Creating character arcs by k.m. weiland free download

Some screenwriters like to think of flat characters as story vehicles — acting like conduits for the audience to experience the story in an immersive way.

The ascending arc can take two forms: either as a v-shaped parabola, or as a slowly-ascending line on an x-y chart. In the v-shaped arc, the character starts at a neutral position. Then, they encounter an inciting incident that introduces conflict , which causes them to sink to their lowest point.

But the character perseveres to dig themselves out from rock-bottom and ascend back up to their previous state. In some cases, the character exceeds past their neutral state into a state of enlightenment. The v-shaped arc is the perfect arc for writing heroic protagonists. Rick starts in a neutral position, then thrown into descent with the arrival of his lost lover. At his lowest point, Rick falls into a drunken rage. But Rick perseveres and overcomes internal and external conflict to emerge a hero.

The descending arc is the antithesis of the ascending arc. Whereas the latter is defined by a journey upwards to a state of achievement, the former is defined by a journey downwards to a state of failure. Perhaps the best examples of descending arcs can be found in anti-heroes. Most not all anti-heroes face an inverted-v arc — so as to say they start in a bad state, find success by embracing their dark side, then ultimately fail.

Here are some examples of the descending arc:. Walter White is a great example of an inverted v-shaped arc. Then, he starts a financially lucrative meth business; his moral descent mirrors his social ascent. But once Walt reaches the top, he becomes overconfident and slips up, leading all the way back to the death sentence he started with.

The descending arc is almost always defined by a tragic flaw. Take Macbeth for example: Macbeth is addicted to ambition and that addiction eventually leads to his demise. When writing a descending arc, always remember to plant a tragic flaw. Character arcs are important because they show us what changes over time.

Carol Pearson notes in the preface to her book The Hero Within :. More than that, every single one of these arcs is important, in its proper order, for every person, regardless of gender. Generally speaking, the feminine arcs begin in integration and move to individuation, while the masculine arcs begin in individuation and move back to integration. Both are necessary for wholeness and growth, each leading into the next.

Stay Tuned: Next week, we will begin our journey with the Maiden Arc. Sign up to receive K. Weiland is the award-winning and internationally-published author of the acclaimed writing guides Outlining Your Novel , Structuring Your Novel , and Creating Character Arcs.

A native of western Nebraska, she writes historical and fantasy novels and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors. Miyagi is always the mage, but in looking at him, this was a role he was reluctant to take on for very personal reasons that become clear later in the movie. It is also a role he cannot help but take on.

Ah yes, now that you mention it, Mr. Miyagi does seem a great example of a Crone Arc i. It looks at foundational stories i. Puchner includes a peek at how storytelling from one part of the world affected others.

Thanks so much for sharing about The Written Word , Paddy! My feeling about Meander, Spiral, Explode was similar, although it was certainly thought-provoking. Just when I was thinking my study of story theory was slowing down, you blow my mind with something like this!

Thanks, Katie! However, every time you introduce something new, I have to go back to my WIP and rework it a bit. Creating Character Arcs was the first book of yours I came across and think that is it an essential tool I use when I have an idea for a story. In watching and reading stories I like searching for how a supporting character might have their own arc which may or may not relate to the protagonist.

This presents me with more of a challenge when I realize that every one of my characters need some sort of arc, even if they appear in the story for a very short time. Not even individual characters too, but groups can function as archetypes and have their own arcs. This promises to be an interesting and thought provoking series. Any archetypal system is just that—a system. Many exceptions can be pointed out, but I feel the larger pattern still offers truths that are important and interesting.

Thank you for the clarification. I think approaching this with an open mind will prove valuable to me. Or to put it another way, if I want it simple, I need to get out of the writing fiction business! For example, my favorite hockey player is Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and for years they could not win the championship and would lose in the playoffs in excruciating ways.

Whatever, lol. My take is that story is defined by the ending. So we never know what a story means until it ends. But by its very nature, reality is a neverending story—so the meaning is always shifting. Whenever my wife and I watch a movie based on truth, we always look up afterward how closely it actually follows reality.

So I believe arcs are imposed. Finding purpose and order helps give us a sense of control and meaning. Insightful post.

What I like right away is how this expands the parameters of storytelling. It gives us so much more room to play around. I was stuck with my character arc a few weeks ago and found your book which is the second one I buy from you and I loved it.

I thought they were archetypical characters. Unchanging protagonists are usually demonstrating Flat Arcs, in which they act as Impact Characters mentors, of sorts to the supporting characters, who are the ones to demonstrate change. I am a screenwriter and your articles definitely work for screenplays as well. You have helped me with my protagonists arc. Yes, the underlying story principles apply to almost all forms of story, both novels and screenplays among many others.

You are changing my concept of my WiP. One question: Can multiple characters in sequence create an arc?. That sounds interesting but tricky. I think it would only work in a more experimental type narrative. I think generational dramas that narrate the story of families over the course of a few generations could be an example? The journey is not individual but partially inherited. Love the challenge of your Q. My first thoughts were about lemmings.

In the typical lingo Archetype? Now who has the character arc? Society or the Proud Boys or any given protester-fictional or otherwise. PB's getting arrested right now are undergoing quite the plot arc of their own. But your Q, ALR, is about communal arc. I dare say! Then there's the "cultural shift" story of Ben Hur, but it's less powerful a novel when Wallace tries to universalize the Christ message, thus de-centering the protagonist Ben.

