This was so clarifying. Thank you! In my YA novel a young woman has to choose between her want, friends, and her truth, sense of purpose. I know it sounds super simple, but it wasn't until I watched this video. Thanks!
Very happy to hear this! Your want and truth sound like they're ideal for YA. Getting to the core of a character's motivation in a way that makes it sound simple is one of the most difficult things about a character arc, so well done!
Loved it. Made me think about my current character. While these character decisions often arise naturally within the writing process it's good to know how and why.
So far I have watched this 4 times as I go through the editing process. I have a completed story but you have made me realize that great chunks of it are in the wrong place.
I’ve been struggling with my character arch and your video has helped me to narrow it down and make a decision. My character has to choose between her life she has made for herself in the human world with her best friend and finding out her true identity and where she comes from by staying in a world she jumped into. when she accepts who she is and allows herself to want more than what she’s accepted her whole life she finds out she dosn't want more she needs it.
@@farrahlynnmullarkey6655, it's usually not verbalized by the character. Her actions or the understanding she reaches should make her arc obvious to the reader. Usually, if it's so apparent to you that it almost seems cartoonish, it's at the stage where the reader will be able to grasp what you're trying to show.
Natasa!! it's great to see you. I've been reading your emails for years but I have never seen your face! I loved the aspect of how the character's decision is the most important. this would be very useful in developing my main character.
Hi Simisola, I'm so glad the emphasis on the character's decision helped. Getting in front of the camera has taken years of persuasion, but I'm starting to get comfortable with it now! 😉
If you are on a steep learning curve as a writer, you have found the right place to learn. Subscribe to Natasa´s NY Book Editors. Also, make a file of the links for all the wisdom that comes from this site. I´ve been following Natasa for 5 yrs.
More than actualized needs/wants, although I totally see your structural point, I've always viewed Jane Eyre as fighting against social imprisonment > freedom to breathe > air - Eyre. In that era, needs superceded wants, so the fight between the two didn't really exist. A woman's success/security would come as materialism through marriage, for there was no other way to survive. But often in order to be materially free, you had to be morally/emotionally imprisoned -- hence the mad wife. Do we ever REALLY know what sent her over the edge? Could it be the very same thing Jane finds as an option at her feet? Jane decides an emotional prison is far worse than poverty. She's taking a huge gamble back then, one, in real life, doubtful many did. But in her past, she witnessed both -- material vs. moral bankruptcy -- and she's seen which inflicts more lasting psyche damage. By letting go of one prison to thwart off a larger, she breathes for the first time in her life, and when she does, a brighter world, as a reward for moral courage, arrives at her feet instead. I think before Jane ever met her love, she already knew there was only ever one choice -- moral need -- and the price to be paid if you chose the want.
Although , Natasa´s empathetic analysis of Jane Eyre is deep and detailed and edifying, to suggest that 75% of an author´s effort should be on the third act is, I believe, misleading. Certainly, the culmination of Jane Eyre´s loveless life may be in her finding her own footing, her own person and independence (even financially, which really can help a lot), crafting the chapters leading up to the finish cannot be counted as 25% of the writer´s effort. Natasa´s introduces building the character arch, new to me, and very helpful.
As always, your comments are so welcome! I'm glad you brought this up. Even if putting 75% of an author's effort on the third act is an exaggeration, I feel like Robert McKee's assessment will still be beneficial. It's a bold statement to try to show how crucial that last act is. Authors who put the bulk of their effort into Act 3, and then unravel what it would take to make that the most difficult situation the character could ever be in, will end up devoting as much time as they need to the first two Acts anyway. So, starting with the 75% in mind will often have a positive outcome, even if at the end of the day they spend much more time on the first two Acts than McKee suggests.
Hi Farrahlynn, It works a little differently for a series. You can either choose to have one character arc for the series, you can have a character arc for each standalone book (like for a superhero series), or you can include a character arc for each book which builds into an overarching character arc for the series. Now that I reread your comment, I'm not sure that's what you're asking about. You can certainly hint at your next book's character arc at the end of the previous one, but I'm not sure about starting it. Although, I can think of one example of a book that began its next character arc in the last two pages. It could work. It depends on how you handle it!
