Characters: The Arc of it All

Writing your story and building the world is all fun and games until you have to push your characters to their limits and let them grow. While you build your world and create your plot, your characters are still there; don’t forget them! It’s easy to get lost in the grand scheme of your manuscript, and it can be tough to remember where you put your cast, where they last left off, and where they need to be for a particular scene.

A character arc is—most of the time—the most integral part of the story you are writing. If a story ends and your characters have learned nothing, are the same as they began, and don’t feel any different by the end of the book, something is missing. Arcs can make or break your story! It’s how your reader connects the characters and their emotions, thoughts, decisions, and existence. How they catapult themselves into the fictional world and lives you are creating.

As a developmental editor, one of the main things I look at while evaluating a story is the characters and what’s going on with them. Some of the questions I ask myself while reading a project are:

• What are these characters like in the beginning?

  • The attitude

  • The mannerisms

  • The voice

• How are they reacting to their circumstances, and is it on brand for them?

  • Are they reacting how they should

  • Are they learning

  • Is something off about them?

  • What are they showing the readers about themselves?

• Are they different in the end?

  • Did they take anything away from their experience? 

  • What is their attitude after everything that happened?

  • Do they make any significant choices towards growth, regression, or any change of sides?

Of course, every manuscript is different, and not every character will go through a change, but it still needs to make sense for them and the overall story. For instance, a background or supporting character may not even develop at all. But it’s important to keep it consistent with the story being told. 

If you’re struggling, that’s okay! Writing a book is no easy feat, and there are a lot of moving parts. It’s okay to tackle one thing at a time, and to take your time doing so. Some exercises that you can do would be:

• Write a character analysis for each person you write. Really get to know them and then write where you see them at the end of your book/series.

• Ask yourself who this character is based on and what they would do in a situation.

• Create an outline for your character. What plot points do they need to be in? What is their mental/emotional/physical journey?

This all may seem like a lot, and you could say to yourself, “I’m not doing all of that”, and that’s okay! As always, it’s your book, and you can do what you want. But sometimes, going that extra mile can pull your story together for the better.