How To Use Traits to Create Character Arcs
by Sarah "Sally" Hamer
What do virtues and vices have to do with plot? Actually, I think they have everything to do with it. At least, if you believe that character arc and plot are similar.
Just like humans, characters have character traits.
We’re smart or sexy or strong. Or we are stubborn and snide. Any of these work, both in positive or negative ways, with thousands more traits to choose from. And, in most books and movies, the protagonist starts with a trait that gets them nowhere, and grows into a better person because of it.
It’s really pretty simple when you think about it. Characters start the story with a problem.
A classic example
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz is trying to figure out how to keep Toto from being put down because he snapped at the neighbor lady. Dorothy doesn’t have a lot of options at this point. She’s young and inexperienced (eleven or twelve in the actual book) and scared of life. She tries to run away, but that didn’t work. So, the ‘small’ problem of trying to keep Toto alive is taken out of her hands with the big tornado that sends her to Oz. Now, she’s given a much ‘bigger’ problem to deal with.
She has to learn lessons – lessons about how she is also smart, compassionate, and brave – before she realizes that, she does have control over her destiny. Yes, I know the movie takes the problem from ‘keeping Toto alive’ to ‘there’s no place like home’, but ultimately, Dorothy goes from an unhappy and relatively helpless teenager to a strong, compassionate young woman.
She learned. It took a journey – an actual physical one in this particular story – for her to get there, but she learned.
Why is this story memorable?
We talk about about Dorothy's journey over a hundred years later (the books are that old), because it’s so beautifully done.
It’s also known as a character arc. The plot shows her growth, from afraid and helpless to brave and able to make decisions on her own. Without a plot that moved Dorothy through that character arc, there would be no story.
When Character Arc is a Struggle
Why is character arc (and plot) sometimes such a struggle? My theory: it’s because we really don’t know enough about our characters. Often characters come to us – like thieves in the night, they slide into our consciousness, fully formed. But are they really complete? Or do we just know enough to get the story started?
If we don’t really understand WHO our characters are, how can we know WHAT they feel, WHAT they will do, and HOW they will eventually learn enough to make the changes they must?
In other words, where’s the character arc?
Here’s Wikipedia’s definition:
As opposed to the plotline of a story, a character arc, or transformation, or inner journey is a description of what happens to the inside of a character over the course of the story. He begins as one sort of person in the beginning; things happen to and around him, gradually moving him in an "arc" that ends when the story is over.
Clear as mud? Right?
Character arc is simple, if you focus on growth.
We almost always start with character.
Why? Because character is your story. Oh, I realize that each of you could probably name me at least ten books/movies that are plot-driven in less than five minutes. But many, many, many – MOST – good stories start with character.
Let me define my version of character-driven stories:
- There is a protagonist with a character arc. The character changes something about himself or herself during the story.
- The story is mostly about that protagonist, although there can be any number of antagonists.
- There can be more than one protagonist but the main one will have the ‘largest’ character arc.
When "plot" is stronger than "character"
It’s possible to have a story where plot is ‘stronger’ than the character or the character doesn’t change. All of the older James Bond movies are a good example where a character has very little growth – we ALWAYS know that Bond is going to stop the bad guy and get the girl.
The franchise has begun to let Bond have an arc since Daniel Craig took over and probably will continue if they don’t lose their core audience. Since Daniel Craig, Bond CHANGES. And we get to see it.
In fact, certain genres don’t really need a character arc. Usually, these are more action/adventure, thriller-style genres, often preferred by men. Women are more likely to want a character to learn a lesson and grow throughout a story.
Back to Dorothy and her Character Arc
Going back to Dorothy, because this part of the story is solid and easily understandable. She wanted to find a happy place, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” where bluebirds fly and the wicked witch next door doesn’t want to kill her dog. Dorothy runs away to protect Toto but just gets herself in more problems.
She starts out as a sensitive, passive, insecure child who allows others to push her around. We see her make decisions based on what other people tell her to do:
- “Follow the yellow brick road."
