Character Arc is Not All About Change

But that would mean William Wallace in Braveheart had no arc, and neither did Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive.  Both of these are great stories, but according to the definition above they’re flawed.

What most story people don’t realize is that when they talk about character arc they are referring to what Dramatica calls the Main Character’s Growth.  Growth is all about whether or not the character is moving towards something or away from something - not whether or not they change.  You can grow as a person and still hold on to your beliefs - they just get stronger.

Both Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford’s characters have a character arc - both grow in their resolve as they hold out for the oppressive situations around them to alter.  Mel fights the subjugation of his people by the King of England while Harrison holds out against the obvious reality that he’s the only suspect in his wife’s murder.

So the next time you’re in a story meeting or reading a friend’s script, amaze them with your new found knowledge that just because a character doesn’t change, they can still have an “arc.”

Technorati Tags: screenwriting, story

Welcome to the place where story is king!

Hey there, it looks like you might be new around here. If so, consider the following a friendly introduction to the vast amount of story-related material available to you.

On this site, story is everything. When it comes to film -- the acting, the directing, the visual effects, the cinematography -- they're all window dressing compared to what the film is actually about. In other words, all those endeavors are pointless if the story does not work. And that's precisely what this site explores: what makes a story work.

If this is your first time here you might want to read what character arc really means. It helps to clarify a popular term that is often misunderstood. The concept of a ticking clock is also one that is often misused. To understand why, you might want to read of ticking clocks and the ending of stories.

Or maybe you're more interested in how to meaningfully end a movie or why the Main Character does not always have to be the protagonist of a story. These, and countless more articles like them can be found in the story structure section.

But perhaps you'd rather dive head first into some deep analysis. In that case you might want to check out the analysis of Children of Men or Hotel Rwanda. Both investigate the deep structures that lie beneath these great films.

Of course, if your tastes veer more towards the short synopsis, pithy analysis can be found on the movie reviews page.

Whatever you decide to do, know that on this site, films are considered lifeless if they don't have a meaningful story. If this idea resonates with you, then understand that you have found a home.