 Hey there, writers, and welcome back to the Well-Storied Podcast. My name is Kristin Kieffer, and this podcast is where I translate articles from the Well-Storied blog into audio so you can listen in on the go. If you don't know, Well-Storied is my website where I share articles and tools and resources to help you craft sensational novels and build your very best writing life. Today, we are tackling a new article over on the blog called How to Craft Negative Character Arcs for Your Novel. If you would like to read along as you listen in, make sure to head on over to well-storied.com slash negative. How to Craft Negative Character Arcs for Your Novel A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I wrote an article on character arcs. In the article, I explained the importance of developing character arcs in your stories, established the three arcs found in fiction, and broke down the 11 major beats that comprised the most popular of the three, positive change arcs. I also asked if you'd be interested in similar breakdowns of the remaining two styles, negative change arcs and flat arcs, and your answer was a resounding yes. Despite this, I found myself caught up in other articles and topics and failed to circle back around. Until now that is. Today, I am excited to delve into the dark descent of negative change arcs with you all. This should be followed by another article and episode on flat arcs as well. Have a character for whom a bittersweet or tragic ending is in order? This is the episode for you, writer. Let's begin by examining the negative change arc. At their core, every negative arc deals in a tug of war between an ultimate truth and an ultimate lie. As Kayam Miland mentions in her excellent blog series on the topic, negative change arcs aren't universal in their makeup. In fact, Miland identifies three major strains of this style of arc. The disillusionment arc, in which a character overcomes a false belief but finds the truth to be tragic, the fall arc, in which a character desperately clings to a false belief, despite the presence of a positive truth, thus leading them further into tragedy and sorrow, and the corruption arc, in which a character lives in close proximity to the truth but ultimately rejects it in order to willingly embrace a false belief. In our article and episode today, we're taking a bird's eye approach to negative change arcs, following the ten major beats found in nearly any arc of this nature. If, however, you're looking to delve further into one of the exact strains of negative change arcs mentioned just a moment ago, I can't recommend checking out Kayam Miland's excellent blog series and related book enough. I've left links for you to those items in today's episode transcript at well-storied.com slash negative. Establishing the why behind the arc. As I mentioned a moment ago, every negative change arc begins with an ultimate truth and ultimate lie, though these elements can manifest in several ways. The truth may be what your character needs to find happiness or peace, while the lie represents what they falsely believe will bring them resolution, or the truth may be a harsh reality, with the lie serving as a false and often idealized notion of this reality. A character's truth and lie are often entangled in at least one limiting belief, often based around a tragic flaw or fear. Confused? Let's break down a few examples together. First up, example number one. Tragic flaw? Anger. Limiting belief or beliefs? I can't overcome my anger issues and no one will ever love me because of them. Story specific lie. My new co-worker may be interested in me now, but she'll hate me the second she truly gets to know me. I need to keep her at arm's length. Story specific truth. If I make an effort to overcome my anger issues, I can be the man I want to be for Stacy, perhaps leading to a lifelong romance. And example number two. Tragic flaw? Insecurity. Limiting belief? If I succeed at the highest level, my father will finally love me. Story specific lie. I can make my father happy if my startup proves to be a success, so I'll do whatever it takes to rise to the top. Story specific truth. There is nothing I can do to earn the love and attention of an emotionally abusive person, no matter the blood we share. With these four elements established, you can easily begin to develop the goals and motivations that will drive your character to action or a distinct lack of action throughout your story, making it far easier to map the beats of your negative change arc as well. During this time, you may wish to ask the following questions of your character. What does my character want, believing it will bring them peace, happiness or resolution? What does my character actually need to achieve this, or a far better emotional desire? What are my character's personal values and moral beliefs? What line would my character claim to never cross, even under duress? What would it take to push my character over this moral edge? What is at stake if my character does not overcome their lie and or accept the truth? What does my character believe is at stake if they release their lie and or acknowledge the truth? How does my character's limiting belief affect those around them? In