In a new post, Janice Hardy identifies the five turning points in a character arc. “Just like a plot, the character arc has several turning points that fall at specific structural moments throughout the novel,” she says. “There’s wiggle room as to where, but they generally fall along the same path as the plot, since the plot is what triggers or impacts these moments.” Caveat: not every story needs a character arc. But when your story does, keep these points in mind.
- Establishing the Protagonist’s Flaw. Usually shown in the opening or very early in your novel, this scene shows your protagonist’s flaw and how it makes life more difficult. This point establishes your character’s baseline and signals the emotional growth the reader can expect over the course of the story.
- The Protagonist’s First Mistake. Building from the flaw, your protagonist errs in a big way. “It might be a bad decision, or believing someone they shouldn’t, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but their flaw and emotional issue contributes to them being in this situation and screwing up,” Hardy writes. Often this error is what sets your story in motion, as your character realizes she needs to change.
- The Attempt to Grow Fails. Of course, change isn’t easy. Your character might attack the symptoms of their problem, but not the cause. “Often, this attempt to grow is the lazy character’s way out of the problem,” Hardy notes. “They put forth the bare minimum of effort to change things, because fixing the real problem takes too much work or requires facing truths they’re not ready to face.”
- A Major Screw Up or Rejection of Growth. At this point, your character’s attempts to change have failed or they may resist embracing the final change they need but don’t want. “This usually happens at the end of the second act, and triggers the dark moment of the soul,” Hardy says. “Often, this is the moment when the character has no choice but to face that the problem is them and they’re the only one who can do anything about it. They might not be ready to accept it, but they can’t run from it any longer.”
- The Realization of Growth. At your denouement, your hero embraces change, which allows them to succeed. “They’re in a situation where they know their old behavior isn’t going to be successful, so they have no choice but to embrace the change and do what they know deep down they need to do,” Hardy explains. “Defeating the “bad guy” (however that appears in the story) means doing things differently, and old habits will clearly not work. The only way to win is to embrace the change they’ve been struggling with all book.”
