Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-05 10:56:56
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：K.M. Weiland
- ISBN：1944936041
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Powerful Character Arcs Create Powerful Stories Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters-but it just isn't grabbing the attention of readers or agents？ It's time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs。 Internationally published， award-winning novelist K。M。 Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write。 By applying the foundation of the Three-Act Story Structure and then delving even deeper into the psychology of realistic and dynamic human change， Weiland offers a beat-by-beat checklist of character arc guidelines that flexes to fit any type of story。 This comprehensive book will teach you:
How to determine which arc-positive， negative， or flat-is right for your character。 Why you should NEVER pit plot against character。 Instead， learn how to blend story structure and character development。 How to recognize and avoid the worst pitfalls of writing novels without character arcs。 How to hack the secret to using overarching character arcs to create amazing trilogies and series。 And much more！
Gaining an understanding of how to write character arcs is a game-changing moment in any author's pursuit of the craft。 Bring your characters to unforgettable and realistic life-and take your stories from good to great！
How to determine which arc-positive， negative， or flat-is right for your character。 Why you should NEVER pit plot against character。 Instead， learn how to blend story structure and character development。 How to recognize and avoid the worst pitfalls of writing novels without character arcs。 How to hack the secret to using overarching character arcs to create amazing trilogies and series。 And much more！
Gaining an understanding of how to write character arcs is a game-changing moment in any author's pursuit of the craft。 Bring your characters to unforgettable and realistic life-and take your stories from good to great！
Reviews
Graham Stanley
，
Excellent guide to creating characters and moreThis guide isn’t just for authors Who need help to focus on creating believable， motivated characters， it also stresses and gives advice on how realistic characters combine with other elements of your story， such as plot and setting。 I learned a lot by reading it， and know I will keep coming back to it， using the book as a reference。
Julia Garcia
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I'm so glad that I decided to read this book this month！ It was exactly what I needed to help me fix areas that were wrong with my story that have been bugging me for six years。 I'll definitely be referencing this book a lot in the very near future。 I'm so glad that I decided to read this book this month！ It was exactly what I needed to help me fix areas that were wrong with my story that have been bugging me for six years。 I'll definitely be referencing this book a lot in the very near future。 。。。more
Oscar Cecena
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This book is an excellent tool for building character arcs。I love how K。M。 Weiland uses books and movies to illustrate the different types of character arcs and how they interact with the story's structure。 She makes it incredibly simple for the reader to understand relatively complex concepts。I'm sure I'll be getting back to it constantly as my writing progresses。 This book is an excellent tool for building character arcs。I love how K。M。 Weiland uses books and movies to illustrate the different types of character arcs and how they interact with the story's structure。 She makes it incredibly simple for the reader to understand relatively complex concepts。I'm sure I'll be getting back to it constantly as my writing progresses。 。。。more
Andrea Kepple
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Gave me a lot to think about when crafting the story I'm working on。 Gave me a lot to think about when crafting the story I'm working on。 。。。more
W。 Alexander | Writer
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Fantastic！The arc is the story， and it is worth any writer's time to learn or refresh their understanding of character arcs。 I am an English major with a concentration in creative writing。 However， I am close to graduating （this winter）， and only one course of mine went over， in detail， character arcs—it was a screenwriting course。 As assignments and exercises in my major are understandably smaller stories， —single scenes or single chapters （imagine grading fifty students novellas in a week， lol Fantastic！The arc is the story， and it is worth any writer's time to learn or refresh their understanding of character arcs。 I am an English major with a concentration in creative writing。 However， I am close to graduating （this winter）， and only one course of mine went over， in detail， character arcs—it was a screenwriting course。 As assignments and exercises in my major are understandably smaller stories， —single scenes or single chapters （imagine grading fifty students novellas in a week， lol）—it is refreshing for me to have a road map to writing a larger story。 I think Weiland did a great job with this book， and she uses a plethora of examples to drive her point home。 This book is a great tool for the writer's toolbox。 Happy Reading，www。w-alexander。com 。。。more
Terry Barone
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Logical roadmap to character developmentI got a lot out of this read。 The author did a good job of describing the various character arcs and giving examples of each in stories we might know！
Sonia Chatterjee
