This video just helped me iron out a problem in my ms that I didn't even know I had. Cheers!

@JhadeSagrav

2 ай бұрын

Share the problem (if you're willing to)! I bet it would help a lot of us here too!

Uncle iroh is also a great example of a flat character arc. We know he was once a war general and no longer is, but in the show itself he never changes, yet he is still one of everyone's favorite characters. And that's because he changes people around him, and helps the other characters grow and develop, especially zuko, obviously.

@awolr

2 ай бұрын

I wouldn't tend to agree because he realises his own flaws along the way. It is his lack of action in the face of his brother's evil that initially dooms Zuko and Azula. Although he hid it, he was disappointed by his title and victory in the Earth Kingdom, among other things. His journey allows him to reconnect with his wisdom and see his ability to, as you mentioned, see the impact he has on the ones around him. Teaching Zuko about balance of the elements and learning from others is one of those important moment for his own arc. That's why my man gets hella ripped and eventually revolts against Ozai, rejecting a Fire Nation that stands for evil.

@carlosdeandres4774

2 ай бұрын

The growth of a man who shares his experience with those around him, making those who listen to him develop as charactes and himself to learn about his own flaws. Simply perfect

@AnomalousVixel

Ай бұрын

Naw, he definitely changes. He didn't have a pillow on his abs through the whole series, y'know! 😏

@DamienZshadow

Ай бұрын

​@awolr I feel like any legitimate changes he went through happened before the story started off screen. He was a flat character who affected others to change more changed himself. Throughout the whole show he was the Grand Master of the White Lotus, empathetic to others, and took action but he didn't outright ever lead the action because he was playing 3 dimensional chess with the Avatar and Zuko being the deciding factor of when he takes action. He didn't come to that realization, he was just waiting for the youth to be ready to seize the world.

@MegananaOwl

Ай бұрын

Yes. He went through his own positive character arc, but as part of his backstory. In the course of the main story he is flat and able to help others change.

it's interesting to me that i notice most people write positive character arcs, but most my characters have negative arcs lol. even when i write a character based around "the lie they believe", the arc I write tends to be about them doubling down on it and being ultimately consumed by it, and i love writing how that arc ultimately ends and how it effects their friends, loved ones, enemies and allies.

@MorgottofLeyendell

2 ай бұрын

I get how you feel, all of my protagonists end up dark and disturbed with tragic pasts. Maybe I'm just to cliche.

@ellie7252

2 ай бұрын

@@MorgottofLeyendell well, all the mainstream stories do the direct opposite (except for say, Game Of Thrones and Breaking Bad, but I haven't read/watched those, so i don't know much about them.) , so maybe as 'indie' writers, that's why we all write the same very different thing to that which is traditional? who knows!

@Chicenk

2 ай бұрын

That's prolly cuz ppl prefer likeable characters, but if you wanna start a character's depression arc go bonkers with it

@ellie7252

2 ай бұрын

@@Chicenk I don't see what depression has to do with being a bad person lol

@Chicenk

2 ай бұрын

@@ellie7252 Ah I thought being consumed meant like, becoming upset and crazy, replace it with villain arc then

1. Ghost: Shek grows up being taught that ogres are bad and everyone hates them 2. Lie: Shrek believes no one would love or be friends with an ogre 3. Want: Shrek wants to live in isolation in his swamp 4. Need: Shrek needs to open up and let people in 5. Truth: Shrek needs to realize that he's a good guy and not be confrontational/expect confrontation

@sageof6pandas233

14 күн бұрын

Ghost: character was driven from his home by barbarian invaders who razed and destroyed half of the entire kingdom, forced to flee to the capital city, seen as a city of prosperity, but instead it exploits him and his family, until it breaks them down and leaves them to die Lie: The kingdom is evil, and if only there was reform or revolution, then everything will be better, and the nation will once again prosperity. Want: To reform the kingdom or bring about the revolution, so that corruption and exploitation will be brought to an end Need: to understand that the world is far bigger than he can comprehend, there are hundreds of forces and factions in the kingdom that pull on eachother for power for reasons noble and terrible, and simply changing a few things, or breaking everything and rebuilding things in your own image will not remove evil. Truth: similar to need Didn't know what really to put because the character has many shifting wants and needs, and there really isn't a permanent truth

Huh. At the begining of Ned's story he beheads a man, saying; "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die." His story ends with him being sentenced to death unjustly, and Joffery didn't swing the sword himself. Neat.

