Compelling, fun and memorable character arcs that will leave a big impression on people is something we search for in media. But creating those kinds of arcs yourself can seem impossible. That’s where looking at how great arcs are constructed can help.
Writer, K.M. Weiland talks about a defining Lie a character tell themselves about their identity that shapes their world-view.
Character development in a positive change arc means that you take the Lie that’s holding them back and dismantle it throughout the story. And in the end, they come to understand a new truth about the world and themselves.
So, I will be going through two examples of a positive change arc and see how they’re structured when looked at through the lens of the three-act structure. For a few prominent examples, we’ll look at the first Thor movie and The Prince of Egypt.
These two movies work so well because they’re both about entitled prince’s whose Lie is that they think the world revolves around them. Everything is fine with them and the system because they’re comfortable living at the top of it.
Act 1: Introduction to the character and their Lie
So, the first act in the three-act structure is all about set-up. We’re introduced to the main character and the world they live in.
Thor:
We open narrated by Odin. After establishing the heritage of Thor and Loki, we move forward in time to see them as adults.
The first time we see Thor, he’s grandstanding in front of a crowd, and later, flipping over a table when he doesn’t get his way.
We’re shown is Lie vividly from the start, and that’s his right of kingship, and that swinging his hammer should fix everything.
The Prince of Egypt:
Writer, K.M. Weiland talks about a defining Lie a character tell themselves about their identity that shapes their world-view.
Character development in a positive change arc means that you take the Lie that’s holding them back and dismantle it throughout the story. And in the end, they come to understand a new truth about the world and themselves.
So, I will be going through two examples of a positive change arc and see how they’re structured when looked at through the lens of the three-act structure. For a few prominent examples, we’ll look at the first Thor movie and The Prince of Egypt.
These two movies work so well because they’re both about entitled prince’s whose Lie is that they think the world revolves around them. Everything is fine with them and the system because they’re comfortable living at the top of it.
Act 1: Introduction to the character and their Lie
So, the first act in the three-act structure is all about set-up. We’re introduced to the main character and the world they live in.
Thor:
We open narrated by Odin. After establishing the heritage of Thor and Loki, we move forward in time to see them as adults.
The first time we see Thor, he’s grandstanding in front of a crowd, and later, flipping over a table when he doesn’t get his way.
We’re shown is Lie vividly from the start, and that’s his right of kingship, and that swinging his hammer should fix everything.
After we’ve shown the situation of the slaves and how Moses came to be in the care of his adoptive family, we cut to Moses and Ramses as young men. We first see them in the middle of an intense and reckless chariot race. There’s property damage and Moses nearly rammed his adoptive brother into the side of a wall in the name of fun!
So, what’s Moses’ Lie? His father’s kingdom is his playground and everything exists for him and his family.
This is how you show where your character is at the beginning of your story and construct the basis for their arc. You show their normal environment and how they act in that environment.
The Inciting Incident:
So, now we have the set-up, the story to leap into the inciting incident. This propels the narrative forward, taking the main protagonist from their known world and challenging their Lie in a major way.
Thor:
The first Thor does this by having Thor and his friends travel to Jutonhiem to fight the Frost giants behind Odin’s back. Thor gets busted because of his jealous little brother, and as a result, he loses everything. In a fit of rage, Odin takes away his son’s hammer and title, banishing him to backwater called Earth!
At the end of act 1, Thor lost everything that he’d built his identity on. Act 2 begins with him literally run over a car and tasered. The humbling begins!
This is how you show where your character is at the beginning of your story and construct the basis for their arc. You show their normal environment and how they act in that environment.
The Inciting Incident:
So, now we have the set-up, the story to leap into the inciting incident. This propels the narrative forward, taking the main protagonist from their known world and challenging their Lie in a major way.
Thor:
The first Thor does this by having Thor and his friends travel to Jutonhiem to fight the Frost giants behind Odin’s back. Thor gets busted because of his jealous little brother, and as a result, he loses everything. In a fit of rage, Odin takes away his son’s hammer and title, banishing him to backwater called Earth!
At the end of act 1, Thor lost everything that he’d built his identity on. Act 2 begins with him literally run over a car and tasered. The humbling begins!
The Prince of Egypt:
After an encounter with his biological sister and brother, Moses is forced to question his heritage. He then stumbles on the “history etched on every wall” that shows the Pharaoh ordering the deaths of all the children of slaves.
Moses’ Lie that he’s deserving of all he has because of his noble royal family is shattered in that moment.
Like Thor, everything he built his identity on has been stripped away. Act 2 will focus on the fallout from their Lie being taken from them, and how they move forward from there.
After an encounter with his biological sister and brother, Moses is forced to question his heritage. He then stumbles on the “history etched on every wall” that shows the Pharaoh ordering the deaths of all the children of slaves.
Moses’ Lie that he’s deserving of all he has because of his noble royal family is shattered in that moment.
Like Thor, everything he built his identity on has been stripped away. Act 2 will focus on the fallout from their Lie being taken from them, and how they move forward from there.
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