today's episode transcript at well-storyed.com slash negative, I've also left some related articles for you. Examples such as how to build epic emotional conflict by utilizing your character's lie, how to craft riveting internal conflict for your story, and more. So make sure to check those out. Also if you can hear an occasional sigh in the background, that's my dog. She's the one who's been in the background making noise in recent podcast episodes, so I apologize, but not really because she's cute. Moving right along, let's map the beats of a negative character arc. Having established the core elements that comprise the foundations of a negative change arc, you can approach the process of mapping its beats with relative confidence and ease. Ready to work through each beat together? Again, the exact nature of these beats will vary depending on which strain of negative arc you've chosen to write. I've done my best to address this variance below while keeping our breakdown concise. So approach this formula with flexibility in mind and you should be golden. Now let's dive in. Beat number one, the normal world. The opening beat of your negative change arc sees your character in their everyday world. Over the course of a scene or several scenes, readers are introduced to your character's daily life or are given a glimpse into what that life was before it changed shortly before the story began. During this beat, it's important to establish the ultimate lie that will plague your character in a disillusionment or fall arc, or the ultimate truth that colors a corruption arc. The former works best if shown through conflict, revealing to readers how the character's limiting belief affects their everyday life. Beat number two, a change occurs. Shortly after your story begins, an event occurs that shakes up your character's everyday life. They may find themselves eager to pursue a specific desire or occasionally forced into a circumstance they'd rather avoid. But because a negative arc sees your character devolve over time, this beat is more often positive than not. One thing to note, however, is that this beat sometimes occurs before the story begins or in tandem with the opening beat, just something to keep in mind. Beat number three, a doorway into darkness. Presented with an opportunity that excites them or occasionally forced into something they don't truly want to do, your character takes action. Though at first this opportunity may seem promising, it's this decision that will ultimately prove to be the catalyst for negative change. It's all downhill from here, as your character sets out on a journey, figurative or literal, that feeds into their lie rather than leading them toward the truth, except in the case of a disillusionment arc in which the opposite occurs, with the journey leading your character out of their lie and into a tragic truth. Beat number four, rattling the cage. As your character begins their journey into the heart of your novel, a series of events will occur that begin to rattle their beliefs. Despite this, your character will cling to the ultimate truth or lie that serves as the foundation of their arc. In a disillusionment arc, your character receives the first glimpses of a tragic truth, but chooses to remain in the comfort of their lie. In a fall arc, your character's false belief begins to prove problematic as they pursue what they believe they need. And in a corruption arc, your character is first tempted to reject the truth in pursuit of their desire. They may begin to show signs of corruption here, but they'll likely have qualms about this initially. On to beat number five, a confrontation with the truth. This beat serves as the midpoint of your negative change arc, and it is a doozy. After first beginning to question their truth or lie during the previous beat, your character now finds themselves confronted with an undeniable reality, often taking seemingly irreversible action. At the midpoint in a disillusionment arc, your character can no longer ignore the tragic truth, and their false belief begins to sour. In both fall and corruption arcs, an event occurs that presents your character with the opportunity to fully see and accept the truth, only to have them rejected entirely. In beat number six, we have the willing descent. After the momentous midpoint in their journey, your character no longer waffles between their truth and lie. In the series of events that follow, they willingly fling themselves into the dark abyss, pursuing what they most desire, despite the occasional glimmers of truth and the lack of positive resolution their desire will bring. The exception to this occurs in the disillusionment arc, in which your character now fully recognizes their tragic truth, but finds its current too formidable to chart a new course. In some cases, the tragic truth may even be a reality in which there is no alternative. Instead, your character spends this time learning more about the truth. During the second half of your novel, your character has fallen further and further into their lie, or progressively realizes just how tragic the truth can be. This journey has led them to a breaking point, an event that forces them to confront this truth or lie