Comments on: Failure, Conflict, and Character Arc https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/ A Blog On Writing Sun, 22 Dec 2024 03:33:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 By: Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-153438 Thu, 26 May 2022 04:07:36 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-153438 From the just finished novel:

a few scenes from the end:

“I didn’t like that Andrew. I had no interest in being one of his many conquests.”
“That Andrew’s a brayin’ ass.”
“That Andrew only grew up because he had to. Millions of obsessed women would have taken him on.”

and in the last scene:

“I’m liking this Andrew. A lot.” Her defenses crumbled frangibly in the background like ancient stonework.

]]> By: dholcomb1 https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150672 Sat, 23 Oct 2021 06:45:38 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150672 The road to success is paved with those rising above failure, time and time again.

Those Black Moments in books are everything.

denise

]]> By: K.B. Owen https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150662 Fri, 22 Oct 2021 13:30:35 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150662 An intriguing post, thanks! This reminds me of one of Bell's key scenes when discussing structure, the "argument opposed to transformation," aka a core belief of the protag which is overturned later. I find his key-scenes method of structuring a story very helpful.

My question about fatal flaw is this: what do you do with a series character? Each novel has to be complete, where they've successfully navigated and overcome their flaw, but it seems odd for them to deal with the same flaw over and over again in a ten-book series. Do you give them different flaws each time? Or have them deal with permutations of the flaw as different scenarios arise, where they (and the reader) thought they'd had it settled, but it keeps returning to stir up trouble? I think the latter option is kind of what I've been doing, but I really hadn't been thinking of it in terms of "fatal flaw."

Thanks!

]]> By: beccapuglisi https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150638 Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:07:54 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150638 In reply to Barb DeLong.

I'm so glad you're finding our resources helpful, Barb. Thanks for reading!

]]> By: beccapuglisi https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150637 Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:07:26 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150637 In reply to Eldred Bird.

Yeah, that fall-on-your-face moment is key. As the character is moving toward change and growth, that two-steps-forward-one-step-back pattern becomes critical.

]]> By: beccapuglisi https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150636 Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:06:11 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150636 In reply to Jenny Hansen.

Yes! It sounds like you've got it! There are many, many failures in the first half. Then the second act starts with them making a partial revelation that leads to more successes (but still some setbacks) until they finally fully commit themselves and are able to overcome.

This was an interesting topic to learn about, myself. I'm so glad it's resonating :).

]]> By: Barb DeLong https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150634 Tue, 19 Oct 2021 01:48:19 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150634 Such an informative post! I find the various thesauruses on onestopforwriters.com to be invaluable. I refer to them almost daily. I like Eldrid's comment on a character's success, then they get slapped in the face. My protag enjoys some small successes before she gets slammed. Lesson learned.

]]> By: Eldred Bird https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150631 Mon, 18 Oct 2021 16:59:21 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150631 Okay, this one is near and dear to my heart. My late father always said that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes, and you only fail when you stop trying. I use this a lot when developing characters and their arcs. I especially like it when a character succeeds, gets a little over confident, then gets slapped in the face by reality. It cements the lesson much firmer in both the character's mind and the reader's.

Great post, Becca!

]]> By: Jenny Hansen https://writersinthestormblog.com/2021/10/the-role-of-failure-and-conflict-in-character-arc/#comment-150630 Mon, 18 Oct 2021 15:01:36 +0000 https://writersinthestormblog.com/?p=43710#comment-150630 This is a thought-provoking post, Becca! I've got to really sit down and think about my protag failure. In the story that I'm editing, there are many little failures in the first half of the story - she fails to fit into her sister's world, she fails to win over her sister's best friend (who hates her), at the midpoint, she leaves the order where she's served for more than a decade as a nun. Even as you move toward the end of Act 2, she worries that her sister will die (and that she has failed to keep her alive).

Until I read this post, I hadn't sat to think that the first half of the book is full of failures, and the back half is moving toward success. So THANK YOU. 🙂

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