@Jed_Herne

Ай бұрын

I didn't even notice that. Great pick up!

This is why I'm subscribed to you! Instead of "pumping out" content, you wait until you have something high quality and then release it. This is an hour long video I am glad to have watched!

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

I appreciate that!

@DanSung2021

Ай бұрын

@thr4wn Hey there, is it ok if i could have a second of your time. I've been really struggling with a big decision. Its regarding a decision of me wanting to change business models, from doing a self improvement channel, to doing a writing channel. I'm not sure if with writing, there is really much that can be "taught" on writing, because different people have different methods. I want to be able to make money while doing what i love, and I see that Jed has been able to do it, but i still feel doubtful.

In my novella my protagonist is meant to become less likable as the book progresses, and intentionally have the readers turn against the protagonist and their actions. It features a negative character arc, where protagonist becomes more of a antagonist figure, going from good to evil due to childhood trauma

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

I covered writing negative arcs a lot in this video - hope it's useful!

@rhuanv

2 ай бұрын

If well made, it's quite a good ideia. But a bit dangerous. I hope you have other characters the Reader can attach themselves to, otherwise they can feel quite lost. I remember some Sanderson comments about subverting expectations and plot twists, saying that its a very difficult thing to pull off, but if done well can be amazing. Hope you can do it!

@unicorntomboy9736

2 ай бұрын

@@rhuanv My book is split into two parts, separated by a large time skip. The first half follows the protagonist as a pre teen child, and the latter half as a young adult, with all the negative arc happening in this latter portion, after a traumatic incident at the midpoint, after their father, the king of an empire, is murdered by their jealous, bitter uncle. It is essentially a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet I have a love interest, who is meant to be very likable, but who gets murdered by the protagonist (who is female btw, with a male love interest) shortly after a lovemaking scene.

@JhadeSagrav

2 ай бұрын

@@unicorntomboy9736 Heyoo Praying Mantis ftw!

@James_Wisniewski

2 ай бұрын

Just fyi, you're mixing up protag/antag with hero/villain. They're often conflated, but not strictly speaking the same thing. A protagonist is the one who acts, or the character we're following, and an antagonist is the one who acts against, or the opposition to the protagonist. A hero, meanwhile, is a character who does heroic things (albeit not always necessarily for good reasons) and a villain is a character who does villainous things (albeit not necessarily for bad reasons). If your protagonist is villainous, e.g. Walter White from Breaking Bad, then the heroic character trying to stop them, e.g. Hank Schrader, is the antagonist. Of course, the protag/antag relationship can get even more complicated, but the protagonist is always just whoever is the main point of view character. It's not a values judgement. It's just the person whose story is being told.

I've condensed the core components to just three: The Want, The Need, and The Lie. I've also used this for the supporting characters, to flesh out their motivations, desires, and expectations.

This is the most informative video on the art of storytelling I have ever found. This has improved my story immensely.

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

My favorite fantasy characters with cool arcs are Luz (the owl house) and Zuko (avatar the last airbender). Zuko's redemption arc and Luz's arc in finding herself and what she truly wants in life are written so well and done in such a way that I love to rewatch them over and over again.

Between you and Ellen Brock, I basically have a degree in creative writing at this point. Thank you for the incredible work you do!

Jed, I can't thank you enough. Been writing a novel for a while now that ties together 3 character arcs; I was confident on 2 of them but completely stuck on the third one. I've read the KM weiland books explaining these concepts, yet I've been more or less banging my head against the wall trying to come up with ideas, to no avail. But your numerous examples and the "axis of Desire" table really have helped me to understand the missing pieces of the puzzle. Once again, thank you!!