- “Talk to the Wizard in the Emerald City – the Wizard knows everything.”
- “Bring me the witch’s broom.”
During the story, we watch her mature and grow. She begins to make her own decisions and, when the Wizard refuses to help her after she brings thewitch's broom back, she stands up to him and demands that he keep his promise.
This is my favorite part of the movie – instead of being a supplicant like she was the first time, now she marches in, burnt broom held like a drum majorette’s baton and fellow warriors lined up behind her, and demands that he keep his promises. Great scene! Great growth! Great character arc!
Later, she has to make a choice – will she go back to Kansas without Toto when the hot air balloon takes off, or will she jump out and (once more) protect Toto? As a reward for her courage and new-found understanding of what’s important to her, she gets to go home with Toto.
Way to go, Dorothy!
Final Thoughts
I used The Wizard of Oz because the character arc in this story is very clear. Our heroine starts out as a wimpy, unhappy child. Her journey to a mystical and dangerous world gives her multiple opportunities to grow up and prove that she is both worthy and capable. We believe in her by the time she clicks her heels together.
Now it's your turn.
- What are your characters’ traits?
- Do they grow throughout the story?
Remember, a character can even “ungrow,” in that a character’s arc does NOT have to be positive, even though a lot of readers prefer that. Even Darth Vader’s arc is in a positive direction. But some bad guys just get worse, so “de-volving” works too.
How do you use character traits to create a character? Do you have an example to share, from your own characters or from another book or movie that you love? Please share it down in the comments!
* * * * * *
About Sarah
Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.
A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and for the No Stress Writing Academy at https://www.worldanvil.com/w/classes-deleyna/a/no-stress-writing-academy. Sally is a free-lance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.
You can find her at info@mindpotential.org
Top photo created in Canva, based on this photo by SpaceX on Unsplash.
Leave a Reply
20 comments on “How To Use Traits to Create Character Arcs”
Tagged as:
Subscribe to WITS
Recent Posts
- A Spring Gift from WITS: Share Your First Lines!
- 7 Tips to Build a PR Strategy that Works for YOU
- Complete Guide to Revising Your Novel: Part THREE—Analysis
- Some Keys to Achieving Confidence in Your Writing
- Write Emotional Scenes that Better Engage Readers
I absolutely love this article—not just because it resonates so deeply with my own beliefs, but because those very beliefs were sparked right here at WITS.
For me, once I imagine a character (or two), I dive headfirst into their origins. Where did they come from? It’s a question that demands both literal and psychological answers. Motivation and wounds are the foundation of compelling characters, and I strive to understand them as fully as possible before I begin writing. Almost fully, that is—because experience has taught me to leave space for discovery. Once the story unfolds, it reveals layers I hadn’t anticipated, and I’ve learned to embrace that evolution.
One of the most transformative exercises I’ve adopted—thanks to Diana Stout—is journaling in my characters' voices. Allowing them to speak freely about their past, their fears, and their desires has been invaluable in deepening my connection to their journey.
Can you feel my excitement and commitment to this topic? Because this post absolutely reinforces my obsession!
Thank you, Sally, for another insightful and inspiring piece.
Thanks, Jennifer! I've been using and teaching this system for years and have found that it works beautifully! So many of us have great plotting skills but can't seem to get the characters right. This makes that happen.
I love journaling idea too! Any way we can get into their minds is a win!
I love that Journaling idea too, and I missed that post its first time around! I'll go look it up. 🙂
Jenny, I just went back through all of my blog posts here and couldn't find where I wrote about character journaling.
I haven't written that specific post here. Yet. I believe Jennifer learned it from my how-to book, CPE: CHARACTERS, PLOT, & EMOTION, Chapter 11, where I talk about my writing process.
I don't have that book but am headed to Amazon now. 🙂 I'll also add it to my list of recommended books.
And, I'm looking forward to reading a blog post about it!
