

Of course, change arcs and flat arcs still follow many of the same principles.īoth will be intimately tied to your story’s structure, and both will shape your novel’s theme. This flat arc focuses on a character who doesn’t need to change personally, and instead needs to improve and shape the world around them. You see, both positive and negative character arcs are what’s called a “change arc.” These arcs are all about the character growing and learning, ultimately transforming as a person-either for better or for worse.Īlongside these two change arcs is the flat arc, or the black sheep of character arcs. However, that is only part of a much larger picture. “A character arc is the internal transformation of a character as they struggle to overcome major flaws or wounds.”įrom there, most character arcs are classified as one of two types: For starters, a character arc is defined as: While I introduced the basics of character arcs in much more detail in Character Arcs 101: Positive and Negative Arcs, let’s cover a few quick definitions to make sure you’re up to speed if you missed that post.

This post is the second in a larger series about character arcs and character creation in general. But how is this possible if character arcs are all about change? While positive and negative arcs are concerned with the internal change your characters go through, flat arcs focus on characters that have already discovered their truth and overcome their inner struggle.

Of course, despite these differences, flat arcs are no less important for your characters. Whereas positive and negative arcs are all about a character changing from within, flat arcs are more concerned with changing the outside world. You see, flat arcs are unique when compared to other character arcs. Character Development Flat arcs are the black sheep of character arcs…