Yet a story about how America changed after the Civil War is still history for the books—less an arc. Okay, ramble done, but I want to follow comments for any further discussion. Thank you, your blog always provides great value information. Thanks for tackling this. I love the point that a person can do the Journeys at different stages in life. Or exactly the other way around, a hero who saves a kingdom may need to figure out how to integrate into it when he returns.

If writing a series or saga, keeping in mind that people can shift archetypes is a good way to keep the story fresh. Above, Rick Presley mentions General Iroh. A Mentor is only supposed to pass on wisdom to a worthy student, and Iroh does not give Zuko advanced firebending lessons until Zuko has learned to let go of his hatred and anger. Had Iroh shared the secret earlier, he would have been a failed Mentor. I really see these particularly life arcs and, really, all of life as a spiral.

Jamie, you bring out a very important point. Your point about Zukho having to fail before he can succeed and be granted access to the Wisdom or Hidden Power is key to his character arc. While this is a standard part of this character arc or cycle, it is so easy to do this wrong, with the turning point coming to easily or too tritely as in most Hallmark movies. What Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko do with Zukho is make it cost him dearly and also make his return very difficult as well.

Kudos to them. Thank you for a fascinating article. Two years ago, in my eighties, I started writing my first novel, and am still learning the craft of creative writing.

The concept of the archetypical journey is one I had only a passing acquaintance with a posh way of saying I knew nothing about it! The further I read, the more I was hooked, and I am looking forward to the subsequent articles in the series.

A personal niggle, if I may. Just one word sticks in my gullet: Crone! Whoever posited the naming of the stages slipped up here. It evokes images of an ugly, unkempt bent old woman, blanket clutched around her shoulders, mumbling spells; rather than the modern octogenarian, neatly dressed and lipsticked, driving herself confidently through the traffic to her bridge club, board meeting, or book signing. The names are tricky. However, from a personal perspective, I have to say I have rather fallen in love with the Crone.

I am looking forward to being a Crone one day! Looking forward to the rest of your series. Like Eric commented I thought I had figured things out decently then you unveil a whole new level of wisdom.

My protagonists male and female in my two WIPs are young and I can now see how they need to reach their goals differently. Thank you for mentioning age and gender as well as genre! Resonated with my ideas. Weiland, you are doing working on the forefront of the greatest of all 21st century mysteries: The astonishing enigma of story and its universal compelling force in human lives and history; its attraction and pull on people from everywhere and in every age; its role in all our lives now and back and back across the millennia.

You read those books in order to find universal ways to help writers composing countless stories across genres. Having read so many writing guides, and history of storytelling books, etc, I feel strongly that you are doing really remarkable work here. Let me end with a quote to back up the claim I made at the start of this comment. And now, tens of thousands of years later, when our species teems across the globe, most of still hew strongly to myths about the origins of things, and we still thrill to an astonishing multitude of fictions on pages, on stages and on screens … We are, as a species, addicted to story.

Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories. This book is about the great ape with the storytelling mind … a creature of an imaginative realm called Neverland. Neverland is your home, and before you die, you will spend decades there. We do not know why we crave story. In short, nothing so central to the human condition is so incompletely understood. So, there you have it: Ms. Weiland, you are doing leading edge research, in a way, in the great mystery that so many other 21st century disciplines are just stumbling onto and wondering why it is so little explored or understood!

Thanks for your kind words. I hope others resonate with these patterns in a similarly powerful way. At the least, I will be pointing out some excellent books that are full of good stuff for the curious writer! I have a good character… they have come into their own… and then I lose them as they become an adult… or more to the point in a lot of sequels I see the hero go into a flat character arc, and at that point follow-up story loses the drama of the character change that drove the first story….

Obviously, we all know that life goes on. One grand adventure is the end of all the adventures. Weiland will certainly give particular knowledge to take all perks. Weiland tells you. It will certainly add more knowledge of you to life and work far better. Weiland , Try it and confirm it. Weiland can help them making better selection and also provide even more experience. Weiland by downloading and install guide on link download in this website.

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Weiland within your bag. Powerful character arcs create powerful stories. Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters - but it just isn't grabbing the attention of readers or agents?

It's time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write. By applying the foundation of the three-act story structure and then delving even deeper into the psychology of realistic and dynamic human change, Weiland offers a beat-by-beat checklist of character arc guidelines that flexes to fit any type of story.

How to determine which arc - positive, negative, or flat - is right for your character. Why you should never pit plot against character.

Instead, learn how to blend story structure and character development. How to recognize and avoid the worst pitfalls of writing novels without character arcs.

How to hack the secret to using overarching character arcs to create amazing trilogies and series. And much more! Gaining an understanding of how to write character arcs is a game-changing moment in any author's pursuit of the craft. Bring your characters to unforgettable and realistic life - and take your stories from good to great!

It's the Missing Link! By Von Rupert Concise, organized, and empowering--Creating Character Arcs gives you the tools you need to not only create compelling characters, but to create compelling character-driven plots. I starting calling this book "The Missing Link" about the time I reached the half-way mark. It's that "ah-hah" book that ties together all the pieces of writing advice I've received over the years and offers guiding principles for getting a book written.

The questions at the end of the chapters are invaluable. A book that I started writing years ago, but set aside because I didn't have the skills to finish it is NOW finally taking shape with the help of this guide.

Reading the chapters and then working through the questions has produced an outline that is keeping me on track as I write each scene. Experiencing my main character's character arc step by step is an amazing experience and this book is responsible for it. Like I said, it's "The Missing Link. And if you use this book in conjunction with Wieland's other craft books, wower, you have a complete writing program that gets you from beginner to writer in no time.