“How should I write character arcs in a series?” This is the question I’ve been getting probably more than any other of late. These days, more stories than not are told as part of multi-book series–everything from trilogies to thirty-plus installments with no intended end in sight. Up to now, I’ve been addressing character arcs primarily within the structure of a single story, using the important structural moments in a classic Three-Act plot to anchor the timing. But what if your character’s arc spans more than just three acts and one book?
2 Ways to Include Character Arcs in a Series
Creating Character Arcs (affiliate link)
You can approach character arcs in a series in either of the two following ways:
1. One Character Arc for the Entire Series
If your series is telling one seamless, overarching story–as in, say, the Star Wars trilogy, Brent Weeks’s Night Angel trilogy, Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven trilogy, or Susanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy–then you will also probably want to choose to implement one overarching character arc throughout the series. The character arc that begins in Book 1 won’t be completed until the end of Book 3 (or whatever).
2. Multiple Character Arcs Throughout the Series
If each installment in your series is a complete and distinct episode–as in the Marvel movies series, Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series, and Ruth Downie’s Roman Empire series–then you may choose to implement a new character arc for each book. In this approach, the character will encounter a new Lie in each book, which will have be overcome by the end of the episode. The Lie will either be completely new and separate from previous adventures, or it will build upon the character’s previous experiences. (For example, in his first movie, Thor undergoes a positive change arc, which then sets up the Truth on which his flat arc in the second movie is based.) This approach is pretty intuitive, since it basically uses the same formula as any standalone book with a standalone character arc.
How to Structure Character Arcs in an Overarching Series
If you’re writing an overarching series, you’ll start by approaching your character’s arc just as you would if you were writing a standalone book. All of the important structural moments (which we’ve discussed previously in series on positive change, flat, and negative change arcs) will need to be in place over the course of the story. The only difference is that the timing is spread out significantly.
Over-Arching Character Arcs in a Trilogy
Trilogies are comparatively easy to adapt to overarching character arcs, since their three-book format closely mirrors the three acts in a standalone book (with the first act being the character’s time of comparatively unrewarding enslavement to his Lie, the second being his time of discovering the Truth and growing away from the Lie, and the third being his claiming of his new empowerment via the Truth). The original Star Wars trilogy is an especially great and obvious example of how this works.
Star Wars (1977, 1980, 1983), 20th Century Fox.
However, keep in mind that in a standalone book, the Second Act is twice as long as either the First or Third Acts. This does not mean the second book in your trilogy has to be twice as long as the other two. But it does mean the three acts of the overarching story won’t neatly divide into one act per book. The second act will begin three-quarters of the way through the first book and end a quarter of the way through the third. Even still, adjusting the timing of the character’s development (and the overall structure in general) is comparatively easy to figure out in a trilogy.
Over-Arching Character Arcs in a Series of Four Books (or More)
If you’re writing a series of fixed length that spans more than three books, the same basic principles apply, but you’ll have to think a little harder about adjusting the timing in order to get the arc to play out smoothly over the course of the entire series.
A four-book series is actually just as easy as a trilogy, since the Three-Act structure divides neatly into four sections (First Act, First Half of the Second Act, Second Half of Second Act, Third Act). But the more books you add after that, the more complicated the timing and pacing gets.
Bonus Tip: Use Series to Add Even More Depth to Your Character Arcs
So far, this is all pretty straightforward, right? Either you stretch your character arc over all the books in your series, or you make a new arc for each book. But what if (shazam!) you could do both?
Even in an overarching series, every book needs to be complete unto itself: three acts, beginning, middle, end, opening dramatic question, ending with a resolution answering that question. Even though the main plot–and the main character arc–stretches beyond each individual book, you still have the opportunity to develop isolated aspects unique to each book.
How does that work for character arcs?
Let’s say you’ve got an overarching character arc for your trilogy, based on a big Lie your character believes about being a coward. He’s going to be working on that Lie throughout the trilogy and slowly embracing the Truth that bravery is a choice, not an inborn virtue. By itself, that’s probably enough to successfully float your series. But why not amp it up? Why not add layers and depth?
