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The main characters are expected to win. That’s how literature works. Without the ups and downs, the question of morality, and the possibility of failing, there’s no reason to look forward to what’s to come. This is the purpose character arcs serve.

It’s no point questioning whether readers prefer a flat or round character. Whichever they pick is reflective of their personality, and nobody wants to be called two-dimensional – that’s just boring.

Characters significantly influence how stories transpire. How events unfold depends primarily on their attributes, reactions to matters, and what they say about these affairs. A fixed character with unchangeable morals and characteristics makes stories predictable. Nobody wants that.

Readers want to read valuable stories with equally amusing characters that challenge themselves and society’s norms. After all, stories are supposed to be a form of escapism, which shouldn’t be a reminder of how mundane and dull life can be. Instead, readers want changes, regardless of how erratic or tormenting these can be. They enjoy challenges so overwhelming they result in characters’ growth and transformations. And a way to achieve this is through character arcs.

First, What Are Character Arcs?

Black Menace: Scourge of an Apocalyptic World by Sousa follows a moorhen’s journey through life’s ups and downs. Although the protagonist may be a non-human character, which might make it non-relatable, how he faces his challenges is one for everybody’s books.

Mik, the moorhen, had his eyes pried open to violence and grief early when he witnessed his family’s death right before him. It’s an event that sends almost anybody to insanity, but not Mik. Instead, he fights against how everybody expects him to react. He bounces back from his lowest of lows and takes on a journey of self-discovery.

Readers become spectators of this transformation. From being ridden with tragedy birthing self-doubt, Mik learns to take pride in his strengths, using them to defeat his enemies. It’s a complete 360 transformation; not everybody witnesses it daily. And it’s changes like this that make readers root for characters, likewise making books a crowd-favorite.

What Mik experiences is a beautiful example of this arc.

Character arcs are the paths characters choose throughout the story. As their journeys involve adversities and challenges, character arcs define the difference between who they are at the beginning and what they become by the end. These aren’t as simple as transforming from rags to riches. Instead, character arcs are measured by the changes in one’s traits caused by internal and external obstacles.

Not All Arcs Are the Same

Character arcs are the changes characters sustain throughout their pursuant to their goals or in the hopes of coping through their story arcs. For instance, in the tragedy depicted in Kenneth Sousa’s story, Mik’s character arc is cemented once he overcomes his grief and becomes stronger. However, if such an event were to happen to another character, the same can’t be expected to happen.

Everyone is special, with their unique reactions to similar situations.

This is the beauty of character arcs. They highlight the differences in these figures and make the stories unpredictable. While Mik, the moorhen, took a more heroic change, another character may take on an opposite change leading to a non-feel-good ending. Yet, regardless of which route character arcs take, authors must remember that these must be based on the story’s purpose. It always boils down to what the story wants to convey. Will it be the rainbow after every storm or the fact that morals can be bent in the face of extreme torment?

How Do You Write Character Arcs?

If not the story’s lesson, character arcs always revolve around the characters’ goals. Hence, authors must first establish what their protagonists want to create compelling arcs. What’s so special about this goal that they will bend their morals and attributes? By creating a goal and plotting events that challenge achieving that, authors pave the way for more impactful character arcs.

Characters don’t have to experience immense changes or traumatic experiences to make their arcs matter. All they need is to be pushed to their wits’ end. Let them experience challenges one after another, each teaching them contrasting lessons and making them question their beliefs. Character arcs don’t always have to be tormenting, as much as they must ignite character changes.

These changes go alongside these challenges, and they must be real.