Writing Characters Without Character Arcs

A common piece of writing advice is that your main character must have a character arc. Today, I take a look at a number of well-regarded films where the main characters never change, and why these stories are still compelling.

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[mccloaker]

Sherlock Holmes, in the original books, was a flat arc. He hardly changes, but he encourages everyone around him to be more observant, scientific, and, by example, to play to their strengths instead of everyone trying to outdo each other.

[dextra]

When I was in high school, my lit class called this “dynamic characters” verses “static characters”

One is changed by the world, the other changes the world

[AntoineBandele]

It’s a lot like serialized TV. It’s not about how the character changes. It’s about how the character deals with different situations. Like James Bond.

[j.masonbrown]

I think the best example of the Flat Arc is Ferris Bueler’s Day Off: Ferris gets Cameron to lighten up and overcome his fear of his tyrannical father.

[bachelorchowTV]

Excellent essay. I think you missed the greatest example of this theory you’re espousing: WALL-E.

[KMWeilandAuthor]

"So yeah, that's how you should write a Superman movie."

Awesome. :D

Thanks for shouting out my book Creating Character Arcs. This is a fabulous breakdown of the Flat Arc. I'm going to link back to it in my Flat-Arc series on my site!

[angeldelgado]

Marty has a arc. He is afraid of rejection and what other people think. Marty then see's his own father had similar issues. Marty realizes that fear and insecurity will ultimately keep you from achieving your dreams.

[misseli]

So many youtube reviewers need to learn this

They'll go on and on about how a likeable character is actually a bad or weak character because they don't have an arc or because their values don't change, even if they have good values.

[surfercharlie]

The Shawshank Redemption may be my favorite example of a flat arc. Tim Robbins's constant belief in the power of hope is what powers him through the story - and doesn't change - but it does change Morgan Freeman, who learns that hope isn't dangerous, as he initially believes, but an essential element in dark situations.

[RetirededKat]

Today I Learned: the most concise and accurate way to describe the last 20 years of my life is to call it a "flat character arc."

[jarentankersley]

Halfway through the video, I think "This is how you should write Superman."
End of the video: "So yeah, that's how you should write a Superman movie."
I CAN READ SAGE'S MIND.

[DarckPinck]

I don't think you have any idea how much I needed this video today. I have a main character in a story I've been writing for a long time now that doesn't change at all too, and I thought I wrote him like that just because I'm a bad writer and I'm messing everything up, but now you gave me the confidence to not change the way he acts and the way he influences other characters with his truth. You absolutely inspired me and gave me confidence with this video. I don't know if you'll ever read this comment, but I just wanted to share that here... Thank you very much, man :) Always a pleasure watching your videos.

[houston-coley]

Loved this - the idea that a Paddington movie and a Superman movie shouldn't be that far apart in structure kinda blew my mind, honestly. I've been thinking about flat arcs for a while and definitely find it an interesting exercise to take a story with the "change-agent" as the main character and rewrite it with them as supporting (IE, as you implied, writing Back to the Future around the character of George instead of Marty.) I also think it's interesting to look at how many of the characters people view as "inspiring" and "role models" like Paddington, Wonder Woman, or Katniss have flat arcs. I guess we all want to be the person who influences everyone around us.




Also...I noticed 8:03 and I loved it, you cheeky devil.

[werelemur]

"What is the lie the character believes" would probably be a good starting point for character creation, at least when writing a character with an arc.

[GeahkBurchill]

Marty McFly has a clear arc. He believes in defending his honor and that’s deeply wrapped up in his beliefs about standing up to bullies. It’s his inability to let insults roll off him that gets his future self hospitalized with a broken back. This is why the Wild West was an important third part, because the US was an Honor Culture transitioning to a Dignity Culture (see the work of Johnathan Haidt for more on this idea)

Marty learns that his honor is not actually that important and standing up doesn’t require fastidious defensiveness over every slight. He matures considerably and has a definitively positive arc.

[juma__]

I recently saw an essay on the same topic, and they mentioned "Nightcrawler" as an example of a flat character arc, I found it interesting because it shows that some characters don't necessarily have to be good people to have this feature.

[timothymclean]

Remember: Stories require, among other things, change. If everyone and everything is the same at the end of act 3 as it was in the prologue, the story will feel pointless. (I suppose that can work for a certain tone, but it's the sort of thing you can only do well if you understand why the general guideline exists.) The difference between a flat character arc and a positive one is what changes. Does the protagonist change to fit the worldview, or does the world change its views to fit the protagonist?

[simpleguy.]

8:25 absolutely right....


that's why Winter Solider was so good...it didn't change Cap, it changed America

[minichou]

basically, protag is the mentor that affects everyone around them.

[ShawnHCorey]

Yes. I call these types of protagonists, catalytic protagonists. A catalysis is something that changes something else without itself being changed. These protags change the people around them with themselves having little or no change.