. Weiland, the award-winning and internationally published author of acclaimed writing guides such as Structuring Your Novel and Creating Character Arcs. I mentor authors on story theory, technique, and all the wild and wonderful highs and lows of the writing life!
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This week's question is from @whatzause: "I'm writing my third book and I've never heard the term 'Arc' (positive, flat...). Where can I find enlightment on those terms. (How new are they?)"
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Vid - What Does a Flat Arc Character Want?: • What Does a Flat Arc C...
Book - Creating Character Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Book - Creating Character Arcs Workbook: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Book - Writing Archetypal Character Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Course - Creating Character Arcs: kmweilandstore.com/b/mBoHK
How to Write Chracter Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
The Lie Your Character Believes: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
The Thematic Truth: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
The Positive Change Arc: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
The Flat Character Arc: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
The Negative Character Arc: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Character Arcs at a Glance: The 2 Heroic Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Character Arcs at a Glance: The 3 Negative Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
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BOOKS
For more on archetypes, check out my book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
For more on character arcs, check out my book Creating Character Arcs: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
For more on story and scene structure, check out my book Structuring Your Novel: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
For more on theme, check out my book Writing Your Story's Theme: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
WORKBOOKS
Outlining Your Novel Workbook: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Structuring Your Novel Workbook: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
Creating Character Arcs Workbook: www.helpingwritersbecomeautho...
GUIDED MEDITATIONS
Archetypal Character Guided Meditations (previews): • Archetypal Characters ...
COURSE
Creating Character Arcs Course: kmweilandstore.com/b/mBoHK
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Want me to answer your question in a future video? Ask it in the comments below!
#CharacterArcs #plot #storystructure #threeactstructure #AmWriting #WritersLife #Writetip #writer #writerscommunity #writers #igwriters #writerslife #instawriters #writersnetwork #igwritersclub #writersblock #instawriter #screenwriter #writerlife #writerscorner #writercommunity #writerssociety #writers_den_ #poetsandwriters #writersociety #womenwriters

[@edubs9828]

I am so pumped to watch another K.M. Weiland video!

[@starklingspars8956]

Thanks. That was helpful. I look forward to watch8ng the other links

[@chrisl4676]

Rufus Sewell's character John Smith in "The Man in the High Castle" is a beautiful example of a negative character arc. Throughout the series, he steadily gains both insight and power, but in the end (spoiler alert) cannot use the power to change. Sewell's portrayal of Smith's internal struggle is a masterpiece, but he couldn't have done it without the writers!

[@cannae216]

Agreed! His son's illness was a key addition by the writers and lent so much to understanding his character as completely without empathy for anyone else. Never does it occur to him that the other families of the murdered struggled the same way he did, and thus what he was doing was wrong. Drove the arc really well (if I'm remembering it correctly).

[@DrewTrox]

I just wanted to say your database of film plot breakdowns is an invaluable resource. Thank you! Most recently, I was comparing Shutter Island and Fight Club. I was wondering how do you keep these unreliable narrators feeling authentic and not just for the sake of the twist?

[@StBacchus]

The first thing is that the story needs to be compelling on its own, not just for the twist. For example: in Memento, Leonard is trying to find his wife's killer. In A Beautiful Mind, John Nash is recruited for a secret cryptography project and becomes the target of a conspiracy. In The Sixth Sense, Malcolm is trying to help a troubled little boy and his mother. All of these are interesting stories with or without the twist. I could even name three films that have similar stories but no twist: The Fugitive, The Bourne Identity, and About a Boy. What the protagonists of all these films have in common is that they're all strongly internally motivated. Because they believe in themselves so much, they bring the audience along with them (in Fight Club, this is Tyler Durden's role). It's just that -- for the unreliable ones -- their perceptions turn out to be utterly wrong, and they're forced to confront reality. That confrontation should build on the themes and emotional throughlines of the film and not deflate them. This is why people hate the "it was all a dream" ending so much. Because it basically says, "none of that mattered, you wasted your time getting invested, sucker!" The Sixth Sense's ending works so well because it completes the arcs of both Malcolm and Cole, leaving them both in a better place. Fight Club's ending works because the narrator is literally facing down his own self-deception. Neither one is a trick or a cheat, even though they involve a surprise revelation that recontextualizes the whole rest of the film. The unreliability of the narrator elevates the dramatic conflict, rather than undermining it.

[@cannae216]

Love your books. Working with an editor I asked whom I should read for character arcs. She said, "There's only one good book about [this]: Weiland's Creating Character Arcs." And the Lie and Truth are so useful as a North Star while drafting. Really, really helpful.

[@signalenergie]

Lovely video, thank you so much K.M.

[@mageprometheus]

I loved the look on your face when you said, "...which I have linked down below, in case you missed it." It was so how dare you miss one of my videos. 😄

[@andyclark3530]

Katie, I'm wondering how you view the large body of films, particularly Westerns, where there's an outsider who comes in to "fix" a problem, does so, but walks away because he knows he's not going to fit into the community. "Shane," "The Searchers," and almost all the Clint Eastwood westerns fall into this category. In one sense, I see the MC character arc is flat, but in the deaper movies of this class, the character shows a wisdom at the end they lacked early on, even if they reject community and so do not easily fit into any of the early to mid life positive arcs. And I've got to say, I have a hard time wrapping around the thought of many of the Clint Eastwood characters as Crones or Mages (though possibly "the Preacher" in "Pale Rider").

[@daina3628]

The way I see it, even if the character has learned some new truth at the end, it doesn't mean the character changed in a significant way.

[@danieljackson654]

How wonderful is this: NEW MATERIAL; NEW INSIGHTS. This video presents much need clarification. My copy of Six Archetypes, dog-eared it may be misses what you present here. I benefit from your presentation of the negative arc variations. A new book perhaps?

[@ceeceetracey9839]

Thanks

[@MrPanetela]

youtuber content creator Nerdrotic plugged One Piece in one of his youtube presentations. One Piece is a long-running manga and anime series with numerous character arcs. It was later made into a cartoon then afterwards live action. I was introduced into the live action first then was excited enought to explore the cartoon. But with so many arcs juggled at one time i wonder, is there a secret short cut on how to keep track of all of the arcs in that show? I don't have what it takes to be a writer but i do enjoy well made movies and tv shows. And this show is one of the few well made ones out there. There are so many interesting stories and developments that it is easy to lose track. Any suggestion is welcome.

[@anthonycosentino463]

A primmer video? Wtf