Remember, arcs don't have to be unidirectional. You can have characters "trade" parts of themselves, gaining new negatives while also gaining positives, and you can have them lose almost everything that makes them good and slowly rebuild it or gain something new. Houseki no Kuni, Arifureta, and Tokyo Ghoul come to mind.

@Child_of_the_Void

24 күн бұрын

I'm doing something similar with one of my protagonists. She is a body snatcher that starts the story not really living or viewing itself as "real", but also not really hurting people - changing a body only when she needs to and usually takes it from someone that's dying anyway. The other protagonists convince it to give living a try, and it fully adopts the identity of this girl. Anyway, she turns out to rather enjoy being a person and having friends and the likes. So, positive arc, right? Maybe, but we also see her willingness to be a monster to protect her new identity abd friends. When she gets injured enough to destroy her body, she hunts down a minor villain that was kinda similar to her, gets her shapeshifting ex to sculpt the poor girl's body to be identical to her, and then murders her to assume her form. That's objectively monstrous, and she would not have done it earlier in the story

This is gold Jed, really good stuff. Loving the extra long video 😁

I knew a major video was in the works!

The thing I like about your videos is how validating they are. I tend to doubt the quality of my work a lot, but then I catch one of your videos and can confirm that I have already applied almost everything you suggest, despite not necessarily knowing that was what I was doing. What you say about the first time you wrote a book also reminds me of my first manuscript. I was 11, maybe 12, and just started writing from the prologue with no idea as to where I was going, and made all the mistakes possible, until I eventually dropped it. It was too big of a mess, and handwritten, so not fixable easily. I think too many young writers forget that the people they look up to for writing good books didn't just get there on the first try. In my case I've been writing for 16 years without ever even attempting to publish anything. In that time I've been free to experiment and fail a lot, and thus learn from those failures to do better on the next project. What you give on your channel is pretty much a cheat-sheet to skip over all the mistakes we had to make, by breaking down what you've learned, and I appreciate that, even if it is oftentimes redundant information to me, as it at least helps reassure me that I have indeed learned, and am a better writer for it. Cheers.

This applies to about any fiction and explains so much about the dullness in mine. I just saw it a first time to understand it. Now I will go through it a second time and directly apply it to my current story.

This is great man, huge help for my current novel.

Thanks for the great video. I have written countless short stories, tried building fantasy and sci-fi worlds, and scribbled parts of stories here and there, but this video has helped me a lot. It gave me newfound inspiration and made me pick apart my different fantasy worlds, pull new inspiration and have a clear story in my head now. I will definitely use the notes I've taken from this video and try following the 9-point story structure along with the arc components.

Jed youre such a gift 🙏🏻 thoughtful analysis and a nice conversational tone all in one, just what I needed to get the creativity unjammed

I love that all of your videos have examples from other books or movies to help explain your points (like the Harry Potter example). Thank you for making great videos! :)

wow. that was very insightful. You have my thanks

Wow, you put so much work into this Video. Trank you very much!

This may your best video yet. Lot of great stuff in here. :)

Jed, my good sir, it's so nice to see your channel grow. This video is some of your finest work! Any chance on reviving your fantasy podcast? It would be so great!!

I have watched sections of this videos over and over again. It's so helpful and I've never thought of character arcs the way that you've layer them out for me and it honestly makes so much sense. The flat arc thing makes so much sense and because of this video I now know how to apply a flat arc instead of forcing a positive character arc on my mc (which would have just ended up being unnatural). I think this is one of the best videos around. I can't believe the amount of times I've watched this on repeat. It's beyond helpful. Thank you so much.

@Jed_Herne

Ай бұрын

Glad to help!

Hey Jed, could you maybe make a video on writing short fiction and short stories and how the process and method differs from writing longer fiction like novellas, novels or entire series?

