Writing Tips - Character Arcs

A great character changes throughout a story.
We explored character arcs in my Thursday Story Club for young writers at Thrive cafe.

Elsa undergoes a big transformation in the movie Frozen. At the start, she fears her own power and believes she must hide from the world. Her emotional outbursts that cause ice to flow where she doesn’t want it to flow.

Elsa at the end is cool, calm, confident. She’s in control of her ice power. She realises her power can be used for good.

How can we make sure our characters change and grow in our stories? Sketching out a before and after pic can help. And, it might help to consider these questions:

1. What is the character’s GOAL (what do they want?)

2. What is the character’s CONFUSION or the LIE (what do they believe about themselves or the world that is not true)?

3. What is the TRUTH (what does the character learn/how do they change)?

I hope these questions will help you create strong characters with good narrative arcs!