In this lecture, I'm going to talk about the character arc, and also the story arc. Before we look at the detail, let me just say that the character arc focuses on the emotions and the internal landscape of the main character, or the three dimensional characters. While the story arc is more about what actually happens, we're going to look at how the two arcs interact and how one really is not possible without the other. The character arc is the name given to the inner journey, or the transformation of one of your major characters or the major character as he passes through the story. Normally, this is a change for the better, but it's not always like that. In fact, within this character arc, there could be a change for the better and better To the worst, or vice versa.

These changes are brought about by events, or the actions of others. So an arc for the character can't really be separated from the plot. The plot of a good novel that grips the reader is determined by the story arc. This is a simple formula used to structure an outline the plot of a novel. In its simplest form, it has just five parts. The exposition, or stasis, which is the beginning.

Rising action, the climax where everything comes to a head, and the hero overcomes the greatest challenge the falling action leading down To the resolution, where everything is resolved on all the problems are sorted out. The story arc is often represented by this diagram. Sometimes it's an arc, but more often, it's in the form of a triangle, or a mountain. You can see that at the start of the beginning on the left hand side, we have the exposition, or stasis. And later on, we'll define these terms and explain exactly what they mean. The rising action is shown by the slope towards the climax.

After the climax, where everything changes, we have the falling action, which leads down to the resolution is a useful way of planning a novel and the story so that the plot unfolds in the right way to create tension To engage the reader. In this slightly modified story arc, we have the same pyramid structure. On the left hand side, we have the opening, which is another word for stasis or exposition. In the middle part of the novel where the conflict is revealed, we see the rising action leading towards the climax. And then the falling action leads down to the ending or resolution. An interesting addition to this diagram is the fact that the ending on the right hand side the distance between the base and the ending represents the character growth.

This character growth has occurred through the character arc. So, very early on in our study of story arc, we can see that what happens to the character is absolutely crucial. Because of the things that happen to the character, he changes, he changes internally, he either gains skills or he gains courage, something happens based on his choices to make him change inside. The rising action part of the story arc is where many of the changes happened. This is where he overcomes obstacles and challenges and other things created by events but also by other people in the story, either three dimensional characters, or support characters is a time of challenge and change. It's important to note here that the two arcs the arc of the story and the character really can't be separated are three dimensional characters effect and are affected by the twists and turns of the story.

Now the story can be character driven or plot driven. In a character driven story is the character which acts and causes the events. In a plot driven story, things happen around the character, causing him to constantly react, the rising and falling actions, and especially the climax, center around the hero's actions and choices. The character arc represents how he changes as he makes these choices. At the beginning of the story arc, we have the exposition. This is where the author lays the groundwork for the plot to unfold.

It's the starting point of the story, and everything that it contains. This is where the author introduces the characters sets the scene explains where they are, and describes what's happening at the very beginning to give a basis for the story. The rising action is where the tension mounts towards the climax. And it generally has four elements. The trigger is the event that sets the whole story in motion. The Quest explains how the character responds to this trigger this event.

The surprise is a twist in the plot, or unexpected event. These are essential to craft a great novel. The critical choice is when the main character makes a decision, leading to the climax of the story when the hero or the heroine overcomes the greatest obstacle and challenge After the trigger event, the story moves on In response, and this is called the rising action. This phase of the plot produces increasing tension, leading to the climax of the story. Throughout this phase of rising action, there are challenges and conflicts and problems arising big and small, which has to be overcome by the main character. He or she changes in order to overcome these are obstacles.

This is called a character arc. The climax of the story arc is the tipping point of the main plot of the story. At this point, the tensions are at their highest. These tensions are caused by the characters actions and struggles against the obstacles put before him, often by the antagonist is when the most exciting action occurs. At this point, your readers should be highly engaged, wanting to turn the page to find out what happens to their hero or heroine. The falling action is the other side of the pyramid.

The peak intention is over, people can relax, and everything moves back to normal. But sometimes it doesn't move right back to normal because the hero or heroine have changed significantly. The resolution is the end of the book, the main plot and any subplots within it all come to an end. This is where all loose ends are tied up. unanswered questions are answered and problems are solved. In many books, unless it's one in this series, it's where everyone lives happily ever after.

We've explained the story arc in some detail, and the character arc because the two arcs cannot be separated. It's the blending of the two that makes a fantastic novel. However, most novels are a bit more complex than described in our basic story arc. But the basic form applies, and it's very useful for structuring your story. A more realistic story arc could look like this. We still have the same basic form, the introduction, or the exposition, rising action leading to the climax and falling action leading to the resolution.

But you can see on the way from the introduction to the climax the rise in action doesn't have one smooth rise to the peak. It has several smaller peaks. These peaks indicate some kind of conflict or challenge that the hero or heroine has to meet and overcome, while on his way to the climax of the whole story. This is the way in which the author builds tension, and also the way in which the character changes internally. So the story arc in its basic form gives us some idea of the basic structure of a novel or a story. But in the last diagram, we saw that it's not simply a case of moving from exposition or the beginning up to a climax there are many other mini climax isn't on the way