Writing Coach In A Box: Card Four!

The Essential Change! In most stories, the main character you start your story with, will not be the same character you end the story with. Most of the time, your character will grow and change with every event you write in this story.

Card number four covers the art of a good character arc, and remarks how people like seeing their characters grow and change through experiences (for better and for worse sometimes.) No one wants to follow a character who behaves the same way through the entire story, and learns absolutely nothing.

Would characters like Blitzo from Helluva Boss or Kuzco from Emporer’s New Groove be as liked if they were the same old screw ups they were at the start of their character runs? Debateable. Or characters like Loki of Asgard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The complete journey that character has been on (however timey-wimey it is) is something fans have latched on to because of how much Loki has changed as a character. Yes, he’s still the God of Mischief, but he’s much more now.

There are three ways this card says that characters can change.

• They can travel to a new world. Because who doesn’t love a good isekai.
• They experience events that alter their world view. Usually something that invokes a heavy emotional response, like getting a life-changing job offer, a death in the family, witnessing a crime, etc.
• They grow older. Time is probably the best sandpaper when it comes to anything. Even for characters that aren’t mortal, time is undeniable. Unavoidable. It’s one of the things that makes immortal characters so interesting. They’ve lived so long that they can never look at life the same way as they used to.

The card also lines out some ways that characters remain unchanged. But two of these are a bit flexible in my opinion. And I’ll tell you why.

• They’re recurring characters. While recurring characters are usually reliably the same-ish. I don’t think they stay that way. Recurring casts in shows usually still go through changes just as much as the main characters. They have lives too, and they’re never going to be the same each time they’re on screen on the page. They may have the same mannerisms. But there are always slight changes. Time is a big one. I honestly think that recurring characters should have those small signs of character growth even though they’re not the center of attention.
• They’re resistant to change. I could make the argument that characters that are most resistant to change still change regardless. Usually a stubborn attitude towards change strengthens with each attempt someone makes to break that attitude. That stronger resolve to avoid change in itself causes a character to act a bit differently. This could be the case for a good aligned character and an evil aligned character. They don’t even have to grow to embrace the change. They could let their resolve grow so strong that it takes a tragic turn where they either turn into a martyr or let themselves be consumed by it.
• Bad writing… There’s not much to say about this one. It’s a subjective thing. Every person starts somewhere. I’m sure if you ask any writer if they have any writings they regret, most will have an answer for you. But the writers that keep writing despite not being happy with their work (or despite others not being happy with their work) do also go through their own character arcs. I know for a fact that I am not the same author I was when I released Phantom Janitor.

Since my main focus with this box so far has been on Charlie, I feel inclined to point out that I have definitely nailed down his intentions at the beginning of this story. I feel like if I write the sentence “he’s trying to get over his ex” one more time, I’m going to not-so-spontaneously combust.

Charlie is the main character of a horror themed romantic comedy. Obviously he’s going to have a boyfriend/girlfriend by the end (I know I had said I had a specific love interest, but I have been thinking about the story more and may give him multiple.) So that’s one major change. However, there are other changes too. Maybe he’ll respect himself a bit more at the end, or stand up a bit more. Maybe he’ll realize that he needs to live a little more? Maybe he’ll decide that he may need to pick up a martial art or two to keep from being the target of a (Insert Horror Movie Monster here) again.

Sorry this card took so long! Got a new manager at work and I have been under a bit of pressure that has taken a lot out of me. However, after a fun weekend at CHOMP, hanging out with my friend NightEyes, and losing some Magic games I finally had the energy to type this out! Took me less than an hour, and I really liked the topic and how it made me think.

Hope you enjoyed! See you later for the next card!