@unicorntomboy9736

2 ай бұрын

The key thing with short stories, is starting late and ending early, preferably with an ambiguous, open ended ending I have recently written a Lovecraftian cosmic horror short story using this principle

@amysteriousviewer3772

2 ай бұрын

@@unicorntomboy9736Yeah that makes sense. I suppose my issue is that most of the ideas I have always seem too big to fit into a short fiction frame or like I’m not utilising them to their full potential by trying to write them in a shorter format. I like writing long fiction but I also want to write short fiction to practice actually finishing the things I start. What makes an idea suitable for a short story to you or how do you shrink down or refine ideas to fit a shorter format?

Just what I needed I’m doing edits on my novel this helps. Thanks man!!!

This is a great advice! Keep up your good work! 😁

Excellent video, Jed. Thank you

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Omg this is so useful, ty sm❤

So many useful tips, backed up by solid examples... I loved it. Thank you! (Best Served Cold is such a nice book, now I want to read it again :D )

Jed herne is amazing. Ibe really been able to evolve my storytelling.

Thanks for this video. While i have most of things figured out, putting my characters and the story in this perspective really streamlined tgings a lot.

WONDERFUL VIDEO, JED ❤!

Fantastic video! Very educational!❤

I will be going thru the upcoming cohort and this video was wonderful. I saw this arc develop in one of my 3 protagonists and it's slowly developing in the other 2. This video really helped define a good character arc for rising to the challenge or succumbing to it. Looking forward to going deeper into this.

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

Looking forward to working with you, Daniel!

Great video!!

Great video

This was really helpful! As you were mapping out each type of arc, I realized that my main character is actually dealing with a negative arc, but at the final test, she returns to embracing the truth rather than rejecting it (not quite a flat arc)! One of the minor characters has a flat arc, but it is not positive; he is a narcissist and one of the main influences guiding the negative arc. Then as you continued explaining, my story flopped arcs again. There is a major event that happens before the story which will come up later on, but we actually start with the main character in a darker place as a result of a series of events following that event... so it's actually a positive arc if you start there. Thank you for helping me work through this! My story wasn't making sense looking at positive arc tips, since I was looking at the full story including back story! I was worried that my story was inherently flawed and going to be boring or unbelievable. I have new ideas to work with to make this work.

Another thing that I fully understand and can apply t my story from now on

Maybe "More antagonist pressure" could be "The antagonist mirror" or similar. The way you describe it, after the midpoint being a time for the protagonist to view themselves in the mirror, the other side is then reflected by the antagonist. Just a thought =) What an incredible video! You do such a good job of tying the pieces of story together. Thanks Jed!

@Jed - your character arcs in Kingdom of Dragons are awesome.

I've give this a listen at work. My protagonists start off with flaws that they learn to overcome throughout the story but readers have complained that those flaws make them unlikeable at the start of the book. Hoping this will help!

@JhadeSagrav

2 ай бұрын

Are they aware of those flaws? I think that generates sympathy for a character if, say, they're constantly rude, but you can tell they know they're being rude and don't like that about themselves but can't seem to help it. Or, say, a cowardly character that you can see struggling trying to convince themselves to take a brave action, but ultimately failing.

@flowerbloom5782

Ай бұрын

Same I want to write characters who have attitude problems without being insufferable. I worry about that.

@mvprime8

9 күн бұрын

As cliche as it is, a "save the cat" moment could help. Doesn't necessarily have to be anything big, could just be a small indication that at least one of the characters has some good in them. A kind word or gesture to someone, a hint of regret after doing something bad. Anything, however little, to show to the reader that even if the character is for the most part unlikeable at the start, there is some good in them that might come out later in a bigger way.

I just found your channel today. I’m not a fantasy writer or a novelist. I’m currently working on a comic, in fact the first piece of writing I’ve tried. I’m still in the development stage and your videos have already helped me iron out some ideas. Thanks, and I really hope my story comes out as good as it is in my head!

