This summer I'm teaching a workshop on common character arcs, and as I prepare for it, I'm wondering if I have anything new to add to the conversation. I know K. M. Weiland has covered it extensively – and expertly – in her books and blog. And most of the major names in screenwriting books dedicate a section or two to the topic, but I've been researching this topic for some time now and would like to add my two cents.
By far the best resource I've found so far in understanding character arcs is Weiland's work (linked above), and in it, she breaks down how the character arc relates to story structure, stopping at each major plot point in the story and discussing how it works to shape the character arcs. Her work is masterful, and I highly recommend checking it out, but I'd like to go a step further and talk about the types of character arcs and the topics they usually involve.
Generally, character arcs fall into one of a few categories. There are positive arcs, negative arcs, and Weiland also goes into flat arcs in her book. I plan on talking about a fourth type – gray character arcs – at some point too. But to begin with, let's establish what a character arc actually is.
Arcs are all about inner change. The best stories have characters who not only go on exciting adventures or do important things, they're about characters who learn, change, or grow along the way. This emotional change is the basis of the inner journey, and the best way to think of it is that every story starts with a character who wants something and needs something.
The want is a physical, external object, and the pursuit of it defines the character's outer journey and the story's plot.
The need is an emotional, internal lesson the character must learn, and their attempt to do so creates the character's inner journey and their character arc.
Positive arc means that a character has fulfilled their need, resulting in a successful inner journey. They've learned the emotional lesson they needed to. This doesn't necessarily mean that the character has a successful outer journey though. They don't have to get their want to have a positive character arc. Remember, character arcs aren't about a character getting what they want, it's about them learning what they need to learn and fulfilling that inner need. There are two distinct journeys, and how they relate to each other and result will depend on the type of story you want to tell.
Now that we understand what positive character arcs are and that they always result in a successful inner journey, we can break this category down further and look at the different types of positive character arcs.
I think there are two ways we can do this. The first is based on the outcome of the character's journey, and the other is based on the type of journey the character has completed.
At its most basic, there are two possible outcomes for characters with positive arcs: there are stories where the character has a positive outer journey because they fulfilled their inner journey, meaning they get both their want and their need. And there are stories where the character's inner journey changes them so much they no longer want what they originally wanted.
I'm going to refer to the former as a growth arc. This means that the character grows over the course of the story and becomes a better, more capable, more confident version of themselves. And this growth allows them to finally get the thing they wanted.
I'm going to refer to the latter as a change arc. This means that as the character learns the emotional lesson they needed to in the story, they change so much so that they no longer want the thing they wanted. They've outgrown it or moved past it.
I know it's a bit confusing because characters who grow do in fact change, and characters that change usually grow too, but I hope my definitions make it clear. Growth arcs are when characters achieve both their want and their need in a story. And change arcs are when characters change so much they no longer want the thing they first wanted because they've become a better person.
Perhaps an example would help.
Luke Skywalker from the original Star Wars has what I would call a growth arc. As the story starts, he wants to join the rebels and fight against the empire, but he can't do that because he lacks confidence and believes his uncle needs him.
Thus, Luke's want is to fight with the resistance, and Luke's need is to become more confident and independent. By the end of the film, Luke's learned to believe in himself, he's gained this confidence, and it's not only helped him join the resistance and fight with the rebels, but it's allowed him to single-handedly take down the Death Star. That's quite the successful journey!
Han, on the other hand, has what I'm calling the change arc. Han begins A New Hope wanting to be on his own. He's not worried about anyone and is only in it for the money. Han's need, however, is to learn to care about others, and as he spends more time with Luke and Leia, they inspire something in, so that by the end of the film, he's become a better person and friend. In achieving this need, he moved past his want. He doesn't get the independence and money, but he finds friends and a greater purpose, so it's a positive arc.
Does that example help?
Now that we know the two main positive arcs a character can have – a growth arc or a change arc – let's look at the most common ways characters grow or change.
There are probably a hundred different ways you can do this, and I'll admit upfront that my list is not exhaustive. These categories can be broken down further and can overlap, but I'm going to put these arcs in four main categories: arcs that involve overcoming doubt, ignorance, immaturity, and apathy.
Doubt > Confidence Arcs
The first type of arc usually involves confidence. The character needs to learn to believe in themselves, to overcome their doubt or fear, and become a better, more capable version of themselves. These arcs are usually growth arcs, and it's the most common arc for the Hero's Journey. Think about Neo from The Matrix, Harry Potter, and Luke as mentioned before. These characters have three distinct wants, but they all have a similar need: to have faith in themselves, and as soon as they gain that confidence, they win the day.
Ignorance > Truth
The second type of positive arc involves a character realizing what they think about themselves and the world around them is wrong and overcoming it by accepting a new, better truth. Their mistaken belief can be about love, money, success, anything really. The belief can be something dark and dangerous, or it can be misguided or silly. Because this arc involves overcoming a lie and accepting a new way of thinking, most of these arcs are going to be change arcs. Elle Woods from Legally Blonde is an excellent example of this. She thought she just wanted to be Warren's wife, but came to realize there was a lot more she could get from life, and ended up becoming an amazing lawyer. Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender falls in this category as well. He mistakenly believed he was helping the world by fighting for the Fire Nation's supremacy and trying to believe his father, but slowly came to realize that belief was predicated on a dangerous lie and changed, completing one of the greatest character arcs ever.
Selfishness > Maturity
The next common type of arc characters is about maturity. These are stories that start off with an arrogant or childish main character who needs to learn to grow up and be responsible to have a successful arc. Thor is a great example of a growth arc about maturity. He wants to be king of Asgard, but it isn't until he learns to truly care for others that he becomes worthy of it. I think these arcs can be either growth arcs or change arcs. Thor grows because his maturity arc helps him get what he initially wanted (being worthy of being King of Asgard), but other characters can mature past their want, such as Woody from Toy Story. He wanted to by Andy's number one, top toy and didn't want to share the spotlight. However, his character arc changed him, allowing him to realize that he would be happier sharing Andy with Buzz and the other toys.
Apathy > Love
Another common involves characters who are closed off and apathetic (or pretending to be apathetic). They don't care about anyone or anything, but as they arc, learn to open up and feel affection for others. Shrek has this arc, as does Logan in the final Wolverine film. And yes, I know he dies at the end, but his arc is still a positive one about learning to care for others. Positive arcs are just about a character achieving that successful inner journey. They don't necessarily have a happy ending. But they usually do.
There are certainly other ways we could look at these arcs. I don't think any way of breaking them down is definitive, and some of these arcs overlap. I think you could argue that Han has a combination of an ignorance, selfishness, and apathy, while Luke's is pretty much just about confidence. What's most important here is understanding what the character wants, what they need, and designing a story as tightly around the conflict between those two things as possible.
Join me in my next post on character arcs where I'll talk about the different types of negative character arcs. Until then, check out these resources to learn more!
K. M. Weiland's book Creating Character Arcs
Michael Hague's video on Understanding the Character's Inner and Outer Journeys