Hello Bookworms!
A friend of mine who has been a writer for a while asked me for this post. (Please ask me for specific posts!) So, I figured I could share what limited experience I have in this with you! Mostly I'm just sharing some of the various arcs I've seen. Have fun reading! (Oh, and spoilers for the ending of shows and movies, so be warned! I won't go into details, but I do say where characters end up.)
#1: Redemption Arc
I'm sure this is the one you're most familiar with. Example: Zuko from Avatar: the Last Airbender. He started out as a villain, but an understandable one and a redeemable one. Over the course of the show the writers portrayed him as struggling with his desire for something other people tell him is necessary, and battling external and internal expectations, and reconciling his own actions with his sense of justice. They showed the corruption of his justice, and how he slowly got it back, along with all his lapses in judgement, and how they each weighed on him until he eventually decided to join the right side. Even then it wasn't easy for him, but he eventually managed to get there. This was an excellent example of the struggles of overcoming something that's both external and internal. Redemption arcs take many forms, but this was one of the best I'd ever seen done.
#2: Trauma Arc
I don't have much I can say on this arc, as I haven't seen many good ones. (Probably because as a rule I tend to avoid movies about sports.) One was Fitz on Agents of Shield. He started out normal, and something (I can't say what!) happened that caused him to sustain major damage to his mind. Over the course of the second season he is seen struggling with being 'damaged' and learning where he finds his own value, and having everyone else start treating him like a member of the team again. It was an excellent way of showing several different ways in which people who've been through mental or even physical trauma find value despite their injuries. I think too many people ignore the fact that a lot of people are 'damaged', or if they allow people to sustain injuries they don't show how it impacts their life. Tell their story too.
#3: Unwanted Responsibility Arc
There have been several examples of this arc, because it's a fairly common one. The main character is destined for something, (typically to become king,) and he doesn't want the responsibility. It's usually because he's afraid that he might disappoint the people he has a responsibility to. It could be a girl facing this responsibility, but I've typically seen it in male characters, such as Peter from the Chronicles of Narnia, or Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings. The character starts to see how they might actually be able to accept this responsibility, but also has moments, especially near the end of the story, where he doubts himself again. It's a constant struggle between whether or not he is capable of accepting this responsibility.
#4: Character Regression Arc
I have only identified this ONCE. I'm sure if I went back over some things I've seen before I could find more examples of this, but the only example that I recognized when I read it was Napoleon in George Orwell's Animal Farm. It has an EXCELLENT line that I loved. (Major spoilers!)
"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
And that is how the book ends. Throughout the book the pigs, especially Napoleon, hated humans, and wanted to be clear that animals were above humans. As the book progressed however, they end up compromising their rule to have no interactions with humans, and eventually the pigs become the very beings they had claimed to hate so passionately. It was chilling to read, and I highly recommend the book.
Bonus: Flawed Arc: Introvert to Extrovert
DON'T WRITE THIS ARC, PLEASE! Being an introvert isn't a flaw, and it doesn't need fixed! Please, all you writers out there, don't write this arc! Extroverts don't seem to understand, we usually aren't scared of people, we just don't like them. And have you seen people? They're scary! Anyway. Being an introvert, or shy, or quiet, isn't a flaw. Please stop writing characters as if it is.
Alright! So, thoughts? Do you want me to write about more arcs? Is there an area in writing you're having difficulty understand? Please leave a comment, and let me know what you think!
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