@DamienZshadow

Ай бұрын

I am working on a graphic novel myself and this is my first time writing for what I am drawing. Tough stuff, right? Great resources like this certainly help me! Wishing you the best, brother!

Thanks for this. I do think adding "Purpose" to your Axis of Desire could really strengthen it. Some of the other desires somewhat fall into the same realm, but some characters could also want to discover who they are and why they're on this Earth (or whatever world they're in). That alone could also lead them down some interesting paths.

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

Good call

Anyone curious, there is a greatly exhaustive introduction to creating characters by David Corbett called "The Art of Character" and "The Character Compass" I've been rereading. In the Art, David develops over 28 chapters who the artist as a whole is and their observations of their own character to bring to empathetic life the characters they conceive. He emphasizes scenic writing especially in most exercises that end a chapter. In the Compass, David focuses in on the characters motivation, their desire. The epilogue alone really elevated my appreciation not just for storytelling to others, but especially what it means to me. As well, exercises at the end of each chapter.

Bedankt

This is the best (or at least most useful) video on character arcs that I’ve seen. It’s also the longest, which might be why.

Truly inspiring. Damnit. Going to rewrite my main characters and villains now :) One idea I'll add to the pile: I'm planning to have a pair of interacting arcs for two romantically connected (and disentangled, and reconnected) characters who are all resolved and happy and together by the end of book one. But after that, they remain together - and thus they share a common arc from that point on. Maybe their marriage vows should include "...and so I will bind my character arc to yours, till epilogue do us part..."

Merci. Des informations et explications utiles.

17:56 the 8th one is kim dokja {btw love your videos, they help me so much}

Well... my writing for characters especially my MC is always centered around the fact at how much I can break down my character, what is the lowest point they can reach and what they do when they reach that point. I'm definitely a brutal writer as I implement everything to absolutely tear my characters down so I can see them at their lowest so then if I want them to have a redemption arc (which I often don't have) then it will hit so much harder. Also I firmly believe that you know a character most by seeing them at their lowest and at doing something insanely mundane or a glimpse into their daily life. That's just my opinion though.

@MorgottofLeyendell

2 ай бұрын

I totally agree, our characters show their true colors under the least and highest pressure. Breaking your characters also helps you and the reader understand the fundamental nature of those characters.

I’m writing a very long serialized fiction where my main character starts semi positive and then goes on a nosedive down a negative character arc before slowly improving again

I really like unlikable characters types because they have so much potential, they are my favorites. Even characters I truly despised at the start, like the MC of Lot 36 in the cabinet of curiosities, I still ended up rooting for. It might be the hardest type of character to make the public relate to, but I think they might also be the ones that would gain the most kudos if you manage to pull it off.

One of the characters in my book has the ghost, lie, want, need, truth arc, he is a vampire hunter who is haunted by the death of his mother at the hands of a vampire (the ghost) so he's dedicated his life to destroying vampirekind (the want) he wears a mask and doesn't tell his friends why he's doing this (the lie) but he needs to let go of the past and see past his hatred of vampires (the need) Near the end of the series he will reveal the truth to his friends, don't know how yet. And my favorite fantasy character arc is Peril from Wings of Fire.

The axis of desire is a killer tool!

I have the bones of a story I've been writing off-and-on for quite some time, though more off than on. And it was a little uncanny when you were laying out the Ghost Archetypes because my main character's ghost fits into 7 out of 10 of the categories you listed.

I think one of the best ways to learn writing is to study the 3 act story structure and then trying to make sense of all the storyaspects like character, tension, plot and how they effect each other

Wonderful Video! I was just wondering: what if the "lie" of the character is no lie at all, and is just their want for meaning in life just right after they've lost their meaning in their lives?