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What a brilliant book。 A must read for every author， irrespective of the genre。 I love the way Weiland has broken down the concepts into simple terms with examples。 I'm going to come back to this every time I write a new book。 What a brilliant book。 A must read for every author， irrespective of the genre。 I love the way Weiland has broken down the concepts into simple terms with examples。 I'm going to come back to this every time I write a new book。 。。。more
Reeds
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Investigate this furtherKMW "（e。g。， the Bully and Coward as the negative aspects of the Hero）， as well as the Flat Arc periods that exist between the Positive-Change Arcs （e。g。， the Lover， the Parent， the Ruler， etc。）。" Investigate this furtherKMW "（e。g。， the Bully and Coward as the negative aspects of the Hero）， as well as the Flat Arc periods that exist between the Positive-Change Arcs （e。g。， the Lover， the Parent， the Ruler， etc。）。" 。。。more
Nefeli
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I felt that the book was not well-writen。 The story examples that shows for each type of arc are rather strange and sometimes I completely disagree with them。 I am not sure how to place it， but I found the book lacking。 I will maybe return to give a more elaborate review later， when I have pondered upon it。。。
Liz H。
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Me encantó; aprendí demasiado gracias al modo en el que estaba explicado （uno sencillo e inclusive divertido） y me cambió la perspectiva al momento de escribir （y obviamente crear personajes）。 Definitivamente será una fuente de consulta frecuente。
Blake Addison
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Solid book。 Very useful for major plot points in the classic 3 act structure， and good ideas and methods for where to start incorporating change for your characters。 The impact character is also referred to as the Revenant。
E。C。
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A while back， I went into this book expecting a read on how to create unique characters and was minorly disappointed。 Well， couple-year-younger me， you clearly weren't reading the title right。 XDAfter a re-read， I've concluded that this is a really good book on character arcs and story structure without being dry or boring。 K。M。 Weiland's author voice still shines through！A few aspects were a bit confusing， but the questions at the end of every chapter were tools that I'll definitely be using fo A while back， I went into this book expecting a read on how to create unique characters and was minorly disappointed。 Well， couple-year-younger me， you clearly weren't reading the title right。 XDAfter a re-read， I've concluded that this is a really good book on character arcs and story structure without being dry or boring。 K。M。 Weiland's author voice still shines through！A few aspects were a bit confusing， but the questions at the end of every chapter were tools that I'll definitely be using for a future novel。 Overall， a great read for anyone who's interested in writing strong character arcs， and。 。 。 *checks title* "uniting story structure， plot， and character development。" 。。。more
Anna Gamble
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BrilliantLoads of great advice and insights into character and structure that I know I’ll return to again and again。 Highly recommend。
Gwen Clayton
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InsightfulLots of good advice for any writer。 Even nonfiction stories should have some kind of arc。 But for fiction authors， this book fleshes out all the options and helps writers design a roadmap from prologue to epilogue。
Rob Davis
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Excellent book on character arcs。
Florian Führen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I'm a sucker for nonfiction on writing， and I celebrate the nuances each author brings to the table。 However， in this case， I don't feel like the narrow focus on character arcs contributed to any significant ideas you couldn't find in the broader books on storytelling （McKee， Truby， Coyne， Le Guin）。 Yes， the book offers advice for a wide range of writers。 Yes， it covers two types of story arcs。 But apart from different story examples， a few hints on symbolism through worldbuilding， and a short c I'm a sucker for nonfiction on writing， and I celebrate the nuances each author brings to the table。 However， in this case， I don't feel like the narrow focus on character arcs contributed to any significant ideas you couldn't find in the broader books on storytelling （McKee， Truby， Coyne， Le Guin）。 Yes， the book offers advice for a wide range of writers。 Yes， it covers two types of story arcs。 But apart from different story examples， a few hints on symbolism through worldbuilding， and a short chapter on series writing， you won't gain much。 The book reads like a solid paper on the standard building blocks of an arch plot， but I've spent more time writing down quoted sources than actually learning anything。 I completely missed the author’s unique angle on the topic。 。。。more
Apollonia Tsanta
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I don't agree with all the examples the author uses in this book， but I've found some interesting thoughts in there， which I intend to keep。 However， I believe that some arcs are missing。 I don't agree with all the examples the author uses in this book， but I've found some interesting thoughts in there， which I intend to keep。 However， I believe that some arcs are missing。 。。。more
Sarah Lapalme
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Loved this one！ This book and it’s companion workbook really help me dig deep into the Arc I want my character to go through in my story。
Lisa
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Most of Weiland’s books on writing are meant for the novice。 This one stands out as a guide for more seasoned writers of fiction。 I’m gaining great insights about my own writing by referring to it daily as I revise a first draft。
