PART 1

I’ve been reading KM Weiland’s Creating Character Arc recently, which has led to some significant insights into story-craft.

The idea that the character’s inner struggle and goals should mirror the overarching theme of the story revealed two important insights. Many stories have disconnected protagonists whose goals don’t align with the overall theme. Like reaching a fork in the road and trying to follow both paths, it confuses the readers and disempowers the overall message trying to be conveyed.

Second, the theme must be personal. This introduces the lie. Your protagonist should believe whatever lie or misconception rooted in some deeply held belief or intense emotional distress. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering like war, or serious illness, or abuse, or abandonment. It can be loneliness or doubt in oneself. It must provent the protagonist from moving forward toward progress and achieving his goal.

When plot, character goals, and themes align, it adds to a fulfilling arc. The theme and lie question thier reality.

It turns out that stating that something isn’t true isn’t enough. Show your audience what is. For example, in the film Secondhand Lions, his mother abandons a young boy on the doorstep of her uncles that he has never met, so she can continue to pursue an empty life of chasing unfulfilling relationships. The four main characters – the two uncles, the son, and the mother – have their own lie and goals. The son is the protagonist, and the story is told from his perspective. So, his is the key lie and the primary goals that we follow and that most closely reflect the theme of the story.

The Lie that he tells himself is: The people you love will always lie to and abandon you. We see this from the inciting incident when his mother leaves him with her two uncles making vague promises about her return. Through the course of the film, the boy learns what love and family are and that he shouldn’t fear loving and trust people. When his mother does return, with yet another boyfriend who abuses her and the boy, his uncles have showed that people who love you will protect you, not exploit or abandon you, and choose to stay with his uncles.

When you create your character’s arc—the journey of dispelling a lie or misconception of themselves or the world—it’s not enough to show us the lie or even have your character recognize the lie. To have a satisfying story, your character must learn and embrace what is true.