@Cityweaver

2 ай бұрын

I'd ask if you are willing to write them being wrong or mistaken about what they want. Not the concept of wanting a meaning to their life, but what they have to do to get there... Coming of age stories, by definition, are about young characters finding meaning in their lives, but that doesn't change the need to explore their worldview, prejudices, biases. Even the things that make them strong can blind them. Pixar's Mr. Incredible knew exactly what he wanted out of his life until one law changed, and everything that made him important suddenly made him a liability. That doesn't mean the story doesn't also include acknowledging his biases. (In fact, Pixar has written a lot of older characters who were confident they already had their lives figured out, and taking them out of their comfort zone explored how their strengths built bubbles that insulated and enabled their biases. Joy, Sully, Woody, etc.)

I forgot I had Dark Souls 3 open and the menu music was playing for a good portion of this video. The entire time I was sitting here thinking "dang this guy really enjoys his theatrics"

Thank you so much for mentioning that the ghost doesn’t have to be traumatic. I’ve been struggling with my character cause I thought she had to have a bad experience.

Three cheers to Jed for saving me time and error

1:04:55 man frodo was already stealing from dragons (amazing video btw)

Gonna have to apply this x3 to my novel since I’m basically writing 3 different stories that all converge at one point in the same novel! Wish me luck. Also, quick question, I’ve heard somewhere that you can edit people’s stories, but I don’t know the full story. Could you tell me about this and how much it costs? I need an editor for my fan novel, thanks and god bless.

Would it be possible to have the magic system design contest be an annual event? I found your channel because of that contest and was super bummed that I wasn't able to participate.

Could you ever talk about character arcs in the span of a series birrger than 3 books? Or maybe about characters, especially the pov of MCs with some mental illness like depression? Thanks for your videos, i always learn so much from them!

03:37 _"....Plot IS Character! Character IS Plot! ....How they [ the characters ] choose IS Who They Are...."_ -- Robert McKee [[ à la his rightly renowned book, 'Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting' ]]

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

McKee's certainly a big influence on my writing. Good pick up

@SerFloortje

2 ай бұрын

​@Jed_Herne im listening to his book on character now. Did you like any book more than the others? So far, I'm learning some from Character, but not as much as I hoped

WOW... JUST WOW

There are actually plot driven stories where the characters are in service of the plot not the other way around, an example would short stories like Issac Azemov short sci-fi stories, the characters exist only to facilitate the cool/interesting/surprising plot and whatever twist happens at the end that delivers the moral of the story, the characters themselves are pretty much disposable and we don't get to know much about them. You could also think of something like the Foundation books as a plot driven book, the story spans thousands of years and the focus is mainly on exploring the grand themes and concepts behind the story not the characters themselves.

I’m thinking about applying these character arc insights to American politics and polarities. The psychologies at work here help make sense of the ascents and descents, the fervor and relentlessness, the tragedies and farces, the strange power dynamics.

I think "the last of us" deos something interesting here, especially, Jeols character arc. The point where either the truth or the lie wins, is left open and its kind of a negative change arc, but also kind of flat. I would not even know where to begin here. I love stories like this, because it resolve the story and it shows, that rules in writing are allways there to be broken. You have to know, what is best for youre story.

I'm writing a story where the one of the main characters go through a positive character arc and the other main character goes through a negative character arc. They have similar ghosts and both believe a similar lie and similar wants, but the way they go about it is distinctly different. they are what the other could have been in a sense.

I just did a double take and realized that my protagonists' close "ally" (although their relationship is contemptuous at best) has 6-7 of the ghost archetypes all at once. That might complicate things, now that I think about it.

General Hux -“I’m the spy” 🤡

I think it would be really interesting to have a negative arc where instead of the MC believing the truth originally, they believed a Lie or a twisted version of the Truth and then progressed to believe the worse Lie by the end. I believe that villains in particular encounter an issue with accepting the Truth when they originally had a misconception about the Truth that was never resolved. So a Twisted Truth becomes the thing they reject in the Climax because they never had a complete understanding of the True Truth...if that makes any sense 😅

Wonderful video. Lots of good take aways!

