Act 2 – Part 1 – An Overview

Rising Action – Navigating the New World

Character Arc – The Character’s Change/Growth Throughout the Story

Try/Fails – The Character’s Lessons Throughout the Story

Additions

Character Arc is not Always for the Better

The Antagonist’s Arc is Usually for the Worst

Secondary Characters are All over the Map

Rising Action

Introduce Difficult Challenges/Enemies

Show that the New World is Dangerous

Remember: Show/Don’t Tell

Examples of Rising Action

The Lion King: Simba’s Exile and Near Death in the Desert

Hunger Games: Katniss’ Train Ride to the Capital

Showing versus Telling

Showing Allows the Reader to Experience and be Immersed in the World of the Story

Telling Prevents the Reader from being Immersed in the World of the Story

Addition

Use an Emotional Thesaurus

Thing of the Character as Carrying a Camera – What We See & Hear is Being Captured on Tape

Interesting and Powerful Enemies

An Enemy can be a Person, Place or Thing

The Hero can be Their Own Enemy

An Enemy Needs to be Interesting – Weak Enemies are Boring

They Could Have Flaws, but Must Seem – at Least at First – More Powerful than the Protagonist

Addition

The Antagonist’s Job is to Prevent the Protagonist from Achieving their Goal(s)

What is a Character Arc?

Remember: The Protagonist will not Always Be Successful When The Face Challenges

New World + Conflict = Change

The Changes, Successes and Failures will Determine the Character Arc

Additions

We Learn from Both Success and Failure

Change Always Comes from Conflict

What are Try/Fails?

Conflict is Essential to Learning

The Purpose of a Try/Fail is for Your Character to gain New Information or Insight

Failure is More Important than Success

Avoid Inept Villains and Overly Powerful Heroes

Addition

A Minimum of Three Try/Fails in Novel: Plot Point #1, Midpoint, Plot Point #2

Plot Challenges Character

Each Challenge/Obstacle every Character Faces Propels them Forward/Backward in their Arc

This means Change in the Character Arc can be Good or Bad

Character Arc Applies to All Characters

The Hero and Antagonist Often Go in Opposite Directions

Supporting Characters Should Have an Arc and should Grow and Change

The Supporting Subplot

If There is a Subplot, Each Conflict Builds It, While the Subplot Supports the Overall Narrative

The Subplot is Generally a Different Genre from the Main Plot

Example: The Lion King

Simba Grows from a Scared Cub to the New King

Timon and Pumba Grow from Careless Wanderers to Supportive Friends

Scar Descends from an Evil Ruler to a Scared Exilt

Example: Hunger Games

Katniss Grows from a Reluctant Participant to a Hero

Haymitch Grows from a Reluctant Mentor to True Advisor