Character arcs are one of those things you don’t always notice when they’re working, but you definitely feel it when they’re not.

For most of us, that’s the real reason we stick with a story in the first place. We want to see what happens to the characters, how they deal with what’s thrown at them, and whether they come out of it any different than when they started.

That change is the arc.

At the beginning of a story, a character is usually operating one way, seeing the world a certain way, making decisions based on who they are at that moment. Then things start happening. They run into problems, people, situations they weren’t ready for, and little by little, something starts to shift.

Sometimes that change is obvious, like learning a new skill or stepping into a completely different role. Other times it’s quieter, more internal, like realizing they were wrong about something, or starting to see someone else differently.

Either way, by the time you reach the end, they’re not the same person.

And that shift doesn’t happen on its own. It comes from everything they’re forced to deal with along the way: the obstacles, the pressure, the moments where they have to make a choice and live with it.

The stronger those moments are, the more believable the change feels.

And while a lot of stories move toward some kind of positive growth, that’s not the only direction an arc can go, which we’ll get into next.

Why Character Arcs Matter

Character arcs matter because they’re usually the thing people are responding to, even if they don’t call it that.

You can have a great premise, an interesting world, all the right pieces in place, but if nothing really changes for the character, the story tends to feel flat by the time you get to the end.

I’ve seen this a lot in early drafts. Everything is technically there, the plot moves, things happen, but the character is basically the same person in the last chapter as they were in the first, and it leaves the whole thing feeling like it didn’t quite land.

Part of the reason arcs work so well is that they mirror how we experience things in real life.

People change. Sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once, sometimes in ways they don’t expect. They learn things, get things wrong, adjust, and keep going. When a story reflects that in a believable way, it’s easier to stay invested in what’s happening.

That’s also why we tend to care more about the character than the plot itself.

We’re not just watching events unfold. We’re watching what those events do to someone, and whether they come out of it differently.

Most of the time, that means some kind of growth.

But not always. Some stories go the other direction, where the character ends up worse off than they started, and those can be just as compelling when they’re done well, because you can see exactly how they got there.

Either way, the arc is what gives the story weight. Without it, things can still happen, but it’s harder for any of it to stick.

Types of Character Arcs

In general, there are three types of character arcs:

• Positive change arc
• Negative change arc
• Flat character arcs

Let’s break these down.

Positive Change

A positive change character arc is where the hero improves by the end of  the story. 

This is by far the most common type of character arc, and generally accepted as the most sought after among audiences.

A character will usually start out with some kind of flaw, and over the course of the plot, will confront and overcome that flaw.

Examples of positive character arcs include:

• Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
• Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit
• Woody in Toy Story
• Luke Skywalker in Star Wars
• Jamie Lannister in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
• Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.

Negative Change

A negative change character arc is where the character falls or otherwise gets worse by the end of the story.

Usually a character will start out with some redeemable qualities, things that give them great potential for an expected positive character arc.

However, over the course of the story, that character will begin to fall, rather than rise, and the obstacles put in their path will eventually lead to a downward path instead of building them up.

These arcs are great when done well, because they act as a sort of morality tale, warning us of the paths we should not take.

They also happen to be truly engaging for a lot of people, but not if they’re expecting a happy ending. Should that be the case, you might want to consider making it clear from the beginning that your story has a negative character arc.

Examples of negative character arcs include:

• Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby
• Walter White in Breaking Bad
• Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
• Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
• Hamlet in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
• Michael Corleone in The Godfather

Flat Arcs

A flat character is one that does not change over the course of the story, but very often affects change in others.

Some authors will tell you that you should never have flat characters, because all too often, most well-written stories do not have them.

For these authors, having a flat character means you did not put in all the work needed to build up the character arcs, making it a sign of lazy writing.

However, that is not always the case, and you can absolutely have intentionally flat characters.

A good flat character will instigate change in others, either by building them up, tearing them down, inspiring, or driving to action.

So while a flat character won’t have an arc per se, you can still use the term “flat arc” because it refers to the influence that character has on other people.

Examples of effective flat characters include:

• Beowulf in Beowulf
• Sherlock Holmes in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• James Bond in the Bond series
• Pollyanna in Pollyanna
• William Wallace in Braveheart
• Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones series

Side note: do you notice that most of these flat characters have series named after them?

How to Write an Amazing Character Arc

Alright then, so how do you actually write a great character arc. Because, let’s face it, a lot of authors don’t. 

There’s a reason why flat character arcs are usually considered lazy writing, because 99% of them are.

So my first tip, before we actually get into the step-by-step process, is to actually spend the time to build a character arc for each character (unless you’re intentionally going flat). 

Eventually, as you have more and more practice building character arcs, it will come more naturally, and you won’t have to spend as much time on it.

With that said, let’s look at how you can build each story arc. 

How to Write a Positive Change Character Arc

In a positive change arc, the protagonist should start with a flaw, something that prevents them from accomplishing their goals throughout the story, and which will create obstacles, or stop the protagonist from overcoming obstacles. 

It is in the confrontation of this flaw that change is made.

Now, a good positive arc is usually made up of a few key components.

1. The Goal: This is the driving force behind the action, the thing that makes your character go from his/her place of safety and go into the unknown. The hero's journey is a good example of a basic plot that provides a goal for the hero.
2. The Lie: This is part of that flaw, something that the hero tells themself, or is a deeply rooted part of themself, which keeps them from reaching their full potential.
3. The Truth: This is that thing that the character must embrace in order to excel and become a good character. It drives the character’s growth. When the character confronts the lie and embraces the truth, their internal arc is reached.

Let’s take a look at this structure in action in two case studies.

Case Study: Elle Woods in Legally Blonde

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In Legally Blonde the main character, Elle Woods, has each of these steps to a good character arc.