Each book in your series can be more than just a building block in the structure of the overarching arc. They can also be smaller, supporting, standalone arcs of their own. Each book can create a smaller arc, based on a smaller Lie–one that will ultimately contribute to your character’s ability to overcome the big, overarching Lie. For example, Book 1 might feature a “mini” Lie about how doing brave acts (e.g., stopping a mugging) is a task that belongs only to socially designated heroes (e.g., the cops), while Book 2’s Lie might be that fear is tantamount to cowardice.
Book 3 might feature a Lie about how we’re not responsible for doing brave things if we can remain in ignorance about the need for them. But since Book 3 will also be the final culmination of the overarching Lie, you may want to focus all your energy there for a more seamless effect.
Just as character arcs can bring untold depth and resonance to your standalone stories, they will also lift your series out of mediocrity and into memorability. Whatever they demand in complicated pacing and timing, they give back tenfold in thematic strength and character development. Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile by using character arcs in a series. Your readers will adore you for it.
Tell me your opinion: Have you ever contemplated writing character arcs in a series?
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Thank you so much for this post! I had been wondering for a while if it was acceptable to do a different character arc for each book in a series, each arc being a portion of the bigger Lie the character needs to overcome to fight the final, climactic battle in the last book. So in mine, the main character’s Truth is that she needs faith in people and in God. This is going to be what she needs to make it through the final battle. Her first book arc is about learning to trust other people, her second might be about finding God, and the third might be a culmination of the two, as she’s going to end up being a political leader in a nation fighting over religion. I was hoping this could work out, and I think it can. =D Yay!
Sounds like you’ve totally got a handle on this! The individual Lies are all great progressions that build up to the final Lie.
Great article, Katie! Of course, Shazam!, I have to be the odd ball that does both #1 and #2 in my current Tracking Jane series. It’s a tough trick to manage, and I hope it’s panned out OK!
Not so odd! And if you can pull it off, it will reap you huge dividends.
Hi Katie – this one is hard! Especially if the story is not pre-plotted in its entirety. I have a 3-book series where the overarching arc wasn’t really apparent until it was revealed in Book 3 (and I had no idea that I would use something from Book 1 as the trigger for it!).
As a new author, I think this was natural – not to think ahead so much. But now that I’m looking to extend the “trilogy” and continue the series with the same characters and a new story, my “main” arc is now exploited … so what next?
For example, if Books 1-3 are the X Chronicles; Books 4-5/6 could be the Y Chronicles; Books 7-9 The Z Chronicles etc, a bit like Raymond E Feist’s title progressions, so I’m happy to set up a new arc & stories, but it feels contrived!
Any advice?
If there isn’t a logical point of progression for your character’s arc (e.g., in the Extended Galaxy of Star Wars book sequels, Luke faced new challenges in fighting off the temptations Dark Side), then don’t hesitate to simply give him a flat arc. Although the Thor movies are far from perfect, one think I really do like about them is how the first movie employed an obvious change arc, which then set up the character’s ability to be the impact character in the next movie by standing upon the Truth he had already learned.
Hi Katie – thanks for the help! (Sorry, my thank you is delayed as I didn’t get the notification this time)
That makes sense – and I suppose the flat arc might then morph to another change arc at the end of the next “trilogy” when the protagonist uncovers a greater awareness about her world?
Either way, plotting/outlining is essential (for me – I don’t know how those pantsers do it! I am full of admiration if they can do it with minimal drafts!).
Thanks again,
Yep. Really, the variations are endless. Whatever works for your story and your character.
As far as wanting theme and character arc (things both informed by planning) you are very spot on Robert, knowing the story in advance it is essential.
As much as I am Croyan, and he is me, existing with his daughter at my mind and heart’s centre, I could’ve never contemplated writing the two of them across more than just one narrative:
I’ve even written a short biographical note for them, allowing them their peaceful existence all the way to their deaths.
As popular and lucrative as series are, it’s important to recognize when a story is better told as a standalone. Always better to serve the story’s purpose rather than compromise it for commercial reasons.
The situation. The settings. The motivations, etc: there wouldn’t ever be something to think of after these.
So unbelievably convenient of you to post this at this point in time. My WIP is a 3 book overarching trilogy, and everything you described is what I have been mulling over.
Bang on what I needed to read, as this will help me set my thoughts in stone.
Thank you very much, Katie.
