Tag: plot

What makes a character seem real? Why do we empathize with some characters and not others? Backstory. Every character has one, even if we don’t know it (we’ll come back to this later). It’s what gives them depth and makes them relatable (or not). A well-rounded character needs a backstory. Why are they the way they are? To create a believable character, you need to answer these questions. You can use poetry and songwriting to explore your character’s past and help flesh them out. When writing backstories for my characters, I find it helpful to come up with three questions that might get me started with the answers I’m looking for. These include ‘What is their favorite memory?’ ‘What are their deepest hopes?’ and ‘What is their biggest fear?’.

Write What You Know

If you need inspiration, think back to your own life: where did you get the idea for your first job? What were some defining moments in school? How did certain relationships form or end? What were some of the other parts of life that contributed to making you who you are today? Remembering these things might help jog your creativity when trying to write the backstory of one of your characters. For example, you may find an interesting way to show how a character was rebellious as a child and how this impacted their decision-making later on in life. You could also make sure that any time something happens in the story, it’s always filtered through what your character would remember from his/her past.

If you’re feeling stuck with this task, try thinking about why it is important to understand a character’s background. Knowing where they came from will give you insight into why they do what they do now. By understanding where they come from, readers are more invested in them. When people read stories with compelling characters and believable backstories, they often feel connected to them. These connections make for longer reading sessions because readers care more about what happens next!

Foundations

Backstory is the history and events that made your character who they are. It includes their experiences, their relationships, and the formative moments that shaped them into the person they are today. Without one, your characters will feel flat and two-dimensional. A well-developed backstory can make them feel real and relatable to your readers. Without a strong – or at least interesting – foundation, your characters will seem unsteady and crumble at the slightest inspection.

A backstory helps ground readers in who your character is, what they care about, and where they come from. You can use this as an opportunity to let them grow as you’re writing. To show that someone who once was self-involved can now put themselves aside for others. Or maybe that someone who once had no experience with trauma has experienced something traumatic and can’t stop thinking about it. You can even show that someone who once only knew superficial relationships has found their person and knows what it means to have deep connections with people. The key is showing those changes rather than telling them outright. That starts with showing, not telling, the backstory. Not a simple task, but for a worthy character, it is an effort worth taking.

The backstory is a lot more than just learning how they got their scars or what made them a particular way. It goes beyond that and shows something about who they are as a person and how they see themselves in relation to others. At its most basic, show at least one major event in their past. A moment that impacted who they are now and influenced how they grew up. This can be trauma – like being kidnapped or witnessing a murder – or positive experiences, like winning an award for athleticism or helping someone when no one else would. Those brief moments change us into who we are today and influence our future decisions. They also create a sense of continuity between your current story and what came before. These moments can act as catalysts for future events, which help lead them towards who they become.

Before the Hook

The backstory should contain information and events that occur prior to the hook. That doesn’t mean they need to be read then. In terms of story structure, the hook will always come first. We should weave backstory throughout the entire story, offering insight during times of character growth. The more a reader gets a sense of who the protagonist is, where they came from, what they care about most in life, etc., the more empathy they’ll feel for them. We want readers to care about our characters because it makes them more real. Real people have history. You can’t really know someone without knowing their past. Empathy with the protagonist leads to empathy with other characters and a desire to find out how everyone ends up – which leads back to page one.

A character’s history is all the stuff that happened before your story starts. It’s their life up to where your story begins. History is also a part of who a character is, but it doesn’t have to be made explicit in order for the reader to understand. The reader will know what type of person they are based on their interactions with other characters in your story. Sometimes, this will be enough, but there may be instances where including the character’s backstory adds more depth or intrigue to a plot line.

Rounding Up

A well-rounded character will feel real to your readers and make your story more engaging. Try asking yourself these questions about your characters: What is their name? Where do they live? What is their occupation? How do they spend time outside of work? Who are the people in their life that care about them the most? What were some things that happened in their childhood or adolescence that shaped them into who they are today? Do they have any hobbies or interests that consume their free time? Is there something significant in their past that makes them act how they do now? If so, how did it happen and why does it still matter to them? Even if you don’t use all this information when writing your story, it will help you create realistic dialogue for your characters and flesh out minor details that may not be important for the plot but add depth to their personalities. Asking these questions about your characters before you write will also save you a lot of editing later on because you’ll know exactly who they are.

It’s not just an author trying to make us cry or scream, but using emotional connections as a means of storytelling. For example, by understanding a character like Darth Vader as a tragic figure, he becomes more human. It’s hard not to pity him when we understand his struggle with being born into such terrible circumstances and seeing everything he loved taken away from him. We’re able to see his journey through his anger-fueled actions and empathize with him. He became evil in order to survive in a world gone mad – it was all he knew how to do anymore. And even though we hate him now (and will never stop loving him for it) we still understand why he did those things: the pain inside drove him on relentlessly until he had nothing left but anger and a super cool voice.

