Visual Character Arc

Do you spend lots of time outlining your character’s arc? I hope so. I’m surprised that most writers haven’t when I get their scripts and, of course, the story is then weak. So what to do?

My fascination with character arcs began with my love for silent film…to visually see the transformation of Chaplin’s character in THE KID physically and emotionally through action. Of course it’s more difficult to do this in a novel but mastering visual writing helps eliminate a lot of unnecessary dialogue albeit a book or screenplay.

So how do we outline a character’s arc? When I teach this subject, I first show a movie called THE BEAR. It’s a contemporary movie with only a handful of dialogue pages about a wild baby bear that loses his mother in a rockslide at the beginning of the story. Let’s look at the baby bear’s beginning traits:

Alone
No survival skills
Inexperienced
Curious
Unafraid (has been sheltered from danger by his mom)

All of these traits will change by his actions by the end of the story. How?

The baby bear eventually leaves his mother to find food. Curious about wild mushrooms, he eats them and is sent on a psychedelic mind trip. He learns he won’t be eating those again but he does eventually find food that keeps him alive and sane. He meets a grown but wounded grizzly (shot by hunters) and despite the grizzly’s objection, the unafraid, persistent baby bear helps the grizzly heal and the grizzly accepts his friendship (no longer alone). The grizzly teaches baby bear to fish, find shelter and swim, outsmart a mountain lion and the hunter’s dogs (survival skills). However, baby bear still has no sense of fear hanging around the grizzly and that trait leads him to be captured by hunters after being fiercely chased by their dogs. Now he’s fearful but manages to win over the hunters, especially when he learns from the grizzly that man is just as afraid of them as they are of men.

By end, baby bear’s newly developed traits come together to ward off a hungry mountain lion and his actions mature him well ahead of his time. He’s no longer alone, now experienced in survival skills, cautiously curious, and understands fear and the strength that comes from that. His arc changes through ACTION and we get to experience it with him.

So think about your character. Make a list of beginning traits then make a list ending traits. Then list possible, unique actions that make your character’s ending traits believable and memorable.

That’s what makes a strong, visual character arc…especially for a baby bear.