I aimz to please. 😉
Great post! Right now, I’m plotting my series in such a way that each of my characters gets a single book dedicated to him/her, wherein they go through a single character arc. The characters are connected in such a way that they’re all living in a single setting (sort of like a big compound or apartment building), and the lies that they’re going to be struggling with all circle around a single theme: about being alienated, stereotyped, or outcast because you’re of a different race, despite the fact that you were born in/grew up in that country.
It’s kind of a diasporic series with a sci-fi twist to it. I guess my biggest concern is getting readers to love all of the characters that they would be willing to read through the series even though the POV character changes in each book.
It’s structured in such a way that, for example:
Book 1 focuses on one character’s mistrust of people with mixed blood in their genetic make-up, that he doesn’t believe they should be a part of their “pure-blood” community.
Book 2 focuses on another character’s stereotyping of the “pure-bloods” as over-zealous, snobbish, arrogant, etc. But once she gets to know them a little better, the stereotype falls apart, and she realizes that people are more complex than they seem at first.
If you treat your books as, in essence, standalone books with the same responsibilities as any standalone book (to make readers love the protagonist), you should be fine. It’s an interesting approach with the potential to reap a lot of dividends.
Lajos Egri talked about arcs in The Art of Creative Writing, mentioning that an arc should have baby-steps along the way. Between love and hate, comes annoyance, tolerance, dislike, anger, etc. In a longer series, or an episodic series, I see no reason why each baby-step couldn’t be an episode or book in a series, each an arc in itself along with whatever other story or interior arcs exist.
Very true. The longer the series, the longer (and often more convincing) the progression of the character will be.
I definitely think doing both is best. You get so much more depth and satisfaction, IMHO, that way. Of course, it somewhat depends on genre too. But I like character focused stories that really dig into the characters’ psychology.
Good stuff. Thanks!
More is almost always better when it comes to character arcs. Hard to get too much of a good thing with these little beauties!
In the mystery series, I aim to have an overarching story line about the main character adjusting to his new life as a widower, ex-cop and as a reluctant P.I. In each installment he copes with a new “problem” – a crime – with the help of his best friend. As well, several supporting characters keep popping up to challenge the protagonist or provide assistance or the occasional comic relief. I view this as one long story told in episodes, like the Aubrey-Maturin series. I like what L.E. Hollia posted. Many arcs, great and small. Thanks for the great post.
Aubrey/Maturin is probably my all-time favorite series. It’s such a brilliant evolution of character, even though it doesn’t offer an obvious serial arc.
Another great post K.M.!
When dealing with character arc, I usually go about it when planning out my story’s structure. I am a big fan of the seven point story structure method and one of the first steps is to think about the resolution of the story.
Begin with the end in mind.
Basically I line out all the attributes that I envision of my main character at the end of my story. Maybe he is now brave, heroic, and not too trusting of others. Once I get a good picture of who he is now, then I start at the beginning of my story with the opposite in mind.
If he is brave in the end then I start him as timid and weak. If he is not too trusting in the end, I have him gullible and naive in the beginning.
Having this information mapped out ahead of time allows me to think about what needs to happen (conflict) in between those two points — beginning and end — in order for this arc to occur.
Thanks for all the help you have provided over the years to writers like myself.
This is a great way (the best way, IMO) to chart a character arc. If you know where you want the character to end up, it’s easy to figure out where he needs to begin.
This is fantastic advice. I’ve been struggling with mapping out multiple character arcs over the course of a tetralogy wherein each book has more than one POV character. The idea of starting at the end and using that as a guide for where the characters should begin is gold, and really helps clarify a few things for me. Thanks for sharing, Jason!
Houston Howard’s “Make Your Story Really Stinkin’ Big” is a great resource for building a series and included a section on approaching character arc over a series similar to your approach here, but since it’s a book, he expounded more on the concept. If you haven’t read it and plan to write a series (especially one requiring world-building) I highly recommend it.
Hadn’t heard of it. Thanks for the tip!
This is really helpful thank you! I’ve been contemplating character arcs for two series I’ve been working on lately. I’m definitely going to be looking at this. ^ ^
Glad you found it useful!
… or overarching aknowledge of the power of evil: Harry Potter discovers a worse evil in each book!
Gotta keep the stakes high!
Do you think it’s possible to write a negative character arc in a series? I’m writing a tragedy and would love to turn it into a series, but would a tragic ending be disappointing for a reader after long awaiting the last book of the series?
