Stories have the power to move, inspire, and enlighten. How exactly, though, does a story have the power to affect the reader so profoundly? The answer to that question starts with your character arcs.

What Is a Character Arc?

A character arc is the process of change that a character experiences by going through a journey. That change can either be an internal change, marked by the character’s personal growth, or external change, marked by change in the society around the character. That change can also be for better or worse.

As such, we generally consider that there are three types of character arcs: positive, negative, and steadfast. But before I explain how these three character arcs work, let’s talk about why character arcs exist in the first place.

One of the most fundamental parts of the human experience is discovering meaning in life. You can call it enlightenment, calling, purpose, or self-discovery, but no matter your world view, every person is tasked with discovering their own way in the world, their own identity, and their own purpose. There is no one answer to the questions who am I, what narrative should I embrace to make sense of the world, and how should I exist within it? Everyone needs to find their own answers to those questions for themselves.

Bringing this philosophy back to narrative theory, character arcs are all about how a character finds their own answers to those questions through their own personal journey. Witnessing the character’s journey ignites empathy within the reader, and as the reader gets lost in the story, they join the character on that journey. Joining that journey allows the reader to explore new identities, new ways of experiencing the world, and different paths of growth, be it constructive or destructive. That shared journey of self-discovery and growth is the crux of what makes stories meaningful.

So, with the purpose of character arcs in mind, let’s start with looking at positive character arcs.

Positive Character Arcs

Positive arcs are when a character starts the story believing something destructive or inhibiting. By the end of the story, the protagonist grows as a person and successfully replaces the destructive belief with a constructive belief. Usually, that positive change in worldview is what allows the protagonist to succeed in their ultimate external goal.

For example, in the DreamWorks film How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup follows a positive character arc. He starts the story believing the lie that the only way to be popular and meaningfully contribute to his community is to overcome his scrawny smallness and become a mighty dragon slayer. By the end of the story, he’s learned that dragons are not evil, that protecting (not killing) dragons is the solution to his community’s dragon problems, and that protecting dragons is more important than being socially accepted in his community. This personal growth allows Hiccup to rescue his dragon Toothless and save his community. Hiccup follows a positive character arc.

Negative Character Arcs

In negative character arcs, the character starts the story believing something good and constructive. But by the end of the story, the character becomes disillusioned and embraces a destructive identity and worldview.

Anakin’s journey in the Star Wars prequels follows this negative character arc. He starts the story with the constructive belief that, by becoming a Jedi, he will have the power to protect the vulnerable and save those he cares about. By the end of the trilogy, Anakin realizes that being a Jedi won’t be enough to save his love’s life. Feeling he has no other path to protect her, Anakin embraces the dark side to gain the power he needs to save his wife. In doing so, he inadvertently kills her himself. By the time he realizes the folly of his new chosen path, it is too late. He has embraced his new identity as a Sith lord, and he believes there is no path back into the light. Anakin follows a negative character arc.

But what if the character’s beliefs don’t change? Well, then they’re either a static or steadfast character.

Steadfast Character Arcs

Steadfast characters are the characters that hold steadfast to their beliefs and, in doing so, change the people around them. These characters don’t change their own identity and worldview, but instead change the identity and worldview of the larger society around them. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a steadfast character arc. By holding steadfast to her identity as a protector of the good and vulnerable, Katniss is able to defy the capitol and any character that comes to embody institutionalized corruption. In doing so, she helps her society change and become a better place.

Not every steadfast character arc is positive force for good though. Every so often, you find destructive steadfast characters who change the world by harming rather than helping it. Francis Underwood in the Netflix show House of Cards is an excellent example of a steadfast yet destructive character. From beginning to end, Francis is a heartless and manipulative politician whose only goal is to achieve power at any cost. He never changes, but his character arc is still interesting and dynamic because of the profound (and disturbing) influence he has on the world around him. Even though he’s an evil character, he isn’t following a negative character arc. The lack of character growth and personal change means that he is instead following a destructive steadfast arc.

Static Characters

I know I said there were only three character arcs, but this one isn’t really an arc. A static character follows a flat trajectory. Static characters are the ones that don’t change as a person and don’t change the society around them. Static characters are usually either secondary or tertiary characters. Secondary characters are those who play a role in the plot but aren’t the protagonist. Many secondary characters do have fleshed out character arcs, but many others don’t. Tertiary characters exist in the background, populating in the world but not affecting the plot in any significant way. These characters just exist to fill in a crowd or sell the protagonist a doughnut. We see tertiary characters so briefly that they pretty much never have a character arc.

Unlike secondary or tertiary characters, your protagonist should not be static. If travelling through a dramatic journey doesn’t change the protagonist or the surrounding society, the character will feel superficial. In the Twilight saga, a lot of dramatic events happen, but those events never change the characters. Their situations change, but their fundamental identities and worldviews don’t. I think this lack of personal growth is a key reason why Twilight often feels superficial to a critical eye.

Why Compelling Character Arcs Are an Important Part of Any Book

In the world of literary theory, there is a lot of talk about whether a story is plot driven or character driven. While those two terms are useful, it’s problematic to think of character and plot as incompatible opposites that you, the writer, will have to choose between when writing your book.

While entirely plot-driven fiction exists and has been commercially successful, and while entirely character-driven fiction exists and has received critical acclaim, it’s not helpful to think of character and plot as incompatible opposites. Your story can have both a gripping plot and compelling character arcs. You can write accessible commercial fiction with compelling, meaningful character arcs. You can also write profound literature with a gripping plot and pacing. Such stories that master both these areas are my favourite to read. There’s a good chance that they’re your favourite to read too. So why not aim to achieve both in your own writing?

The first step to crafting meaningful and compelling narratives is to ensure that your protagonist has a compelling character arc. The key to a compelling character arc is that the protagonist goes on an interesting journey of change. That change can be within the character or within the character’s society, and that change can be constructive or destructive. The key is that the protagonist’s personal journey is dynamic, that they grow. The hardest challenges, and the ones that are most interesting to read about, are the challenges that require us to grow and change to overcome them. The challenges that will break us if we don’t. Those are the stories that have the power to leave the reader changed. To teach or to warn. To make the reader feel as though they have just finished a story that was worth reading.