How can you create a compelling story arc for your protagonist?

As a Writer with a passion for dramatic storytelling and a keen interest in theatrical devices, creating a compelling protagonist story arc can be a fascinating and rewarding endeavour. Drawing inspiration from theatrical principles such as Stanislavski's 'Naturalism' and Strasberg's 'Method acting' can provide excellent guidance for shaping a protagonist's journey. Stage 1: Defining Your Protagonist's Goal Begin by clearly defining your protagonist's goal – the driving force behind their actions and decisions. This goal sets the stage for the entire narrative, providing direction and purpose.

Often the best stories are rooted in authenticity. The protagonist has to have a problem they are trying to solve. All great stories often also involve a psychological twist on the way to a resolution. Here's an example of a story arc for you to consider: Let's say there is a movie titled "The Spike of Destiny" and it is promoted as a girl who overcame her short stature to become one of the greatest volleyball players ever. Yet, as we start learning about 1/3 through the story, there is some conflict with the mother that only grows as the story unfolds. Near the end, at the Olympics perhaps, the mother and daughter a way to compromise their conflict and learn to embrace their love. The story is about mothers and daughters, not volleyball.

Don't fall for the trap of setting a too big goal. Your protagonist doesn't necessarily have to save the world. Their goal might be as simple as cashing out an overdue salary from their greedy boss, or making back home in time for Christmas. The goal doesn't have to be noble either. Maybe your protagonist is just a cynical cowboy interested in nothing but the land and a stash of dollars. Anti-heroes can be the most fascinating protagonists of all.

The process of defining a protagonist's goal is different in my experience if you are writing narrative drama or creating content for a brand where by the consumer should be the protagonist. For narrative, you are creating a character with needs, wants and desires and making them want something, and then on their journey, they get what they need. For brands, the consideration is more a case of revealing what the consumer needs and how the brand helps get them there.

Don’t worry about goals; think about wants and needs. Put the wants and needs in conflict with each other. The story ends when the audience knows your character has gotten their need (or knows for sure that they never will)

The greatest flaw that we all share is that of doubt . But it easy to see that other’s doubt is unfounded - but hard to see in ourselves. So we cheer on the protagonist as we know in our hearts that they can make it, and in doing so give our selves the hope that we too might achieve our goals.

Stage 2: Establish Your Protagonist's Flaw Every compelling protagonist has a flaw that adds depth and humanity to their character. This flaw becomes a critical aspect of the story, creating challenges and opportunities for growth.

The most famous device of this kind is Superman's weakness to kryptonite. No interesting story could ever take place if Superman was simply invincible, capable of solving every problem and defeating every enemy. Define your protagonist's flows and weaknesses from the go, so the story can more easily write itself. You can apply the same principle to your antagonist.

Flaws are subjective. Think in terms of how a character might get in their own way of learning what they need to learn. You are also allowed to have a flawless character—but then you must have other strong opposing forces.

Refusal of the Call: Initially overwhelmed by the daunting challenges, Harmony contemplates dropping the mic on her teaching career. However, her love for hip-hop and resilience propel her forward, refusing to let self-doubt steal her spotlight.

A trick to frame a good story arc is to ask yourself: - Who/What are my characters at the beginning of the story? - Who/What will they be at the end? - What did they learn from the events occurring in the story? - What changed/excited/hurt/traumatized my characters during the plot? - Would they do again what they did in the story?

Credibility with audience is based on what you plant in the beginning. An arc of change does not, in fact, need to be gradual! That’s a recipe for boredom. Think GROUNDED, not gradual. Ground the character arc in Decision Points. A character’s decision (and hyperbolic statements by surrounding characters) is what establishes their needs and wants. Audience must FEEL where a character is in their arc and where they need to get early in. Your character can change dramatically and we will by it if it’s set up correctly. We have to know: what do they want? What do they need? How is what they want getting in the way of what they need? The character’s confrontation with their need is what makes a satisfying arc.

Stage 3: Create a Character Arc Craft a character arc that illustrates the transformation your protagonist undergoes throughout the story. This journey should be a gradual evolution, driven by experiences, challenges, and self-discovery.

