Narrative Arcs: How to Create Them in Your Fiction

Good stories have narrative arcs. Characters start from one point in a story and end up in a completely different direction. For instance, the shy, nerdy schoolgirl becomes the most popular girl on campus. The greedy businessman becomes a philanthropist. The cynic becomes a romantic. Not all narrative arcs are as obvious as the ones listed above, but all characters do go from one point in the narrative to another. The story itself provides the impetus for the character to have his point of view challenged or forced to behave outside the box, thus leaving him or her open to change. Therefore the plot of the story is directly tied to a character’s narrative arc.

In order to know where to take a character on his or her narrative arc, it’s important to know where to start that character before the story begins. In other words, define who that character is. Sometimes defining a character can be as simple as some of the examples above. The shy, nerdy schoolgirl is a strongly identifiable character trait. Her behavior, her outlooks on life or herself, the way she responds to the world are all recognizable traits. But not all character definitions have to be that obvious. For instance, a character causes an automobile accident that kills a best friend might be feeling tremendously guilty and grief-stricken at the beginning of the story. The narrative arc for this character will involve his coming to terms with his guilt and grief and redeeming himself. Regardless of whether the story is comedic or dramatic, the character must begin at one place in the story before he can go on his narrative journey.

Once you determine where to begin your character’s story, the next phase is to determine what plot will best take him on his narrative arc. Since you have some idea about what place you want your character to be at the end of the story (the shy girl becomes popular), then you have to find a plot that will best take your character in that direction. The shy girl, for instance, might decide to improve herself and become more gregarious. Or she might meet someone who helps her open up to people. She could fall in love with the most popular boy in school who helps her to gain more confidence in herself. Or she could be chosen to run for class president, forcing the protagonist to campaign and make new friends. Either of these examples can take the shy girl through a narrative arc that will have her become the most popular girl at the end of the narrative. In the other example mentioned, the guilt-ridden man’s path toward redemption can include falling in love with his friend’s sister. The sister could help him heal from his wounds as she is healing from hers. Or perhaps he can take a road trip to visit a place his dead friend has always dreamed of going, such as the Grand Canyon. Each of these examples can be used to explore the ways in which the character finds redemption from his past examples and lead him through his narrative arc.

The ways in which a character can be led through his narrative arc are endless. As long as the character is allowed to go on his journey from one point to the next, then the arc will be believable. But the story must be plausible. In other words, it must be done in a way that doesn’t strain credibility. If the shy girl all of the sudden displays abilities or personality traits that are contrary to the ones you created at the beginning of the story, then readers will cry foul. The best way to make the character’s journey believable is to create a transition between who the character is at the beginning of the story and who she becomes at the end. This can be done by providing credible obstacles for the character to overcome. For instance, the shy girl will obviously have to overcome her shyness in order to become the most popular girl on campus. Her shyness should provide the struggles she faces throughout the story. The man who blames himself for his friend’s death will have to overcome his guilt. His actions should reflect his guilt, for instance. The narrative arc occurs when both characters are given a catalyst to force them to change. For the shy girl, for instance, her catalyst can be the most popular boy at school falling in love with her and helping her overcome her shyness; or it can be a best friend who nominates her to become the school’s next class president. For the guilt-ridden man, his catalyst can be his dead friend’s sister or deciding to travel to the Grand Canyon. Each catalyst forces the character to act, to do something that forces him to change or challenges his perceptions. This will take the character on his narrative journey.

The most important things to bear in mind when writing a character’s narrative arc:

1. Define who your character will be at the beginning of the story and where you want that character to end up at the ending. You don’t necessarily have to detail this as you begin writing. Sometimes stories don’t always end up the way you imagine them ending. But do bear in mind that your character’s narrative journey has to end up somewhere and that it should be the exact opposite of where your character began.

2. Narrative arcs prevent characters from being flat or static. This simply means that the character changes during the course of the story. Narrative arcs don’t have to be simplistic (miser to philanthropist). Sometimes, narrative arcs can even be pessimistic and dour. The happy-go-luck guy can end up becoming cynical, depending on the type of story you’re telling.

3. The obstacles you create for your characters should be organic to the character and the story. Create situations that will only force the shy girl to become outgoing or the guilt-ridden man to redeem himself.