The second part of Michael Hauge’s brilliant workshop was on the character arc.
Talking about the main character – hero or heroine – or if there are two equal main characters – hero and heroine – the same story arc must apply to both.
And it is inextricably linked to the plot arc outlined in the last blog.
For this – yes to quote the movie – we’ll go back to Titanic!
I was interested to hear Michael say the heroine and hero of a story – even a romance – are not always equal.
Titantic, he said, is Rose’s story and while Jack was her love, he was not an ‘equal’ hero. However, Michael did say that when when do have equal heros – or even other major characters – the story arc should be the same for them as well, within their lesser role in the story.
So – here’s Michael Huage’s structure diagram again.. looking this time at what he says about the character.
He says the character begins the story in his/her IDENTITY – this is the face we show the world. What we pretend to be. The emotional armour the character wears to protect themselves from being hurt. This will stem from some wound in the distant past – and the characters fears arising from that wound. For example : as a result of her upbringing, Rose is with Cal because of her mother’s bullying and the terrible fear of being two women alone and poor. The fear is that they cannot survive without Cal and his money.
These fears are always logical… but never true.
At the end of the character arc – the character must be in the essence – the person they always had the potential to be if they could find the courage. This is their true self.
Those same turning points of the plot are the turning points of the character arc. The plot is the outer journey – the character arc is the inner journey.
So – in stage one the character is fully armoured – think of young Rose as she boards Titanic – she has a polite and gracious façade that hides a deep unhappiness. She appears very cold.
In stage two we begin to see glimpses of the person behind the façade. The essence of that person.
In stage three, as the character works towards the outer goal – we see them moving towards their essence, getting stronger in their true self as the obstacles get harder.
Rose dances with Jack below decks, she poses nude for him to draw, she defies convention. This is her true free spirit coming forward.
At the point of no return, Rose makes love to Jack – she can never go back to what she was.
As the stakes get higher and the outside world intrudes – Rose continues to gain in courage and independence. Taking control of her own life, she fights to save Jack as the ship starts to sink.
At Turning point 4 – the major setback – the obstacle is too great and the character retreats back into their Identity.
This is when Rose allows Cal to take control of her again and put her into the lifeboat. We fear she will survive the disaster – but lose herself again.
In Titanic, this moment doesn’t take long – she realises and jumps back onto the ship to be with Jack. In a lot of cases, particularly in a novel, this turning point and the crisis it evokes will last a lot longer – as the character makes a final push to regain what they have lost.
At the final turning point – the climax of the story – they will be fully in their essence – their true self is now fully revealed.
For Rose – this comes when she let’s Jack sink into the water and takes control of her life, swimming to get a whistle to attract the rescuers.
All this leads to a transformed existence – the wrapping up of the story. In a romance this is our Happy Ever After moment. Rose and Jack didn’t get a happy ever after – but Rose did have a long life filled with family and happiness.
Michael had a really great way of explaining all this – and I seriously recommend that anyone who gets a chance – go to one of his workshops. You will learn so much. Or go to his website . There are some really helpful articles there.
Next week, I’ll be posting some of the things he said about pitching your work – really useful stuff whatever your genre.