Meeting the Mentor: Enter DJ Wisdom, a seasoned teacher with a beat-infused approach to education. DJ Wisdom becomes Harmony's mentor, guiding her with rhythm and rhyme, sharing strategies, and providing emotional support. Crossing the Threshold: Choosing to stay and invest in innovative teaching methods, Harmony crafts unconventional approaches to engage and inspire her students. She turns the classroom into a vibrant stage, where learning becomes a hip-hop journey.

Stage 4: Plot Your Story Arc Design a story arc that complements your protagonist's journey. Introduce rising action, climax, and resolution, ensuring a dynamic and engaging narrative flow. Consider incorporating elements of dramatic tension to captivate your audience.

A story arc will depend on where the protagonist begins and where they finish. The story you are telling dictates it. 1. The protagonist has learned something that makes them better or makes them overcome their biggest obstacle. eg Liar Liar, Jaws 2. The protagonist doesn't change but by being the strength for others, the world around them changes for the better or worse. The arc in this case is of the world around them. Think Gladiator and the stakes for the people of Rome or Superman etc. 3. The arc whereby there is a negative resolution for the protagonist. Examples - Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Check out books: Story Syd Field, Creating Character Arcs by KM Weiland.

Tests, Allies, Enemies: Harmony gains allies among her students, identifying potential where others saw none. Yet, she faces resistance from skeptical colleagues and students with their own unique set of challenges. Undeterred, she remixes negativity into positivity. Approach to Inmost Cave: Harmony confronts her own biases and preconceptions, diving into the diverse backgrounds of her students. She discovers the unique beats within each of them, understanding their struggles and strengths.

Stage 5: Use Subplots and Secondary Characters Enrich your story by incorporating subplots and secondary characters. These elements contribute to the overall narrative complexity, providing additional layers to the protagonist's journey.

I think, that instead of subplots or secondary characters, it is helpful to view these elements as supporting plots and supporting roles. Each helps drive the narrative of your story forwards for the protagonist.

Secondary Character: Introducing Luna, an aspiring young poet in Harmony's class. Luna becomes Harmony's poetic sidekick, infusing lyrics and spoken word into the hip-hop classroom mix.Subplot: As Harmony introduces a poetry slam competition, Luna finds her voice and becomes a rising star, inspiring her classmates to express themselves through words.Subplot Resolution: Luna's poetry slam performance becomes a turning point for the class, showcasing the transformative power of self-expression.

Stage 6: Revise and Refine Your Story Arc Revision is a crucial step in perfecting your story arc. Evaluate the pacing, character development, and plot progression. Ensure that each element aligns with the overarching narrative and contributes to the protagonist's growth.

One of the things I enjoy most about my Dungeons and Dragons games as the one writing the stories and campaigns is to take what is considered "normal" and showcase it from a different perspective. (i.e. having the ancient hero's town a desolate place where people struggle to survive because they were persecuted by those who felt wronged by the hero's actions) Using secondary character stories or even the story of the antagonist to create the "humanity" of the protagonist by depicting how the protagonist is viewed as an antagonist by the antagonist due to the protagonist taking actions that they had deemed "good" Or completely ignored by secondary characters. Until the protagonist takes action that directly affects the secondary characters.

A story isn’t a story without stakes. A character having a goal just isn’t enough—there must be something for the character to lose should they fail to achieve it. Stakes can be raised through numerous methods and plot devices. The most common of these is a compelling villain; someone who seeks to defeat the character and accomplish their own (often undesirable) ends. A villain can be somebody as terrifying and malicious as Emperor Palptine, or as mundane as a man being rude to a stranger on the subway. But the role in the story is the same for any villain: to give your character something to fight against.

Without getting caught in the weeds, there are various types of arcs, but for the most part it's safe to think in terms of want vs need (even flat arcs are want vs need but want & need are ~ the same thing). All the great outlines for story can take you through what beats need to be hit, including this linkedin overview, but i'd describe the dna as something like: Collective Opposition: (Theme(((external(world, premise)) and (internal(traits, premise)))). The story arc fails or succeeds on the collective opposition to the protagonist.