Moss 慈映夢図
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The forms of storytelling are so ingrained in our culture at this point that books like these invariably end up sounding the same。 It's not necessarily a bad thing， more a testament to how important and entrenched the rules are。 And they do bear repeating。 It's pretty impressive then that this is one of a handful of books that stands out for no other reason than the information is dense but streamlined， pieced together well， and contains very little fat （or worse - the author's """"""quirky""""" The forms of storytelling are so ingrained in our culture at this point that books like these invariably end up sounding the same。 It's not necessarily a bad thing， more a testament to how important and entrenched the rules are。 And they do bear repeating。 It's pretty impressive then that this is one of a handful of books that stands out for no other reason than the information is dense but streamlined， pieced together well， and contains very little fat （or worse - the author's """"""quirky""""" humor。） This is one I'll be referring back to a lot and probably recommending to people as a great starting point。 5 stars 。。。more
L M Roy
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This book wasn't for me even though there was some helpful information。 The concepts were broken down too much and I found it confusing。 I had a hard time pulling anything useful from it This book wasn't for me even though there was some helpful information。 The concepts were broken down too much and I found it confusing。 I had a hard time pulling anything useful from it 。。。more
Scott Ragsdale
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This is a fantastic breakdown of the three major types of character arcs and how they play out within the narrative structure。
Danae
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A succinct and involved deep dive into character arcs。 Each chapter ends with a list of questions to apply to your own characters。 Not only do we get the positive arc， but we look at Flat and Negative arcs。 It's easy to take away actions from this craft book。 A succinct and involved deep dive into character arcs。 Each chapter ends with a list of questions to apply to your own characters。 Not only do we get the positive arc， but we look at Flat and Negative arcs。 It's easy to take away actions from this craft book。 。。。more
Emily Wemily
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4。0 This was a good book！ Effective， clear， and well structured。 I am glad I read it， and I even wish I had read it a little sooner。 It's broken up into 3 main sections， exploring the positive character arc （50%）， the flat arc （30%）， and the negative arc （20%）。 It provides plenty of examples and includes a helpful question section at the end of each chapter for authors to reflect on how well they're implementing the arcs that they choose。 1 star off since this breaks down a lot of things that ar 4。0 This was a good book！ Effective， clear， and well structured。 I am glad I read it， and I even wish I had read it a little sooner。 It's broken up into 3 main sections， exploring the positive character arc （50%）， the flat arc （30%）， and the negative arc （20%）。 It provides plenty of examples and includes a helpful question section at the end of each chapter for authors to reflect on how well they're implementing the arcs that they choose。 1 star off since this breaks down a lot of things that are already pretty evident in storytelling and can be a little repetitive。 That said， it does provide an opportunity to really think about what arcs we see in our favorite stories and how we can use certain tactics to achieve the same in our own work。 It's also extremely easy to understand。 Would recommend :） 。。。more
Андрей Журавлев
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Очень качественный нонфик。 Подчерпнул много хорошей информации。
irem
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3。5 stars
Michael Kwan
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Practical and concise， with specific examples to illustrate。 Would've appreciated a summary or outline at the end for ease of reference。 The main thing I learned is I'm not cut out for fiction writing。 Practical and concise， with specific examples to illustrate。 Would've appreciated a summary or outline at the end for ease of reference。 The main thing I learned is I'm not cut out for fiction writing。 。。。more
Shannon Hollinger
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I've become a big fan of Weiland's books on writing！ They're full of useful information， they're entertaining， & with the many examples she gives using both popular books & movies， they're easy to understand。 I've always focused on plot when writing because while reading， even a book full of characters I hate can keep my attention if the plot is good enough， but now I'm going to work on making my stories deeper by developing my character arcs！ I've become a big fan of Weiland's books on writing！ They're full of useful information， they're entertaining， & with the many examples she gives using both popular books & movies， they're easy to understand。 I've always focused on plot when writing because while reading， even a book full of characters I hate can keep my attention if the plot is good enough， but now I'm going to work on making my stories deeper by developing my character arcs！ 。。。more
Howard
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Very well done book on developing characters。 She has great examples from many popular stories。 I great education in creating characters that work。 Great book！
Emrys Csato
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