Robert Heinlein wrote that there are 3 main plots in character-driven stories. Boy Meets Girl (self-explanatory), The Little Tailor (underdog beats the odds), and The Man Who Learned Better, which is the one this video focuses on. Every story I've ever read (and enjoyed) uses at least one of these themes. In fact, I would go so far as to say that any story that doesn't make use of any of them isn't really a story at all.

Awesome video! Very well explained.

Hey Jed, I love the videos and stories! I wanna write a for-fun story for me and my friends but idk if you can review it for free? I don’t really know, and if not, it’s okay…

Im working on a story where the MC had a ridiculous goal that has no real meaning to it but relates to his experience from his past. I dont want him to give up that goal but i find that it makes sense he starts to have real meaning for pursing that goal

Can you make a video about side character arcs?

My protagonist is destined to kill the antagonist, he at first is ambitious to do so but throughout the story he realises that he cannot do this and is constantly in a conflict to kill him or not, as killing the antagonist will save the others. In the last battle with the antagonist he decides not to kill him, so this decision results in his victory over the antagonist. Is it a good plot?

Can you use this advice for other genres?

Is there somewhere to get a printout of the "axis of desire". It's hard to read on the screen and my sister and I have finished writing our novel, but re-writing to improve dialogue, character descriptions, and making sure we convey our character arcs (are build them in if not really included).

Can you talk about the Classical Epic Genre and how we can adapt this genre of writing? Examples: Lusiads, Aeneid, Odyssey, Iliad. And can you give your opinion on these works? For example about the Lusiadas? (it's smaller) I hear few people talking about it. Please ❤🙏

Excellent material, great video

I feel liie Kratos in God of war 4 and Ragnarok is a great example of a redemption character arc.

One thing that I wanted to add to this is that, the definition of lie can vary greatly. A lie doesn't have to be a lie in the litteral sense of the term, and it doesn't have to be related to the world, in particular. For example, one of my MC is a foreign woman who'd defected her native country to the place where my story takes place. She was pregnant when she fled, however, and so, she has a son, who was born in this new land she doesn't know and comprehend herself. Her arc revolves around that situation. Without even realizing, she inforce her culture and religion upon her son, oblivious to the fact that he may have a different opinion of the way he want to follow, which will set the many conflicts she'll face throughought the story. Her lie isn't really a lie but more of a aspect of her son she fails to see and the conflict is more at her personal level than directly inflicted by the world around her (even thought, it does play a role, this is very much an internal struggle than a world-related one). It is to say that, the notion of lie, truth ect can be adjusted to what you want to tell with your story. The end goal is to create struggle with your MC and give them a notion of progress (or the world around them in the case of a flat arc). There's no bad way to do it, as long as it makes sense and it's interesting to read. One last thing is about the rooting interest. Be ware that the witty trait is quite commonly used is story telling and sort of something a lot of writters tend to do. It's not to say you shouldn't do it (the very woman I mentioned from my book earlier has this sassy behavior that's so attaching to a lot of readers) but it's worth keeping it in mind when you're writing other characters (especialy if your book is a multi-POV story). Try not to fall into the trap of making them all clever and witty because it can get quite jarring in the end.

Hi Jed, I'm a fantasy writer working on the visual medium, so comics and drawings and whatnot, and I have a question. How do you think one ond portray a character's power? I feel like showing someone easily cutting down a bunch of knights makes it look like disadvantageous and like, in a world with magic, these people are just victims of circumstance who would eventually be cut down, but if one says that every nameless critters has powers then things could become drawn out and boring. Do you have any tips to find that happy medium? To find that golden mean? Sorry if it's a bit out of your realm since your space is the written format and mine is drawn where there's some emphasis on the visual spectacle.

@nettocap

2 ай бұрын

I guess it depends on your world morals. It isn't because someone has powers and can do it, that they go out cutting down a bunch of common knights. This probably would mess with their heads or make them the villain. Like, if a person does doing that, there are probably other powerful characters that will go after them to make sure that peace and stability exists again. Or you can lke any action movie would do, and just put evil minion people that are there to be taken down by the hero and no one really cares, because they just want to see a cool action sequence. It will only matter and be a harder fight when the hero/villain is against a well developed character in the story. I guess its a question of separating who is a nameless minion character and who is a well developed character that the audience will want to see a though fight.

