This is the final installation of my preproduction posts. I
hope they've been useful to you. I've covered ideas, characters, plotting and
world building. Now it's time to put it together in the character and story
arcs.
Character Arcs
Now that you have your characters what are you going to do
with them. All characters have to go through some kind of transformation
throughout the book. This may be for good or bad, subtle or major. It may be an
emotional transformation, or a financial/situational transformation. It will
depend on the characters themselves. But they will change. You've just asked
them to save the world and they've done it for you (or maybe not). Such events
are going to have an effect on them.
As with plotting, it's helpful to have an idea of the
emotional and situational state of your characters at the end of the book. Did
they overcome their fears? Learn their lessons? Did they lose everything? Or
win it all? Did they triumph, or fail? Did they discover things about
themselves that they didn't know before? Did their inability to learn bring
about their downfall?
When you know how your characters will change, you can then
map out turning points in the novel. These are events that have an effect on
the way your characters think or act, which ultimately shape who they are by
the end of the book.
Story Arcs
The story arc is very similar to the character arc and
encompasses both the plot and the characters. You may have heard of a novel
having a Beginning, Middle and End.
The beginning is where you introduce your characters,
settings and the main conflict
The middle is where your characters run into difficulties,
the tension builds and your characters begin to grow.
The end is where the main conflict is resolved and loose
ends tied up (if you like neat endings)
This is a really great way to structure your novel, though I
have to admit I have trouble consciously marking these points in my own
stories. I do stick to some rules though, like never introducing new plots and
characters right near the end of the book. Never give away all of your secrets
at the beginning of the book. Remember, you're on a journey and you want to
stop and see the sights as you go. If you saw all the sites either at the
beginning, or the end, the in between would be boring. So you need to think
about where you're going to place pivotal moments in the story. When do I want
the reader to know that Billy's new friend is actually an evil sorcerer from
another world? How far in does my
character realise that they're the chosen one? For how long is the king in
denial that the world is sinking?
How you answer those questions will depend on the pace and
tone you want to set for your novel. But that's a whole other story...
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