Totally possible. Whether or not readers are disappointed in the end is all about whether or not you’ve properly set up their expectations through tone and foreshadowing. If they’re *expecting* a happy ending and don’t get one, that’s when you’re likely to have a mutiny on your hands.
Re tragic endings: I just read a book that was beautiful and beautifully set up, with all sorts of foreshadowing that the ending would not be good for the protagonist. Sure enough, she dies at the end as a “sacrifice”. In spite of the author doing everything correctly and providing good foreshadowing, I was really flattened by the ending, because it made the whole book pointless–the plot was, she was trying to escape being a sacrifice. Okay, so it was her choice, she was being really noble and doing it for love … that didn’t matter to me, because I was holding on to that spark of hope that she might survive.
This is for Maria Thomas:
You will always get readers with sparks of hope: Especially ones who have had their own tragedies. Ultimately, you have to write to please yourself and be true to your story. For every reader like me, who can’t bear to read another book by that author no matter what (or how good she is), there will be lots more who really enjoy vicarious tragedy. How do I know this? My friends all love tragic movies and mini-series: As far as I know, I’m the only one who can’t handle them.
That’s strictly from a reader perspective.
Very helpful!
I, like a number of Indie authors, busted out and wrote a book. Structure? What’s that and who needs it? Character Arc?..well, kinda. Plot…can I make it up as I go?
Looking back at all the flaws and imperfections of my first book, I got a lot ‘right’—meaning, no doubt, that the structure of storytelling is intuitive, like the Golden Mean….but it is not so easy to actually do.
Those Voices Inside My Head…my Characters—it’s like herding kittens!
Your Outlining and Story Structure book, and the Character Arc posts are so dang helpful, I feel energized out of my dithering…which is what writing becomes without the structure.
Wandering from scene to scene, rearranging events, cut that, paste here…until I am so sick of it and confused I want to go be a welder, or something….
So…the Character Arc in the Sequel…the above discussion is very helpful in illuminating the prospects of a continuous Character Arc, vs the individual book.
As in ‘real life’, it’s a combo of the overarching Character Arc of our lives vs the smaller ‘everyday’ arcs mirroring the larger, as told by specific events
thanks a bunch! For the two books, the Arc posts…the Hero’s Journey in Storytelling….all if it!
mary
Yes! It’s very much like a mirror of real life. I’m so glad you’ve found the series and the books useful!
Now I am wondering about POVs…
I used multiple POVs in my first book, and it was very cumbersome for a lot of reasons, and led to less character development for each of them.
For Book 2 I want to use a combo of First Person and 3rd person omnipotent.
And so guess where I am headed?
“What Every Writer Ought to Know About the Omniscient POV”
What a fab site you run! thanks…
-mary
I’m definitely a fan of fewer POVs, as a general rule. Best of luck!
Thanks once more–really helpful for my trilogy. Reassurance that I am on the right track with my character arcs–and opened up a huge insight for one of my characters.
In my books, my character Amelia has to deal with two flaws, and overcome them, and the flaws are lack of self-confidence and not trusting her instincts. The main theme is good versus evil, and Samantha represents a very dark person that wants to protect her city and loved ones, but does it by killing and torturing criminals for pure enjoyment, and Amelia knows that murder and torture is wrong, and she doesn’t like that Samantha enjoys doing those things. As for Victor, he is confident and wants to turn people into super-soldiers against their own will and clone them so he could have two armies to do what he wants them to do and doesn’t care who stands in his way, and Samantha might actually try to kill Victor and might enjoy doing it, or torture him if her friend Raven was kidnapped, or if StarGirl was kidnapped, though StarGirl and Raven don’t like what Samantha does. They think that what she does is wrong.
I am trying to create the character arc of a self delusional God. A man who views himself as Good and is revealed to be lying. The switch comes at the end of the first book. Where would you take it? Looking
Sounds like you might be writing a Fall Arc. See this post: How to Write a Negative Character Arc.
This is probably obvious, but…
I’m thinking that splitting a character arc over several books must break the connection between arc and plot some.
You still need to have three acts in each book, plus all the important plot points, right?