Settings

Settings can be meaningful characters, too. In such cases, settings should also have meaningful backstories of their own. Otherwise, they become mere props in the story. A setting is more than just where the story takes place. It has a personality and uniqueness all its own. If you think about how this or that place came to be, you’ll discover additional aspects of it that will make your writing richer and more layered. The tree that your protagonist leans against for a moment’s respite may come back around as a symbol of peace later. Why not give it a history of providing others such relief? When was it planted, who else leans? What did they pray over while resting there? What stories did people tell one another when sitting beneath it together at sunset? How old is it now, and what do the leaves look like? There are so many possibilities! You never know what details might stick out in someone’s mind if they’re walking through your setting.

Back it Up

When you create a backstory, remember that it should be consistent with your other descriptions of the character: age, temperament, socio-economic status, etc., but unique enough so that it stands out and doesn’t feel like filler information. Creating believable character backstories can be challenging. If you do it correctly, you will reap its benefits when crafting your narrative.

When you craft a worthy backstory, it’s like adding in backup dancers to flesh out a performance. You’ve already got the key players on stage, now add some surprise elements for interest. Just as we might see subtle gestures from background dancers (or ballerinas) that are not part of the choreography but add depth to the dance piece, a well thought out backstory for your protagonist helps bring them alive in our minds and evoke their humanity.

-R.E.

Character arc refers to the changes that take place within a single character throughout the course of an entire story (or even across several stories) told in the same universe. While not every tale has such an arc, many do. It can be one of the most important aspects of storytelling, as it provides the growth and development that makes stories relatable and characters memorable. Many authors have different ideas about what exactly character arc is and how to create it, but this article will help you understand just what it entails and why you should care when writing your own fiction!

What is a Character Arc?

A character arc, in its simplest form, is a change or transformation in a character. This transformation happens over time, usually over several episodes of a TV show or even within one episode. There are many types of character arcs but two major categories, stories where characters start as good and become evil (sometimes known as villain arcs) and tales where characters start out as bad but end up redeeming themselves (redemption arcs). These arcs can be minor or complete transformations depending on your needs for your story.

There are several types of character arcs. The five most common are: Eustress (Positive), Distress (Negative), Flat, Upward Spiral, Downward Spiral. Eustress is a positive growth arc where your character becomes more successful through his journey to resolve his conflict. In a distress arc, your characters become less successful as he deals with obstacles in his way to achieve resolution to his conflict. A flat arc does not follow one of these traditional paths but can be anything that evolves your character over time by adding depth or layers and making them more complex. An upward spiral is when a good person tries to do something bad but then makes it right during their journey while they descend into darkness when a bad person tries to do something good but ends up making it wrong (or worse) along their journey. Finally, downward spirals happen when someone who’s bad keeps doing bad things until they reach rock bottom.

How Can You Spot a Good Character Arc?

Characters who go through transformations must eventually return to normalcy—but with something new learned from those experiences. Without exception, every hero will have gone on some type of journey before reaching a resolution. This can mean fighting off villains, discovering hidden knowledge about oneself, or saving someone close to them. Even if our heroes don’t emerge completely unscathed from battle, they still have made progress toward self-actualization.

What really defines a great character arc is being able to find meaning in that journey. Your story’s protagonist must learn an important lesson or truth that he or she can take with them in life. Ideally, your readers will see something of themselves reflected in your characters—whether it’s enduring struggle, love lost or gained, or simply what it means to be human—and come away from it feeling changed for having read it. In order for a character arc to work properly, you a believable reason for change.

The goal of any author should be to write stories that will leave an impact on readers, both emotionally and mentally. How well we do that depends not only on what happens in our plots but also on how our characters grow from beginning to end. If you’re just starting out as a writer or have been at it for years but aren’t seeing much progress in terms of personal growth for your main characters, ask yourself why that is. Are you trying too hard to follow formulaic story patterns or are you overly focused on events? If you keep telling yourself that there’s no actual difference between one protagonist and another, take some time to reflect on what truly makes them unique individuals. The answer might surprise you!

How to Create a Great Character Arc

While different writers approach characterization in various ways, there are two principal schools of thought: transformative arc vs. personal growth arc. Understanding each helps you better understand your options as a writer.

In a transformative arc, external factors drive change, such as loss or hardship. In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, for example, Tom Joad finds himself transformed from an honest man to a cold-blooded killer when his family loses their farm because of financial hardships caused by bankers.

