Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure (Helping Writers Become Authors)

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Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure (Helping Writers Become Authors) [Weiland, K.M.] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure (Helping Writers Become Authors) Review: Solid, straightforward writing instruction with bonus food for thought. - As I try to turn the lifelong hobby of writing into a serious pursuit, I’ve been working on understanding how to transform an idea into a book. When I was writing just to entertain myself, I never thought much about character arcs and story structure, or how essential those tools are for constructing a compelling and readable story. Your future readers may not think about character arcs either, but they will certainly expect a pay off for the investment of their time and money. K.M. Weiland’s Creating Character Arcs will help you deliver on that unspoken promise. One great thing about Creating Character Arcs is that it doesn't just leave off at showing how to build an interesting and believable character. It discusses the evolution of character development alongside the waypoints of the larger story structure. What should be happening at the first plot point? What decisions should the character be facing? How does your character react to the events that have brought him or her to the midpoint? How have you shown the contrast in your character’s evolution up through the resolution? These details can be overwhelming when you're beginning to find your way, but Weiland has a straightforward and logical approach to providing helpful guidance that allows you to answer these questions for yourself. Weiland uses examples from well-known books and films that demonstrate the principles being taught. Using, among others, Jane Eyre and Jurassic Park, she carries those examples through the entire book so that you can see the changes in Jane Eyre and Alan Grant as they move through the key points of their character arcs and story structures. Using familiar material provides immediate recognition of the principles in a very accessible format. You may want to use the “look inside” feature on desertcart to view the chapter titles so you can see the depth of the material covered. Aside from these major sections, she also covers an array of thought-provoking topics like: How to convince readers to invest in your character. What is a characteristic moment? The symbolism of the normal world. Should all my minor characters have arcs? What is an impact character, and why does every story need one? How do I write a character arc in a series? Even if you've already written your draft, this book is an excellent guide for testing the foundation of your story, analyzing your main character’s journey, and suggesting improvements you may not have considered. K.M. Weiland has become my explainer-in-chief for the nuts and bolts of storytelling. If you feel intimidated by structure and planning and are afraid you might not “get it,” you’ve come to the right place: Weiland is a fabulous teacher, and Creating Character Arcs delivers. Enthusiastically recommended. Review: Great Complement to Other Writing Guides but Does a Disservice to Guardians of the Galaxy - I read Truby's The Anatomy of Story, and while it was outstanding, I wanted more. This book has some overlap, but focuses less on overall plot and more on individual character arcs. I found the section on flat character arcs most useful, as Truby mainly covers positive and negative arcs in context of the larger plot, and flat arcs tend to work well if you're writing for games. This book is also useful in that Weiland covers different example stories than Truby. That said, I have a nitpick: On page 238, I think Weiland missed the mark in her analysis of Guardians of the Galaxy. She claims that for Quill (Star Lord) his Lie and Truth are: Lie: "The only way to survive is to look out for Number One" Truth: "The only way to be a complete and fulfilled person is to care what happens to others" That may be true, but it doesn't interact with the antagonist at all, nor the underlying question the main characters are trying to answer. A more appropriate set would be: Lie: "The answer to loss of family is to pursue a hedonistic, selfish life" Truth: "The answer to loss of family is to form a new family and move on" With that set, it interacts with all the other main characters in the story: Ronan (antagonist): "The answer to loss of family is to seek vengeance on a planetary scale" Yondu: Already knows the Truth, but hides it due to his position as the boss of the Ravagers Gamora and Nebula: "The answer to loss of family is to seek vengeance, subversively" Drax: "The answer to loss of family is to seek direct vengeance" Rocket Raccoon: "The answer to loss of family is to lash out at those around you" After they lose the Stone at Knowhere, Quill grasps the Truth, and begins to convince the other Guardians of it. Nebula remains as a reminder of what Gamora would have been if not for Quill. It further interacts with the climax of the story: Ronan sets out to destroy others (Xandar) for his family. The Nova Corps. unites to protect others and for their duty to each other, but they fail. The Ravagers unite for themselves and their shared interests, but they fail. Yondu was really doing it for Quill (his family), and survives. The Guardians unite to protect others and for their new familial bond to each other. That bond allows them to share the burden of the Infinity Stone and prevail, even though in the moment it seemed suicidal. None of them would have done that at the start of the movie, and it's based in their new answer to the story's underlying question, in direct opposition to the antagonist's answer. It's why Gamora offers her hand, and when Quill looks her way, he sees his mother and takes it. It's why Drax and Rocket join in. It's why Ronan can't understand how it's possible for them to hold the power: It's not just what they're doing but *why* they're doing it. And that's why that scene is so powerful. In that moment, the Truth triumphs once and for all. When you hear "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy", you believe it in your Soul. So yeah, other than that, I highly recommend this book. 9.5/10