In a story, we can think of character arc as the “engine of change” that creates transformative movement in the plot. In real life, this change can be initiated in many different ways, but in a story, we often use specific levers—some symbolic and some practical—to create catalysts of change that make sense to readers. […]
June 8, 2026 by 2 Comments CharactersHow to Choose the Right Character Arc for Your Story
Learning how to choose the right character arc is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your story. Whether you’re writing a Positive Change Arc, a Flat Arc, or a Negative Arc, the arc you choose will shape everything from plot structure to theme to emotional resonance. Choosing the right character arc is […]
April 6, 2026 by 8 Comments CharactersInternal Conflict vs. External Conflict: The Shift From Projection to Agency in Character Arc
One of the easiest mistakes in writing is assuming stories are about the external action of defeating the antagonistic force, when in reality they are about what the protagonist must become in order to face that conflict. Internal conflict vs. external conflict reveals how your story’s character arcs operate beneath the plot. The tension between […]
April 29, 2024 by 14 Comments Characters7 Growth Milestones to Build a Character Arc
From KMW: On the one hand, deciding how to build a character arc is pretty simple: the character changes, the end. On the other hand, building a character arc can often seem monumentally overwhelming. How can we possibly take so nuanced and complex an experience as personal change and convey it realistically through the events […]
March 18, 2024 by 18 Comments Beginning Your BookChecklist for Beginning Your Story: Introducing Your Characters
Hello, everyone, and welcome! Today, we’re going to be talking about beginnings and specifically about how to introduce your characters in the beginning of your story, how to hook readers with your character, and how to set up all the important parts of your character’s development and arc that will happen in the rest of […]
June 26, 2023 by 42 Comments CharactersWhat Does Your Character Want? Desire vs. Plot Goal vs. Moral Intention vs. Need
We often hear “conflict is story.” What does that mean? If we walk it back, we see that conflict is driven by opposition. That opposition stands between the characters and something they want. Therefore, we could just as easily say “desire is story.” But that isn’t always simple to figure out either, particularly since story […]
August 29, 2022 by 23 Comments Plotting Your Novel7 Tips for How to Add Complexity to Your Story
So you want to add complexity to your story. Most authors do. Complexity just sounds so… sophisticated. It sounds like one of those novels or films that are taken apart and analyzed by really smart critics and professors. It sounds like taking your story to the next level. And in some ways, it is. Complex […]
June 27, 2022 by 37 Comments Characters8 Ways to Avoid Cardboard Characters (and Plot Contrivances While You’re At It)
“The plot was contrived, and the characters were cardboard.” Ouch. That’s about as bad as it can get when it comes to negative story reviews. It’s also perhaps one of the most common complaints audiences have about stories. Certainly, it’s one that irritates me the most! Here’s the thing though: cardboard characters often cause plot contrivances—and […]
October 4, 2021 by 24 Comments CharactersArchetypal Antagonists for the Crone Arc: Death Blight and Tempter
As the fifth of six archetypal character arcs in the life cycle, the Crone Arc offers the first great challenge of a character’s Elder years. Fundamentally, it is a story about a character coming to grips with the full magnitude of mortality. And indeed Death itself is the primary archetypal antagonist within a Crone Arc—or […]
September 27, 2021 by 28 Comments CharactersArchetypal Antagonists for the King Arc: Cataclysm and Rebel
The King Arc begins the second half of the life cycle of archetypal character arcs. This placement as the fourth of six arcs necessarily makes it a turning point within the overarching “story structure” of life. We can recognize this particularly in the King’s relationship to his archetypal antagonists. The first three arcs—those of Maiden, […]