Through a personal growth arc, protagonists find their true identity through introspection. A great example is Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Huck goes on an adventure that forces him to reevaluate what he knows of society and life. The friendship that ensues shows Huck that there’s more to life than just living for money; instead, it should be about finding yourself and living free.

There are four major steps to creating a solid character arc. Each step requires considering both sides of your story—good people becoming evil or vice versa—and reinforcing each step so that it builds on itself.

The Start

First, think about where your story starts: Who is your protagonist? What’s his or her life like? Figure out exactly what your start will be for your character; what does their life look like at its very best right now? To help yourself find ideas, try taking inventory of everything that makes up their current best life. Whatever you come up with, dig deep: don’t just list things off quickly or you might miss something important.

Once you’ve figured out what makes your character happy, look to see if there’s anything missing from their lives—and if there is, ask yourself why they feel that way. Maybe they struggle to cope with stress every day, even though other people seem fine when going through similar situations. Maybe they become prone to lying when given certain opportunities, even though it goes against all of their core values.

No matter why it happens once you discover a reason for them feeling unhappy, then you can connect those feelings to their past decisions. These pain points may be small or large, but once you realize what could have caused them, you should be able to develop your character further by asking questions about what led up to these events. Then explore any consequences stemming from choices made down the line. Sometimes characters who lie only ever tell white lies without realizing it because somewhere along the line somebody taught them that saying half-truths could save face in tough situations—so always ask why things happen too!

The Journey

What lesson is important to you? Their outlook on life may have changed, or they may have gained a better understanding of themselves. Or they might not even realize what they’ve learned until later. Consider a character who learns that all that glitters isn’t gold—that something valuable doesn’t mean it will last or be as valuable in another form. For example, your hero could lose everything they own in a fire but come out more optimistic because of it. Maybe their loss taught them how to appreciate what was important—family, friends, home. Maybe they lost all their stuff but realized what didn’t matter at all—an impressive car or designer clothes.

Whatever it is, keep it simple. Don’t worry about mapping out every single lesson learned by your character; that’s not important. In fact, sometimes learning a bit more slowly can be more interesting to watch (just ask Luke Skywalker). All that matters is that in your story they realize an important truth—or simply grow as a person—and then choose to carry that with them throughout whatever lies ahead for them. Remember, just because something doesn’t end up making sense within the plot doesn’t mean it won’t make sense within your character’s story arc. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Consider both when writing and thinking about your characters’ journeys.

The Progress

Talk directly about how she changes because of her experiences; don’t rely on backstory alone! explain why change is necessary for your character. Include examples from his past that suggest just how important it is for him to learn these lessons. Decide how you’re going to illustrate that learning process through concrete plot points—what will happen in each chapter that will show readers exactly how much progress your character has made? Explain why change is necessary for your character. Include examples from his past that suggest just how important it is for him to learn these lessons. Make sure these events are appropriate for your reader’s experience.

You also want to make sure these events tie back into either of your story’s two major themes. The character arc doesn’t need to advance every step of the way; often, it may stall out temporarily before picking up again later on. But it should always move forward overall. If there is no movement, or if it advances but then falls backward, consider revising or deleting portions of your story. Having a complete character arc can be extremely difficult for some authors, so don’t worry if yours feels like an unfinished project when you work with an editor. Save all those other details (such as motivations) until after your draft, since they may force significant changes within your characters’ development arcs. Again, at least try to touch upon them with some general notes during revision!

The Big Picture

The character arc is simply a way of expressing a character’s change in attitude, values, or both during a story. The change can be slow or quick; characters don’t have to go from being good to bad, or vice versa. Sometimes they end up somewhere in between—still imperfect but striving for improvement. Through a well thought out arc, characters change over time thanks to events in their lives, ultimately revealing something about themselves. As an author, knowing how your story ends before you write will help you develop each of your characters more fully.

Since readers often relate to your main character—especially if she goes through an arc—knowing what she starts as and where she ends will help paint her realistically on the page… no matter where her journey takes her. This concept also applies when developing secondary (or even tertiary) characters: Knowing who they are at first will give you an idea of who they become as events unfold in your narrative, creating realistic outcomes based on their personalities as established early on.

In every work of fiction, there is a discernible pattern toward an overall dramatic resolution.

When handled properly, it creates a unique tension between expectation and reality. When handled poorly, it comes across as artificial contrivance meant only to shock. Understanding the requirements of a logical and successful character arc allows you to use it effectively regardless of genre or style — mystery, romance, suspense thriller, comedy, science fiction … all genres benefit from understanding and applying one important aspect in storytelling: Change must occur if we want our stories to be taken seriously. Choosing wisely which changes belong within your plot is key to telling an engaging tale others will want to hear again and again. Through careful planning, you can avoid wasted effort.

-R.E.