An Arc Within an Arc - An Introduction

A couple of weeks back I covered the topic of using Dan Harmon's theory of character arcs as a method of developing a structured and strong narrative. This week I'm going to take it a bit further.

This is the personal method I have used in the past to help not only write the overall arc for a story but also how to keep my characters focussed within the story itself. This is the method of an arc within arcs. Arc-ception if you will. Keep in mind this applies more to event driven stories though you can apply similar methods to character driven narratives.

As you are going around your narrative circle, from 1-8, think about what journey your characters are on. Where might they sit in the each section of the story? How does your character's circle rotate within the overall machine of the world?

The key point to remember about the arc within an arc, is that for all intents and purposes your character is a cog in this narrative wheel and as the machine ticks over, so does it affect how your character reacts and visa versa. Where in your character's rotation might it's progress begin to hamper the manner in which your narrative machine might function.

It makes for an interesting visualisation to be sure.

Next week we'll go a step further as this is just an introduction really to the idea and it warrants a step further in terms of exploration. So till next week!