STORY CHARACTER ARC
By this point you should have your story mostly drafted and the plot points clear. Now comes a robust revision in which you align your character development to the plot points. At each plot point your character faces decisions that will change them. They must grow, do things they wouldn’t do, learn, change.
Review each plot moment in your story and revise your character actions, reactions, dialogue so we can really see growth/change motivated by the plot events. You can adapt the plot events to match of course.
This is not a minor tweak, but a major revision. “Kill your darlings” as they say, in order to make the story stronger. Feedback is often key here–so find a buddy who can help. (Keep a copy of your previous version as you make changes, in case there are times you want to use or revert!!)
Use the outline below to indicate any changes or additions to your character or plot. See Story Structure for more tips/diagrams
- Hook:
- Inciting event (call to action, or refusal of call):
- First Plot Point or Key event (where protagonist is committed to the journey):
- Second Plot Point, or Midpoint (can be reversal or moment of truth, but there’s no going back from here):
- Third Plot Point (false victory, or failure moment)
- Climax (story hangs between values of protagonist & values of antagonist):
- Resolution ( new equilibrium):