Katana VentraIP

Character arc

A character arc is the transformation or inner journey[1] of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to changing developments in the story. Since the change is often substantive and leading from one personality trait to a diametrically opposite trait (for example, from greed to benevolence), the geometric term arc is often used to describe the sweeping change. In most stories, lead characters and protagonists are the characters most likely to experience character arcs,[2] although lesser characters often change as well.[1] A driving element of the plots of many stories is that the main character seems initially unable to overcome opposing forces, possibly because they lack skills or knowledge or resources or friends. To overcome such obstacles, the main character must change, possibly by learning new skills, to arrive at a higher sense of self-awareness or capability. Main characters can achieve such self-awareness by interacting with their environment, by enlisting the help of mentors, by changing their viewpoint, or by some other method.

's Hamlet sees the eponymous character, once a young scholarly prince full of promise, quickly becoming a melancholic brooder after his father's death. The play shows his slow but deadly fall into madness.

Shakespeare

In 's Crime and Punishment, the protagonist Raskolnikov commits a murder that leads him on a path of redemption and, after an intense inner struggle, he realizes that he needs to be punished for his actions, reporting himself to the authorities.

Dostoevsky

's Les Misérables includes a myriad of characters that transform against the backdrop of social events. Jean Valjean starts as a selfish, violent convict and develops into a generous and loving father to Cosette, who in turn transforms from an abused, lonely and somewhat secluded child to a beautiful and caring woman.

Victor Hugo

's protagonist from her A Wizard of Earthsea quartet gradually changes from an impulsive and arrogant youth to a stoic and wise man, reconciling the darkness within and all the bad actions it had caused.

Ursula Le Guin

The series of books by George R.R. Martin shows numerous examples of complete character arcs. Daenerys Targaryen transforms from a naive young girl to a queen and a conqueror, only to fall from grace after a misuse of power. The character of Jon Snow undergoes a similar arc in embracing the need to govern and rule, and metaphorically "kills the boy and lets the man be born", only to be banished after a misuse of power.

A Song of Ice and Fire

Act (drama)

Characterization

Dynamic character

Peripeteia

Bell, James Scott (2004), Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure, Cincinnati: , ISBN 1-58297-294-X

Writer's Digest Books

Gerke, Jeff (2010), Plot versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction, Cincinnati: , ISBN 978-1-58297-992-2

Writer's Digest Books

Trottier, David (2010). The screenwriter's bible: a complete guide to writing, formatting, and selling your script (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Silman-James Press.  978-1935247029.

ISBN