You have to separate the internal and external conflicts, otherwise, in a four book series, you won’t even leave the character’s normal world in the first book and it will end with the first plot point… that sounds a little slow for my taste…
True. It’s all relative. Each book must be contained unto itself, with its *own* Normal World, etc., so the subsequent Normal Worlds are a matter of degree. You can see how the Harry Potter stories did this, as Harry grew farther and farther away from his Muggle-world self as the series progressed.
Thanks! I’ll be dusting off my Harry Potter DVDs! 🙂
I’m thinking of writing a trilogy that involves an overreaching positive character arc. The idea stemmed from my fantasy that’s inspired by Romeo and Juliet. It’s about a prince who betrays his country, and then, right after he does it, he finds out he’s engaged to the princess from the country his country has been at strife with for centuries. They get married, and there’s a lot of neutrality going on, until there’s something there that wasn’t there before. (What is love?) He also tries to keep his betrayal under wraps, but as the story progresses, he starts feeling really guilty about it. The truth comes out in the end, which opens a whole new can of worms because now the entire continent is in danger.
The second book starts with his wife visiting him in the dungeon. I guess you could say he’s offered a shot at redemption, because they go on a quest to stop the can of worms from spreading too far. At the end of this book, something happens that really impacts him concerning his betrayal. That ‘something’ being the birth of his daughter. (Which is actually a bit humorous, because he has to help deliver the baby, since they’re out in a cabin the middle of nowhere. At one point he quips, “But I’m not a doctor, I’m a prince!”) (But of course, he helps anyways)
In book three, they make it back home, there’s a big battle, and then it ends either on coronation day, which takes place a year later, or a few years later than that. On the one hand, I want it to be on coronation day, but on the other, I want it to be a few years later, because then the audience will get to se the other two children they have. I’m guessing coronation day will be more impactful?
I’ve also never written a redemption arc before, so that’ll be new. Actually, come to think of it, I wonder if, in my current WIP, the hero’s father is getting a bit of a redemption arc. And if the cousin is getting a bit of a negative arc? Hmmm. . .time to write!
Hannah, this sounds like a dynamite trilogy! I love redemption arcs. 🙂 And I especially love them if, amid all the angst, there’s a nice dollop of humor too.
I know, right?
Your book about character arcs is one of the best books for writers. Really. Good job 🙂 I love it. It helped me a lot.
I have a question about side characters and a book series.
Is it possible to create a character arc for a side character that begins in the first book and ends in the last one?
I thought about creating a character arc for the love interest in my series. For my protagonist I create one character arc in every single book but for the love interest I intend to create one character arc over the four books. Do you think this is a good idea or is it confusing for readers?
Certainly. However, you’ll either want to only “hint” at the minor character’s arc in the early book, or make sure you’re giving him enough screentime to do justice to all the early beats.
Good to know.
Yes, this character will have enough screentime. Also because he is the love interest and his character arc sort of conflicts the character arc of the protagonist.
Thank you 🙂
Fantastic article, extremely informative. Not only great stand-alone advice, but great leads and references of stuff to check out! I enjoyed audio of “How to Write Character Arcs”, but I wish there was a way to make the media play at 1.25x or 1.5x. Isn’t there a rule that all media players have this functionality included? There should be! 😉
Great article!
Great article, K.M., as always, and timely for yours truly to boot. There is a link to the LIE which doesn’t go anywhere, however. Can you point me in the right direction? The concept is intriguing.
Scott, I’m not seeing the broken link. Could you tell which sentence it’s in?
In the meantime, here’s the link to the post on the Lie the Character Believes.
That last header really got me thinking. For my current WIP, I have an idea for a series with about six characters, one book focusing on each. What I’ve decided to do is create an overarching series Truth/Lie that all the characters’ arcs circle back to, a series arc for each character, and parts of that series arc in each book (the book focusing on their character being where the majority of the changing happens). I’m not sure if I’ll write the series and if I do that it’ll end well, but I’m excited to experiment!
Josie, I would be really interested to see how you managed this! I am trying to do something similar with my tetralogy, but I am definitely struggling to map out all the layers of arcs. I would love to hear more about your process or see an outline, if you’re interested in sharing. <3
I’m struggling with the character archs in a trilogy that has two Main Characters that need well developed ones.
I wonder … Can I have different kinds of archs in different books in a trilogy, and still have one overreaching arch for the trilogy?
MC One has an overreaching Positive Change Arch. I’m thinking of making book 1 a “small positive change”, book 2 a flat arch, and book three the end result of the overreaching positive arch.
