The good people at Round Robin Blog Hop are having a conversation about Character Arcs this month and I am happy to join in. The question is how important character arcs are in our works and how/if we plan these things out.
I am going to admit that until recently I have not paid much attention to character arcs in my story. I’ve mostly been along for the ride with my stories and delving into arcs and structures is still relatively new. Some of my characters have made the journey naturally, and I’m mildly proud about having stumbled into success there.
Trenna, for instance, begins in Sedition as a wild-hearted swordswoman who can’t commit to a relationship or responsibility and ends with a fiancé and the burden of leadership.
Johanna Rorry from the Tapped series begins as emotionally unavailable and ends in a committed relationship. (Yes, I enjoy love stories. I will probably always write them.)
But both of these examples happened on accident as the story progressed.
The novel I am working on right now is different. I have CHARTS for this one. Which is weird for me, but I have found it extremely useful. My two protagonists – Jack and Ryssa Rose – come from very different backgrounds and their voices need to be just as different. Their emotional journeys collide at times, but for the most part it’s felt like I’ve been telling two stories as one.
It’s… interesting.
But their arcs are so very important.
I don’t do spoilers, but Jack starts the story as someone who is ready to leave the world behind. He has stepped away from his father and the woman he loves because he believes it is the only way to keep them safe. By the end of the story he has to come to a place where he understands that love will always have risk, and it is better to have taken that risk than to run away from it.
Ryssa Rose starts the story as deeply focused on winning. There’s no room for failure for her. But by the end of the story she has to come to a place where she understands that failure is, in and of itself, a kind of winning. Because you learn who you are when you’ve fallen flat on your face. There’s more, of course, but I don’t want to spoil anything when I haven’t even gotten a chance to shop this book around.
For the nitty-gritty of the character arcs, I will admit that I started using what David Farland put in his book Million Dollar Outlines. I don’t fill ALL of it out because I need the joy of discovery while I’m drafting, but by the time I go through the 3rd draft I should have it all noted down.
Check out what my fellow authors have to say about Character Arcs!
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
A.J. Maguire https://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/ ( YOU ARE HERE)
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
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