Character
Development drives Conflict
All stories are about people, even when they're
about rabbits. And the stories that move us most,
the ones that stick inside years later, are those
inhabited by characters we can connect with and
admire.
And no characters resonate more than those who in
the course of a story learned how to transcend their
own flaws and weaknesses to do something great—this
is known as a Character Arc.
And by great I don’t mean saving the world, for
often the quietest moments are the ones in which
characters find their greatness. The moments that
truly define us are almost always personal, times
when we’re able to overcome our own limitations and
rise to be something more.
Character Arc—the
rocky path of personal growth and development a
character undergoes in a story, usually unwillingly,
during which the character wrestles with and
eventually overcomes some or all of a serious
emotional fear, limitation, block or wound.
In a character's development he or she might
overcome:
o
lack of courage
or inner doubts
o lack of ethics
o learning to love
o guilt
o trauma from the past
o errors in thinking, etc.
Weaknesses,
imperfections, quirks and vices make a character
more real & appealing.
They humanize a character. The audience can
identify with them. Flaws and imperfections give
a character somewhere to go and progress toward
in the story. The development of a character is
only interesting if they overcome something.
A great example of a character arc
– Tom Cruise’s character in "Rain Man."
Beginning
– Cruise is a ruthless car dealer who kidnaps his
autistic brother because he feels cheated about not
receiving any money from his father's will.
End of Arc
– After a cross-country journey with his brother, he
learns the importance of family and turns down the
money.
Role of a Character Arc
-
Keeps the tension high and the conflict going.
-
Serves as the “inner” conflict and is always
mirrored by the story's “outer” conflict.
