Bootcamp Mentors Workshop Topics

Character Arc - Series

CHARACTER ARCS IN A SERIES

If you've decided to write a series, you can still approach your character arcs as if you were writing a standalone novel, but you will need to ask yourself this question: Will this be one continuous storyline over the course of the series? Or one character's continuing adventures through the series? An example of a continuous storyline would be Star Wars or The Hunger Games, while an example of a character's continuing adventures might be Sherlock Holmes or the Marvel Universe.

Continuous Storyline Series: When writing a character arc that spans a series through a continuous storyline, you can plot out your arc just as you might plot out the acts of a standalone novel. In each book, the protagonist confronts a distinct conflict, and in seeking its resolution, they are changed a little more each time. By the end of the series, the reader should see a profound change in the character.

📌 NOTE: Even in a continuous storyline, every book in the series needs to be complete unto itself: beginning, middle, end, opening dramatic question, resolution answering that question.

Continuing Adventures Series: The thing to keep in mind in structuring character arcs for this kind of series is that each book has a strong and self-contained story arc that corresponds to that book's plot. This sounds a lot like the "one continuous storyline" series, but the key difference is in the character's growth over time. What if you're writing an adventure series of ten books and you get to the end and realize every book is basically your character rehashing the same lesson over and over again? Is that as compelling as a character who grows over the course of their adventures? Adversity and experience changes a person, and they should change your protagonist in profound ways as well.

📌 NOTE: Even with a flat or static character, they can still face obstacles that challenge their integrity or have them questioning their worth, providing opportunities for small character arcs.

FINDING YOUR CHARACTER ARC IN A SERIES

Let's say you have a general idea of the overarching story arc, but you're not sure how your character arc works alongside it. You can start by writing a quick summary of the plot for each book. It doesn't have to be completely developed; any information about the individual storylines will help.

►Write the titles of each book; if you don't know them yet, write book 1, book 2, and so on.

► Beneath each title, write the plot summary for that book, then ask yourself: What is the main conflict that gets resolved within this first book? What related problem is my protagonist facing that challenges their status quo? Whatever you come up with here is (Book I) Point A of your character arc.

► Now ask yourself: How does this main conflict get resolved at the end of the book? How does my protagonist overcome his or her problem and establish a "new normal"? This is (Book I) Point B of your character arc.

► Repeat this process for each book then take a step back and look at your outline. What do you notice about each book's Point A and Point B? Is there a common thread? How are they similar? How are they different? Can you see an overall arc emerging?

On to Character Diversity...