Demystifying the Narrative Arc

As you get into the process of writing a book, you may encounter the idea of a narrative arc. A narrative arc is important to any work of writing or storytelling. It’s important even if you’re not writing fiction.

So, yes, it matters even if you’re writing a business book.

The narrative arc is what drives the reader and keeps them interested, and it’s what makes them feel satisfied at the end.

But what, exactly, is a narrative arc?

It’s actually quite simple. You may have heard it described as “a beginning, a middle, and an end.” But that is a partial answer, and wholly unsatisfying.

Any work has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I could stop this post right here and it would still have an end. But would it be satisfying? No. You’d probably be pretty annoyed, and then you’d quickly forget you ever heard of me.

A beginning, a middle, and an end is a narrative STRUCTURE, but it is not necessarily a narratic ARC.

So, then, what is a narrative arc?

It is a beginning, a middle, and an end, in which the main character (which may be the reader) is different at the end than they were at the beginning, because of what happened in the middle.

There it is. That’s your answer:

A narrative arc is a narrative structure in which the main character is different at the end than they were at the beginning, because of what happened in the middle.

In many cases, a narrative arc looks a bit like an arc (surprise!): The character starts in one place, and the incidents or information in the story build upward, growing in tension, until a climax is reached. Then the story arcs gently downward into the denouement. This structure is pretty standard in most well-known fiction, and is commonly taught in writing and literature courses. It definitely can hold the reader’s attention, but may not be critical in a work of nonfiction.

Consider, as an example, the story of Goldilocks. At the beginning, a little girl is wandering in the woods, naive and hungry. She finds a house, and she tries out the food, the stools, and the beds. At the end, the homeowners (a family of bears) find her and chase her away. The naive and hungry little girl is no longer hungry, and no longer naive. She has been changed by what happened in the middle.

That is a narrative arc.

Now, consider a business book. Let’s look at one of my favorites, Traction (Gino Wickman).

At the beginning of the book you, the reader, are a business owner or leader with an interest in increasing your company’s success. At the end of the book, you are equipped with a set of tools that enable you to focus your strategy, operationalize it, and gain traction in your business, and you understand why these tools work. You have been changed by the “story” of the book.

Within any long-form content, like a book, there may be many narrative arcs. Each story you tell within the book (such as the many stories of companies wrestling with the issues in Traction) contains its own arc. Each chapter likely contains its own arc.

Once you understand this very simple principle, you can use it to create more compelling narrative structure, and keep your readers hooked. It’s important when working with narrative arc not to give too much away at the beginning, because you want the reader to experience the unfolding of the arc along with you. If you give it all away at the start, there’s nothing left for them to bother with later in the chapter.

This understanding can also help you write endings. A great ending always circles back to the beginning to show how things have changed as a result of what was in the middle.

For instance, at the beginning of this post, you may have been curious about the concept of narrative arc, but not had a clear understanding of what it means or how to use it. Now you do.

You have been changed by the middle.

Now you are better equipped to write more compelling content of your own.

Am I right? Or has this piece utterly failed the narrative arc test?

Talk to me.