Thanks for the shout-out, Jennifer! 🙂
It was great for me too, Diana! I'm going to go back and read that post. 🙂
This article is truly one for my files. I struggle to create character arcs, but I’m in good company. I am new to your site, WITS, and I hope your excellent Blog posts continue.
Indeed the journaling idea came from Dr. Diana Stout's CPE: CHARACTERS, PLOT, & EMOTION - This is a goldmine. I have a plethora of writing craft books, but this gem is only one of three I keep by my side!
Sorry for the late response but ... yes, life!
🙂
Great post, Sally! I love that you use Dorothy as your example. The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite stories.
In every story I write, I start with my character's want and need. Dorothy wanted to keep Toto safe but she needed to stand up for herself and her dog. The main character in my current WIP wants revenge for the deaths of her mentor and her would-be boyfriend. What she needs is to learn to let go of anger, learn to grieve, and ultimately to trust and love again.
Exactly, Lynette! It's about that arc -- what the character learns -- that makes the story work. All too often, at least for me, I've sat through an entire book or movie to find that no one learned anything. It's too bad because a lot of them were well done except for the arc.
Thanks for the comment!
Great article! Do you have any resources you can recommend to help with character arcs?
There are hundreds of books on Amazon. Some I recommend because I own them are K.M. Weiland's Creating Character Arcs. Anything by Becca Puglisi and Angie Ackerman are wonderful -- I own almost every book they've put together and especially the Negative and Positive Emotion books.
Nancy Kress's book, Characters, Emotion, and Viewpoint is also one on my bookshelf.
But, ultimately, it's about doing the homework on your character. Pretend you're a news reporter interviewing your characters. Learn about archetypes and how our characters fit into certain roles. Or change those roles up with a different archetype. Use other writers for help -- there are lots and lots of great writers/teachers on this blog and, with a little searching, you can probably find vast amounts of great ideas.
And, as always, write. Just write. As we write, we learn.
Thanks for the question!
Thank you for a great summary 🙂 The Wiz of Oz is one of my all time fave stories and I even named my first SS collection, "No Place like Home." To be honest, I never gave Dorothy's character growth much thought, until seeing you lay it out like this. BRAVO! These glimpses really help writers!
Thank you, Ellen! I have learned so much over the years from Baum's book and the movie -- I use both in my classes, from beginners to established writers, because it can teach us so much!
What a great post, Sarah. I really appreciate the comparison with James Bond.
I write to entertain, and internal arc has puzzled me. I write fantasy, (retellings of Greek myths) and mystery/detective stories. (Gotta' have my heroes.) Their problems are largely external, and while they learn, the changes aren't life-altering (although sometimes the heroes think they're fundamentally changed.)
I've been concerned about what that lack may have on the reader's experience. It's reassuring to understand that some heroes don't change much in their stories, They either ride off into the sunset or take the next case. I do make sure that what they have learned has at least some impact on what and how they think. For example, one hero is redeemed by his actions, and another, a loner, finds a place in a community. Both carry internal burdens that are at least partially relieved by what they do in the story.
Thanks so much for this.
Bob, I do not in any way wish to paint you with a wide brush and suggest that you might want to read/watch books/movies that are not true adventures -- men's fiction is often plot-driven, which can lead to stoicism. At least, it used to be that way. Now, we have the entire Marvel/DC Universe where Batman and Superman can fight and learn from each other, and where we can watch these characters try to "be better people." As such, I guess.
But a much older example is Paul Atreides in Dune. His character arc, from a naive, relatively innocent, cynic (meaning he doesn't believe he's "the one") to a battle-hardened warrior who takes on -- almost single-handedly -- an empire who wants him dead. And triumphs. Of course, he has supporters, but he has to prove himself to almost all of them.
Bottom line. There are lots of genre adventures -- which is what I'd call the mythical hero stories -- that have character arcs. You might look for them in the next story.
Thanks for the comment!
wonderful way to present it.
Thank you, Denise!
[…] How to use Traits to create Arcs […]