MC Two has also an overreaching Positive Change Arch, but I’d like him to struggle more. Right now I’m considering giving him a disillusion change in book one (since the truth he has to learn here is a grim one). Can I believingly have him recover from that and have a positive change arch in book two, and then finish off with a flat (or ‘small positive’) arch in book three?
Yes, definitely. For example, I have a character following a Disillusionment Arc in one book, a Corruption Arc in the second, and finally a Positive in the third.
Thank you!
*back to plotting*
🙂
I’m confused on writing character arcs in a series. I’m trying to go through your character arcs workbook again, but I don’t get it — if plot and character are linked, how is it possible to have an overarching character arc?
If Book 1 has to have a Normal World, but my protagonist doesn’t come out of her Normal World until the 75% of the way through Book 1 based on her overarching character arc timing, does she have to have *two* Normal Worlds? Or am I missing something?
You can’t apply the structure of a single book too literally to the structure of a series. Think of it more like a guideline. Also remember that the Normal World isn’t always a literal physical setting. It’s specifically a mindset about the conflict. The character will only enter into a full understanding of the main conflict by the end of Book 1 (usually). That, in itself, is a graduated departure from a symbolic Normal World, even if the character has long since left the physical Normal World.
Ohh, okay… so Book 1 will have its own physical Normal World, but the protagonist will have her own completely separate symbolic/mental Normal World as well as separate character arc structural points?
Yes, but timing’s definitely not as solid in a series as in an individual book.
Whew, I get it now. Thank you so much!
In my “series”, I have a prequel and a present-day book with the prequel being sequenced after the present-day book. How should I incorporate my character arc now?
Prequels necessarily come before events of previous books in the chronology. Often, they occur outside the strict arc/plot of the main series. They present a good opportunity for exploring the backstory Ghosts motivating the arc in the main story.
Hey Katie, hoping I can get your advice on theme in an over-arching series. I read somewhere, perhaps even on your blog (but I cant honestly remember or find the source), that an overarching series should have a single, core-theme, and that all individual books in the series should present their own unique questions to answer about that theme.
Stuart Horwitz writes something similarly in his book ‘Story Architecture’, “Your book can only be about one thing.”, or technically your book can be about many things provided those things are all about one thing.
Do you recommend this approach of having each book in the over-arching series being a new question on theme, or any particular thoughts on that notion?
I usually work on theme through the medium of the character arc. You can approach arcs in a series in a couple ways, including doing an overarching theme or a slightly different one for each book. You can also do an overarching arc over the course of the series, but do a mini-arc of some kind in each of the individual books.
You might find this posts helpful:
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/character-arcs-in-a-series/
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-outline-a-series/
What do you think of this idea?
My story is going to have four books. One for each year that my character is in high school. In the first book she goes from hating poor people to being friends with them. In book two she has to deal with the consequences of having been so horrible in the past and tries to make amends. In book three her poor friends start a branch of Young Democratic Socialists of America at their high school. The main character originally joins them, but ends up feeling torn between wanting to be rich and wanting the poor to have a chance, which eventually leads to her leaving the group and wishing her friends good luck. In the final book she feels insecure because she sits at the table with YDSA members at lunch every day, and continues to wonder whether she did the right thing. Eventually, she joins Patriotic Millionaires (the activist group her parents are a part of) and finally finds peace and confidence.
Sounds good!
Wow! This is a really helpful explanation!
In a trilogy that contains individual arcs and an overarching arc, I am wondering how to combine the the two. Do you just lay them over each other so that the First Plot Point of the overarching arc is the same or right next to the Third Plot Point of the individual arc? Could you explain this a little or give an example?
Structural timing in an overarching arc isn’t exact. It’s sometimes simpler just to think of the first book in a trilogy as the First Act, etc.
Hi again Katie.
Is it possible to stagger character arcs? Say for example if I have a duology with two protagonists, with one getting more focus in the first book and the other getting more focus in the second, would it be possible for each of them to have an overarching arc in the duology as a whole, while also having an extra arc contained to their individual focus books? For example, could the focus character have a Corruption arc in the first book, which also acts as the first half of an overall Disillusionment arc, and have the second half of the Disillusionment arc be their only arc in the second book?
It can be complex to pull off, but definitely possible.