@JhadeSagrav

2 ай бұрын

You could also take them down in a creative, non-fatal way, maybe? I think that's what you're saying, right? That a show of power generally results in lots of bodies and that makes your character more morally grey than you'd like them to be? In a world where everyone has magic, maybe the greatest show of power would be the person who can take that magic away.

If I have multiple POV characters, does it matter if their arcs are different types (positive / negative)? Also is it worth ensuring their arcs develop at different stages of the narrative e.g. so we don’t have a realisation of a need at the same time?

im trying to define the antagonist/henchmen of my plot in an engaging manner & i was wondering if i could be directed to an opposite chart from the one seen at the start of the video for establishing enemy motives that the reader might be able to sympathize with to the same degree ,love your stuff so far

@retexcrafted

Күн бұрын

While I am only at the start of the video I think I can still help. In theory there are two kinds of character arcs positive and negative. while a negative character arc doesn't have to just be for a villain it does work really well for sympathetic villains. You can basically follow along the positive arc sheet but inverted. Their slow descent into there final belief. For example the point in which a positive arc character would be at there lowest the negative character arc, the negative character arc would be regretting what they did before going ahead and continuing there descent

@Whoopsie_woggzy

16 сағат бұрын

@@retexcrafted my monkey brain needs the visualization of it in front of me though unfortunately ^^

Very few videos on yt have deserved a Like more than this one! Brilliant.

@Jed_Herne

2 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Exactly what I needed just right now in my writing. Wow. You read my mind.

I have major heal issues, if I were to sign up and have an episode would I be able to go there with a different cohort if I sign up and something happens?

The willingness to suffer vulnerability for the benefit of others or your future self is symptomatic of strength, but vulnerability itself is not "a form of strength". It's deliberate weakness which you can allow because of your compensating strength.

There's a cool urban fantasy game where you run a coffee shop. I'm seriously considering getting it when I have a computer and money.

This just helped me realize that I think many of my favorite stories that I am ready to tell have flat character arcs (or at least fairly flat). The one I am specifically thinking about follows a protagonist who lives an easy life, but is falsely accused and framed for the murder of his sister as a direct result of his belief that his father trusts him. When this all shakes out, my character ends up enslaved to someone who is really brutal and twisted (at the end of his own negative arc). This situation challenges the protagonist when he is required to participate in another murder. His past drives him to try and stop the situation; but at what cost? Consequences are severe, yet he manages to hold on a bit longer and his new master loses the battle of wills. All he wants (if it can even happen) is to somehow return to his family and stop the real killer in their midst; however this is not easy in the slightest. He is completely bypassed and the second attempt at murder goes through, tearing him inside all over again. On top of this, he is promised certain death if he tells the truth about who the killer is this time. The plot armor is paper-thin, and yet his honesty saves his life. He secures safety for the criminal's daughter, who has been assisting him in small ways all this time, and now wonders how he can save his family. In a shocking turn of events, the true killer was caught in his own schemes, and my character is invited home again. All is not over, though, as the murderer is furious at the failure of his plan. In a last effort, this fellow tries to get rid of everyone within his reach; but it is the protagonist who stops him. Defeating the murderer and yet not meting out the death the man deserves, but leaving that to the proper authorities; proving once and for all who he is.

Well i plan a story with crossing Arcs. There are two main characters, from wich one start very very dark, and the other very very light and the one main character goes up and the other goes down and all across the story they Fight and my plan is that the reader starts to root for the one main character to rooting for an understanding to rooting for the other main character.

Just as a friendly reminder, in your example of the Hobbit for point 6 you say, "Frodo sneaks into the Lonely Mountain" when it was Biblo. More of a typo then anything. Otherwise this has helped me alot in my writing process. Thanks!