What are common mistakes to avoid in character arc development?

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Character arc is the transformation or change that a character undergoes from the beginning to the end of a story. It is often driven by the character's motivation, goals, and challenges. A well-crafted character arc can make your audience empathize, engage, and root for your protagonist. However, there are some common mistakes that can undermine your character arc and make it less effective. Here are some tips on how to avoid them and create compelling character arcs for your film.

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David j. Pierce

Event Coordinator at Roscommon Volunteer Centre / Creative Manager at Black Hole Studio
Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we…
Bulent Hasan

IATSE 891 Illustrator/Storyboard Artist, Digital Storyteller & Creative Narrative Director for short media animated…

1 Lack of clarity

One of the most important aspects of character arc is clarity. You need to establish who your character is, what they want, and why they want it at the start of your story. You also need to show how their motivation and goal change or evolve as they face obstacles and conflicts. If you fail to do this, your audience will be confused, bored, or indifferent to your character's journey. To avoid this mistake, make sure you have a clear and consistent character arc outline that tracks your character's growth and transformation.

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David j. Pierce

Event Coordinator at Roscommon Volunteer Centre / Creative Manager at Black Hole Studio
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Being too obvious! Characters are complicated which needs to be represented. Simply going from good to bad - bad to good, or get over the challenges put in front of them doesn't mean you have a good character arc. There needs to be more complexity.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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A lack of self-awareness of the writer, director contributes to any unclarity in a story. Stories are human-centric endeavors, not linear reversed engendered system concepts. #TheSmartofArt

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Bulent Hasan

IATSE 891 Illustrator/Storyboard Artist, Digital Storyteller & Creative Narrative Director for short media animated projects.
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My biggest gripe about bad character arcs are when writing seems to be taken over by production needs and they have to throw out all the tiny nuances that make the character relatable. By taking out certain things, you leave big plot holes that somehow makes a character an 'expert' at anything or just seem to 'know' how to drive a huge machine, use a gun, be an expert at sword fighting, etc, to win the day. Skipping steps means you drop essential moments for characters to connect. (in other words, don't "Mary Sue" the hell out of your character.)

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Vinay Pateel

Building bold brands through adventure storytelling | VPW Studio
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One of the things that I focus on is *how* much of a change the character goes through. In one of my documentaries, the protagonist is a tribal kid from rural India. He tragically lost his parents at a very young age, and belongs to a village thats not even on Google Maps. The debt from the loss of his parents weighed heavy on his shoulders while he was at university. Towards the end of his character arc, he is a Research Scholar who was invited to pursue further education in Germany. His whole education, travel, stay - everything was through scholarship. The difference between how he started and what he became is so stark, you couldn't miss it. In our work, we could greatly benefit from spending extra time to nail the magnitude of change.

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Paul Cannon

Composer/Business Development Manager @ FrameShift Music | Distinguished Composer
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Giving the hero an Unrealistic & Over the Top positive personality. Allowing the hero an overwhelmingly positive personality can make your reader feel like they're being accosted by a perky cheerleader at the crack of dawn when they haven't had caffeine.

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2 Lack of contrast

Another common mistake is to have a character arc that is too subtle, flat, or linear. This means that your character does not change significantly or dramatically enough to create a satisfying or meaningful story. A good character arc should have contrast, which means that your character should start and end in different places, emotionally, morally, or psychologically. For example, if your character is a coward at the beginning, they should become brave at the end. If your character is selfish at the start, they should become generous at the end. To avoid this mistake, make sure you have a clear and strong contrast between your character's initial and final states.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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Spirit in any story comes from as many juxtapose situations and as much contrast that you can bake into your story. It also keeps it fresh because when you set up contrast you got to resolve it in your way. #TheSmartofArt

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3 Lack of challenge

Another common mistake is to have a character arc that is too easy, predictable, or convenient. This means that your character does not face enough challenges, conflicts, or setbacks that test their motivation, goal, and change. A good character arc should have challenge, which means that your character should struggle, fail, and learn from their experiences. This will make your character more relatable, realistic, and dynamic. It will also create tension, suspense, and drama in your story. To avoid this mistake, make sure you have a clear and compelling challenge that forces your character to change.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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Challenge is like the 1 point a lack of self-awareness of your own humanity and your emotional intelligence. Since stories are an emotional human-centric medium challenges are any human/hero's journey. Understanding how humans resolve ambiguity and challenges is key. #TheSmartofArt

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4 Lack of consistency

Another common mistake is to have a character arc that is too inconsistent, contradictory, or illogical. This means that your character changes in ways that do not match their personality, motivation, goal, or situation. A good character arc should have consistency, which means that your character should change in ways that are believable, coherent, and motivated by their actions and reactions. This will make your character more credible, authentic, and engaging. It will also create a sense of continuity, structure, and direction in your story. To avoid this mistake, make sure you have a clear and logical character arc that follows your character's internal and external logic.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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The only part of consistency is to keep within the major emotional resolve like jealousy, rage, revenge, awakening, happiness... If happiness is your core emotion rage, revenge or awakening must lead to happiness or against. You can't just drop jealousy in there that does not lead to or against happiness. #TheSmartofArt

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5 Lack of impact

Another common mistake is to have a character arc that is too isolated, irrelevant, or inconsequential. This means that your character's change does not affect or influence the other characters, the plot, the theme, or the audience. A good character arc should have impact, which means that your character's change should matter and make a difference in your story. This will make your character more important, influential, and memorable. It will also create a sense of connection, resonance, and meaning in your story. To avoid this mistake, make sure you have a clear and significant impact that shows how your character's change affects themselves and others.

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Michaell Magrutsche

AWARENESS TRUMPS ALL! Our #1 human-disturbance stems from the unawareness of living in a system"habitat" vs. how we function as a species of nature. Balancers are Creating (art), Healthy Dialogue and Adaptability.
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The problem with those questions is that they assume there is a system solution for movies and there isn't. The more self-aware you are as a writer or director the more you will add your individual frequency ingredient to stories in which you participate. The clearer your own Voice like Tarantino the more will the audience recognize your ingredient and give you attention. Plus contrast of course will serve as impact creator #TheSmartofArt

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Malcolm Harris

Producer and screenwriter at Relentless Films
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Do not mistake an arc for development. Aldo do not go back on advancement. Bad scripts tend to forget that a character has advanced. Aldo keep in mind characters don't need to be complex

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What are common mistakes to avoid in character arc development?

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1 Lack of clarity

2 Lack of contrast

3 Lack of challenge

4 Lack of consistency

5 Lack of impact

6 Here’s what else to consider

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