Buiding Character Arc in a Screenplay
Focus on How the Protagonist Grows and Changes in the Story
Jun 22, 2009
In a dramatic story, the scenes and acts are a series of tests, building up to the final test at the climax. The growth and change of the main character throughout the story will strengthen him or her, so that they are able to meet the challenges of the story. In the end, as the story resolves, it becomes clear that this main character has become a different person as a result of all of their trials. The difference between who they were when they started and who they end up to be is the essence of their character arc.
There are several approaches to identifying and developing the character arc of the protagonist.
Find the Theme and Follow it
The first is to use the theme as a guide. Using the theme, or main idea of the film script, one can examine how it is interlinked with character. This is because usually a character’s journey, or narrative arc, is inherent in the theme itself. For instance, if a story’s theme is that honesty is not always the best policy, then in all likelihood the main character will learn that lesson as a result of their own honest and dishonest acts.
Use the Plot to Find the Shape of the Arc
Another approach is to focus on the plotting and trace the action of the story, as it pertains to the character and their growth. Identify what happens, then what happens next and then ask, how does that affect the character? What new skills does he or she gain in having accomplished that goal, or experienced that situation?
Draw the Arc and Chart the Growth
One useful exercise is to draw an actual arc on the page and make notes along the line, charting out the character’s perceptions of something, showing their change and growth. Next to these character notes, list the turning points in the plot, especially if they happen in conjunction with character revelations.
Remember to Create Conflict
It is almost always the forces of antagonism which produce change. That which does not kill a character makes her or him stronger. In working out the character arc, focus on the conflict. It is in the unfolding of conflict between two forces that the greatest of truths are often revealed.
The Importance of an Active Protagonist
The main character of a screenplay must be active. They are the ones that must have a goal within the confines of the story, and they must take action to overcome it. When obstacles are thrown in their way, which in any good drama they will be, the protagonist has to figure out how to overcome those obstacles.
A well-developed main character must leap the hurdles, dodge the bullets, and pass all the tests that the story, and the opposing forces within that story, give them. In the course of facing all of these challenges, this main character grows and changes, and this is what ultimately creates the narrative arc.
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