This post (as the final one in our series) is intended as an easy reference that lists comparisons of the archetypal Positive-Change Arcs, so you can see them all in one place. Each of the individual posts on the specific archetypes does, of course, go into much more depth and offers much more information. But […]
July 5, 2021 by 50 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 22: How to Use Archetypal Character Arcs in Your Stories
And so we find ourselves (almost) at the end of a nearly six-month journey through the possibilities of archetypal character arcs. If you’ve stuck with me through what is by far the longest series I have ever shared, then I hope, like me, you are enthralled and excited by the possibilities that archetypes offer for […]
June 28, 2021 by 39 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 21: The Flat Archetype of the Mentor
And so we come to the final archetype within the life-arc cycle: the well-known and well-loved Mentor. This final Flat archetype, which precedes the final transformation of the Mage Arc, is one of the most significant within human storytelling. Indeed, next to the Hero, the Mentor is perhaps our most well-known of all mythic archetypes. […]
June 21, 2021 by 22 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 20: The Flat Archetype of the Elder
Within a Positive-Change Arc, an Impact Character is the character (or characters) who represents the thematic Truth and its potential to “impact” and change the protagonist. However, within a Flat Arc, the protagonist is the Impact Character. As we delve deeper into the Flat archetypes of the life cycle’s Third Act, we begin to see […]
June 14, 2021 by 26 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 19: The Flat Archetype of the Ruler
The Ruler represents the Flat or “resting” archetype that bridges the Queen’s rise to power and the King’s eventual surrender of that same power. As such, the Ruler represents the potential period in a person’s life in which he or she is in a position of leadership. This Ruler might be a literal head of […]
June 7, 2021 by 20 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 18: The Flat Archetype of the Parent
When we think of archetypal characters, the Parent probably isn’t the first to come to mind. Despite the fact that becoming and being a parent is one of the most obvious initiations within even our modern lives, we don’t often think of the Parent with the same enthusiasm as we do the Hero. And yet […]
May 31, 2021 by 22 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 17: The Flat Archetype of the Lover
As Doris Day used to say, “Everybody loves a lover.” While that might not be universally true, what is true is that the Lover archetype is one inherent and even integral within the human life cycle. Although it is a deeply nuanced archetype that evolves with us for most of our lives—and shows up in […]
May 24, 2021 by 38 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 16: The Flat Archetype of the Child
In many ways, the Child is hardly a Flat or unchanging archetype at all. Even though we often perceive and remember childhood as a chapter in which everything remained the same (until suddenly it didn’t), the years before puberty are, of course, some of the most rapidly transformational of any part of our lives. I […]
May 17, 2021 by 32 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 15: Introduction to the 6 Flat Archetypes
In studying character arcs, writers easily recognize Positive-Change Arcs and Negative-Change Arcs. But somewhat more baffling can be the stories that appear to feature neither. These are stories in which the protagonist does not change or seems to have no character arc at all. How do these stories fit into the discussion of archetypal character […]
May 10, 2021 by 28 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 14: The Mage’s Shadow Archetypes
Structurally speaking, it is always the end of a story—its Climactic Moment—that tells us what it is about. The Climactic Moment ends the external plot by telling us who “wins.” But it also, implicitly, ends the protagonist’s arc by showing us whether the character succeeded in arcing positively and helping others to do the same, […]