once and for all. Unlike the dark night of the soul in a positive arc, your character won't rise from the ashes of this event. In most negative arcs, a tragedy occurs as a result of your character's lie that forces them to confront their folly. But with no way to undo the tragedy, your character fully embraces their lie in an attempt to prove themselves correct. Alternatively, in a disillusionment arc, your character is forced to watch as the tragic truth proves to be their own undoing, or the undoing of those they love. Beat number eight, a rage against the night. With their most grievous realization at their backs, there's nothing left for your character but to fully devolve into darkness, and they're going down the swinging. In most negative arcs, this beat will see your character pursue their lie-driven desire with reckless abandon. There's nothing they won't do to see that desire achieved. In disillusionment arcs, however, this beat sees your character fully reject their false belief. With the tragic truth having led to tragedy, they want nothing more to do with the lie they believed and set out to either remove themselves from the situation or give fully into the unavoidable circumstances. Beat number nine, a final undoing. At last we arrive at the climax of your negative change arc. For most tragic characters, this event will prove the culmination of their attempt to achieve a lie-driven desire. Ultimately, they'll either achieve this goal and find the victory hollow or fail to achieve any victory at all. With the disillusionment arc, however, the climactic sequence may see one final, shattering tragedy occur, often as a result of a course already set in motion or in which your character can do little but stand by and watch. In some cases, this tragedy occurs at their own hand. Beat number 10, navigating the aftershocks. As K.M. Weiland explains in her excellent blog series, most negative change arcs wrap up quickly after their climactic sequences. With such tragic endings, there's often little the characters can do to pick up the pieces. Many tragic characters even die as a result of the climactic sequence. In such cases, some authors choose to show how the character's death affects those they've left behind. In stories in which the characters yet live, readers may receive a glimpse of their new and likely tragic everyday lives instead. Again, I'd like to give major credit to K.M. Weiland's work on character arcs. Much of what I've learned on this topic came directly from her blog series and book, so be sure to check those out. Again, I've left links for you in today's episode transcript at well-story.com-negative. Weiland's blog series in particular offers a step-by-step look at how each of the three types of negative arcs play out, using the Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, and Star Wars 1, 2, and 3 as examples. Curious to explore other stories that include negative character arcs? Here are a few more examples. For Disillusionment arcs, look to Sansa Stark in A Game of Thrones, Tyler Durden in Fight Club, and Frank Wheeler in Revolutionary Road. For Fall arcs, look to Ned Stark in A Game of Thrones, Achilles in The Song of Achilles, and Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray. And for Corruption arcs, look to Cersei Lannister in A Game of Thrones, Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, and Satan in Paradise Lost. A few final notes on negative arcs. When it comes time to craft a negative character arc, many writers make the mistake of relying upon shock factor. They want their readers to find the ultimate tragedy, especially if it involves death, to be startling. Thinking the unexpected nature of it all will prove memorable. But this idea completely misses the point of a negative arc. For such an arc to prove successful, readers need to see the tragedy coming. Perhaps not in explicit detail, but your character's actions and the events they experience should lead to an obvious outcome. The reason that Ned Stark's ultimate downfall in A Game of Thrones doesn't leave readers feeling cheated is because it was in line with the previous actions of every character involved in his story. When crafting your own negative character arcs, take the time to establish the firm boundaries by which your characters will act. If they will cross that boundary at some point in your story, make sure you show exactly what leads your character to their breaking point. The more intentionally you set out to showcase your character's downfall, the more effective your negative arc will be. Later, I hope you enjoyed today's episode of the podcast and found it insightful as you begin working to either build or refine the negative change arcs you're currently working with. Thank you so much for listening in, by the way. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to go ahead and subscribe to the podcast to receive future notifications about future episodes. And also if you could leave a quick rating or a review that goes a long way towards helping the podcast grow. Once again, friends, I want to thank you so much for tuning in today. I hope you enjoyed the episode and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, very happy writing.