Character Arc Part Two

Last week we looked at Character Arc for our heroes. What about our villians? Do we need a completed Character Arc for them, as well? I believe so. Readers like well defined characters, whether good or bad. Villians need to be real or we won't believe our heroine really is in trouble. And villians need growth and change. But don't get me wrong. It doesn't mean your villian must be redeemed, although that works for some stories (remember Return of the Jedi?) Change/growth can be for the good or bad.

How are you handling the Character Arc for your villian? I can't wait to hear.

Character Arc

My annual weekend retreat with my private writer's group was this past weekend. We studied charactar arc, which is very timely since it's the next thing I want to talk about here.

What is character arc? Simply put, it's the path a character takes toward the end of the book. How they grow or change. It can a change for the better or a change for the worse. Significant or small. In some stories, characters don't really *change*. But characters should experience growth.

In fantasy, we can play more with character arc. And we have the freedom to include at least one character who is totally evil and doesn't change, except for being defeated (killed) by the hero. In LOTR, Sauron, the dark lord, is totally evil, has no personality and does not change. But he's not really a main character, even though he's the main antagonist. Saruman, however, does go through a change - for the worse. We don't see him before he turns over to Sauron's side, but we know he was not always this way because Gandalf tells us. And we see him fall deeper and deeper into Sauron's power.

So, let's look at character arc. This week, we'll start with your hero's character arc. In the beginning of your story, where is your hero emotionally, spiritually, mentally? What is their hidden need? Where are they in the middle? The end? Have you given the reader a completed, satisfying character arc? Where do you want to see your hero land? What is the end point? What growth do you hope to see at the end?

Lots of questions. You don't have to post an answer to every one, but I've included them to help you really see your hero and ponder where you want them to go. Let's talk!

Ideas

Sorry to be late in posting this week. I lost a beloved friend from high school to cancer yesterday. I've been thinking of nothing else.

I'd like to talk about ideas. I think we may have touched on this subject, but let's talk about it again.

Ideas are everywhere. They come out of the blue. They come from seeing something - a picture, a friend, a movie, another book. The Bible says there's nothing new under the sun, so when we get an idea, we have to make sure we give it enough of a twist to make it fresh.

Where do your ideas come from? How do you decide which ideas are keepers? How do your life experiences help? How do they hinder?

Let's talk!

Happy New Year and Setting Goals

We had some good discussion on The Hero's Journey. I hope it's helped you with your writing.
Here is a brief overview:

Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD, where they recieve the CALL TO ADVENTURE. They are RELUCTANT at first, or REFUSE THE CALL, but are encouraged by a MENTOR to CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where they encounter TESTS, ALLIES and ENEMIES. They APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossed a second threshold where they endure the SUPREME ORDEAL. They take possession of the REWARD and are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World.

The Hero's Journey is a skeletal framwork that needs fleshing out with details and surprises of the individual story. The structure shouldn't call attention to itself or followed too precisely. The order of the stages above is only one of many combinations. The stages can be deleted, added to and shuffled around without losing any of its power. Only you, as the author, can determine what your story requires.

So, now we face a New Year. This is a good time to set some goals and share them. It's important to have encouragement to keep our goals, so let's help each other and hold each other accountable. What are your writing goals for 2010?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas Greetings from North Carolina! I can still say Merry Christmas because today is the 4th Day of Christmas! I'm at my brother's house in Fayetteville, which is quite a ways from New Jersey. A bit warmer, too. :)

I hope your Christmas celebration was joyful and memorable. Truly, it's amazing to me that God pushed aside his glory just enough to let humanity in. How much He loves us!

There's no new topic today - just wishes for a blessed and happy 2010. We'll review The Hero's Journey briefly next week and then will be off on new topics. I'm looking forward to more great discussion on the wonderful world of fantasy writing!

Thanks for participating. I am blessed and encouraged by each one of you!

Fondly,

pam <><

Return With The Elixir

Here is where the hero returns to the Ordinary World, but the journey is meanlingless if he doesn't bring back some kind of treasure or lesson from the Special World. It might be a magic potion with the power to heal or a great treasure like the Grail that magically heals the wounded land. Or it might simply be knowledge or experience that could be useful to the community someday. The Elixir may be a treasure won on the quest or it could be love, freedom, wisdom or the knowledge the Special World exists and can be survived. Sometimes it's coming home with a good story to tell.

We Seekers come home at last, purged, purified and bearing the fruits of our journey ... There will be other adventures, but this one is complete, and as it ends, it brings deep healing, wellness and wholeness to our world. The Seekers have come Home.

There are two branches to the end of the Hero's Journey; the circular form, in which there is a sense of closure and completion. And the "other" way; an open-ended approach, which there is a sense of unanswered questions, ambiguities and unresolved conflicts.

The Return can fall flat is everything is resolved too neatly or just as expected. A good Return should untie the plot threads, but with a certain amount of surprise; a little taste of the unexpected or a sudden revelation.

A special job of the Return is to hand out final rewards and punishments. It's part of restoring balance to the world of the story, giving a sense of completion. Punishment should fit the crime and have the quality of poetic justice.

Many stories fall apart in the final moments, so we have to be careful how we handle this all important part of the story. We've taken our readers on a fine adventure. Nothing is worse than a bad ending. How are you handling this part of your story?

The Road Back

Sorry I'm posting late again. Getting my Christmas sewing done is making me crazy! But in a good way. :) We are almost done The Hero's Journey and will finish up next week. Then we'll start something new in January.

The Road Back
Just when you thought you were done ... your hero is not out of the woods yet. Now he has to deal with the consequences of confronting the dark forces of the Supreme Ordeal. If he hasn't managed to reconcile with the dark forces, they may come raging after him. And he has a choice to make; does he return back to the starting point or does he continue on the journey to a new location/destination?

This is where your story's energy can be revved up again. The Road Back marks a time when the hero rededicates himself to the adventure. It's a turning point that marks the beginning of the end of your book. It can be another moment of crisis that sets the hero on a new and final road of trials.

This is where the antagonist retaliates. What the hero "throws down" in a chase (to trick or hinder the persuing enemy) may represent a sacrifice or the leaving behind of something of value. Or the enemy may steal the treasure or kidnap an ally.

Not every book deals with this part of The Hero's Journey, but I'm thinking there may be a little of it in every story. And there are many ways to handle it. How are you dealing with The Road Back?