• The Goal: Elle starts out with the goal to get into Harvard so she can prove herself to the man she loves.
• The Lie: Elle tells herself that if she can just be with Warner, she will be happy. She views happiness as something that is conditional on how others view her.
• The Truth: As the story progresses, Elle has to confront the truth that conforming to the woman Warner wants won’t bring her happiness, but that confidence, her own achievements, and her self-worth are what she actually needs. By the end, she embraces the truth by embracing her truest self.

If you’re ever looking for a great masterclass in character development, Legally Blonde is a good one.

Case Study: Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Avatar: The Last Airbender is a master example of so. Many. Good. Character arcs.

But shining above the rest is Prince Zuko, the exiled Fire Nation royalty who acts as an antagonist to the hero for much of the series. Here is how the writers created the arc for Zuko.

• The Goal: Zuko wants to capture the Avatar in order to redeem himself in his father’s eyes.
• The Lie: Zuko believes that capturing the Avatar will restore his honor and make his father proud of him again.
• The Truth: As the story progresses, Zuko realizes that there is no honor in serving a tyrant, that his father is not worthy of his devotion, and that his loyalties are better served in helping the Avatar.

If you have not seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, you should look it up. It truly is a masterpiece of storytelling.

How to Write a Negative Change Character Arc

In a negative arc, the character usually falls to some state that is worse than they were in before. This can be an inner struggle for the protagonist, but it can also be simply that the world is worse off than before. 

Sometimes a negative change arc can be a prelude to a positive one, though usually this doesn’t happen in the same story, but in a sequel or even sequel series.

For example, Anakin Skywalker has a negative arc, even though he is eventually redeemed in the original Star Wars trilogy.

So, let’s talk about how to make people go bad…

The narrative arc follows the same structure as a positive one:

1. The Goal: Just as with the positive arc, the protagonist has a goal, in this case, the goal is driven by the Lie.
2. The Lie: This is the crux of a negative change arc. The hero embraces the lie, uses it to fuel their journey, and it is the primary reason why they are bound to fall. Because they won’t listen to the truth.
3. The Truth: At some point the protagonist will be confronted with the Truth, the message that the Lie they’ve believed will not help them. However, rather than embrace this truth, the hero disregards it, leading to the negative change arc.

Let’s look at two examples:

Case Study: Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

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While perhaps not the best-written story and dialogue, the Star Wars prequels do give us a solid example of a negative character arc.

Anakin goes from being an innocent boy with so much hero potential, to becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith, in the span of three movies, and mostly in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Here’s the general progression:

• The Goal: Anakin wants to save the ones he loves from death
• The Lie: He believes that if he learns all he can about the Force, he can do it. He also believes that the Jedi are holding him back from achieving his goal.
• The Truth: In seeking for the goal, Anakin is actually creating the problem he seeks to stop. There are consequences to his actions.

In the end, Anakin ends up drawn down a lonely path, without any loved ones. Because he rejected the Truth and continued to pursue the Lie anyway, which led to his downfall.

Case Study: Walter White in Breaking Bad

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One of the best examples of a negative arc in recent years is Breaking Bad. In it, Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher, discovers he has cancer and chooses to make crystal meth as a way of financing the treatments.

His negative story arc follows the same process:

• The Goal: Walter wants to sell enough meth to pay for cancer treatment and secure his family’s future.
• The Lie: Walter is prideful. He believes that his situation entitles him to break the law. He believes he can do so with no consequences.
• The Truth: Walter doesn’t realize that his actions will have consequences, that he cannot protect his family from them, and that his actions will make things worse.

In the end, Walter ends up without a family, without a job, and in mortal danger because of what he did, and because he did not recognize the Truth and turn from the Lie in time.

How to Write a Flat Character Arc

A flat character already knows the Truth before the story starts, or at least within Act 1. They do not need it for their own change.

Instead, the people around flat characters are affected and go through the process of learning and growing.

The steps for those people are the same:

1. The Goal: A flat character will likely have a goal, but will help bring others along with them in the pursuit of that goal
2. The Lie: The other characters will see the flat character and get the wrong idea, thinking they are all pursuing the goal for the wrong reason
3. The Truth: The flat character will help reveal the Truth to the supporting characters, helping them see the true goal.

Flat characters aren’t necessarily good or bad. They can be either, or they can be gray. But they do usually serve as bouncing boards for other characters in their own journey.

For example…

Case Study: William Wallace in Braveheart

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William Wallace is the perfect example of a flat character. William’s goals and ideals never change throughout the course of Braveheart. He remains the same.

However, as the story progresses he manages to inspire others, bringing them to his side, and convincing them of the need for Scottish freedom.

This is especially true of Robert the Bruce, who goes through a positive change arc that looks something like this:

• The Goal: William convinces Robert to join with him in achieving Scottish independence.
• The Lie: Robert believes that full-scale war is the wrong action, that more can be accomplished through peaceful negotiations, or by working with the English king.
• The Truth: Robert eventually learns through William’s conviction that he was wrong, that Scottish independence is worth fighting for.

In the end, others have character arcs in this film, but not William. He is the instigator of those arcs.

Where This Starts to Click

At a certain point, character arcs stop being something you think about and start being something you notice while you’re writing.

You’ll have a character in a scene, something happens, they react a certain way, and you realize that reaction is different from how they would’ve handled it earlier in the story.

That’s the arc showing up.

And most of the time, that doesn’t come from getting everything perfect up front. It comes from working through the story, putting the character in situations, and seeing what holds up and what doesn’t.

Some arcs will feel flat. Some will feel forced. That’s part of it.

But the more you work with characters in that way, the easier it gets to spot where the change should happen, and what actually makes it feel earned.