What you need to know about positive character arcs and their subtypes
Stories featuring a protagonist with a positive character arc are usually about hope, inspiration, and overcoming. So, it's no surprise they are popular.
We love seeing people overcome difficult situations and uncover the error of their ways so they can change for the better.
Why?
Empathy–the ability to identify with another human being's emotional experience.
We've all had low moments. We've all faced the challenge of standing back up to go again when we didn't want to. Seeing someone else rise (even a fictional character) helps us believe we've got a shot.
Raise your hand if you've seen Rocky.
Now, I doubt many who read this are getting ready for their shot at a heavyweight boxing title, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts you've experienced being the underdog.
So, it's not the specifics of the story that matter. It's the generality.
The universal application of the theme inspires us the lace up our sneakers and pound some pavement.
In the positive arc, we see a character move from internally unfulfilled to more fulfilled by facing their inner struggle: the thing they believe about themselves and the world that does not serve them. They can only achieve their external story objective by embracing internal change.
Two subtypes of the positive character arc: Growth and Redemption.
Both arcs begin with a character who is unsatisfied with their current situation. The difference is in the emotional and social starting points of the protagonist.
Growth Arc
In a growth arc, a protagonist is usually an ordinary person and generally seen as "good or moral." Though they may be mistreated, they have done nothing externally to deserve it. They always have a faulty belief system. Despite being "good," deep down, they believe something is wrong with them, which is why they are currently unfulfilled.
As we said in the last newsletter, the protagonist will have a false belief based on a painful experience in their past (typically in their youth). Next, they have an external want based on this belief system. Finally, they possess an unconscious need that contradicts their false belief, reflecting the overarching truth they need to learn—the story's message. Read more on what you need to know to craft a character arc in this blog post.
The most famous of all growth arcs in recent genre fiction is likely Harry Potter. When we first meet Harry in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, he's a nice kid. Orphaned, neglected, and mistreated but kind and moral. He's way nicer than his Aunt, Uncle, and that spoiled brat of a cousin. However, Harry doesn't believe he will amount to much. He's lonely, timid, and uncertain at the story's beginning, but by the end, he has gained friends and is more self-assured.
Harry is an example of someone we thought was ordinary becoming extraordinary–some call this a transformational arc, but to me, that's more confusing. All arcs, except static, are transformational. Now, growth arcs do not need every protagonist to become a hero. The big takeaway is that the character begins as a discontented, ordinary fellow–at least they think they are–and they learn a truth resulting in internal growth.
Redemption Arc
This is my favorite. In a redemption arc, the character often begins at a low point personally or professionally. They've had a fall from grace, or they weren't really "good" people to start with. These characters are what we like to call morally grey. I like them because, to me, they represent true human nature. There is good and bad in all of us. What we embrace and who we become are based on our choices.
They have all the same ingredients as the other arcs: a wound, a false belief, an external want, a need or longing, and, of course, a lesson to learn. In the end, this character will make different choices than they would have at the beginning. Their unredeemable acts cannot be swept away, but they will learn to overcome them because the story's conflict will force them to see and admit the error of their ways.
The most classic redemption story I can think of is Scrooge, the protagonist in Charles Dickens's novella A Christmas Carol. Scrooge goes from a miserable penny-pinching miser to a benevolent benefactor because of what happens in the story.
My all-time favorite redemption story is by Sarah J. Maas, who wrote A Court of Silver Flames. The protagonist Nesta Archeron, goes from an angry, self-loathing alcoholic who is jealous of her sister and secretly blames herself for their parents' death to a brave, selfless person who finally sees she deserves love. That's a story that makes my heart pump.
Regardless of Growth or Redemption, the story's structure will force these characters to see the truth of their faulty belief system and embrace a new belief and way of living.
The setup shows the protagonist living life fully invested in their false belief.
The inciting incident creates a problem, and they try to solve it based on their flawed belief system. This often looks like denial or resistance. In Harry Potter, his muggle family resists change for him but Harry feels powerless to stop it.
By the time they hit the first plot point or the choice to jump into the second act, it's clear they can't solve the problem via their usual MO, so they act, but their actions are still in service to the false belief.
By the midpoint, the character has seen and experienced enough conflict that their eyes become open to how their flawed system is failing them, but most of the time, they think a slight re-jigger is all that is necessary. They don't really have to change all the way.
Then, at the all is lost moment, everything blows up in their face because although they know that inner change is possible, it isn't worth the risk of facing the pain of their wound. It costs them dearly, and they see they must change or lose everything. Of course, they may still lose everything even if they do change, but by now, it's worth it, regardless of the outcome.
At the climax, they reject their false belief and act directly from its inverse. Because of this, they can finally defeat the antagonistic force and achieve the external story objective.
The resolution shows the character living by a new set of rules because they have embraced the thematic truth the plot forced to learn, and we think … thank goodness they did.
Takeaways for crafting a positive arc of change:
All positive arcs begin with a discontent and unfulfilled protagonist who becomes more content and more fulfilled by the end of the story because they face their false belief and learn a new way of being.
There are two subtypes of positive arcs: Growth and Redemption.
Growth arcs generally begin with "good or moral" characters who are ordinary.
Redemption arcs begin with "bad or morally grey" characters.
The story's structure will force these characters to see the truth of their faulty belief system and embrace a new belief and way of living.
Making the internal change allows the protagonist to defeat the antagonistic force and achieve the external story objective.
The internal change in a positive character does not need to be dramatic (ordinary to extraordinary). It just needs to be significant to prove the story's point!
Next time, we will chat about the ins and outs of negative character arcs!
