New on OUTLIERS ONE MORE THING: Series Characters and Character Arcs by DP Lyle

OUTLIERS ONE MORE THING: Series Characters and Character Arcs by DP Lyle

Do series characters need a character arc? If so, how much should they change? How much “change” will fans tolerate?

Simply put, a character arc is the change a character goes through over the course of the story. Something happens in the character’s life that pushes it off balance. It might be a shark feeding off the shores of Amity Island or two robots showing up and babbling about some character named Obi-Wan Kenobi. It might be a group of armed criminals taking over a small hotel on Key Largo, along with an approaching hurricane, just to make things worse. Regardless, something comes into the character’s life, pushes it off kilter, and the story reveals that person’s attempts to rebalance things. As this journey unfolds, the character changes, learns something about himself, reaches a different level of understanding or compassion, or ability to act.

But what about a series character? A character that must move through five, 10, 20 or more novels? Do the protagonists of such series undergo a character arc? Should they? And if they do, will the most loyal readers recognize them after the 20th installment? It's something that’s argued in writing conferences year after year.

Did James Bond ever really change? Did Jack Reacher? The answer, of course, is very little, if any. Bond is always Bond; Reacher is always Reacher. If in each story, these iconic characters confronted situations that caused a massive change in who they were on a deeply personal level, and these changes piled up story after story, they would quickly become unrecognizable. And readers would revolt. We read these stories because we like the main characters and we don't want them to be someone else.

So, if a series characters don’t change, what's the story about? It's about this character, who we know and love, facing difficult circumstances and successfully solving the riddle. Series characters don’t have to change dramatically to do this, nor do they need to have some earthshaking revelation about themselves, or the world, or even someone else. What they need to do is use whatever skills they possess to correct the situation and put the story world back in order. For James Bond, it's often saving the world from Ernst Stavro Blofeld. For Jack Reacher, it's taking on the troubles of the little guy and his fight against the bad guy. Reacher is basically Shane. The quiet hero who comes into town and saves the day. And we like that. We don’t want him to change. Same for James Bond. When James Bond returns to London or Reacher sticks his thumb out and hitchhikes to the next town, they are the same person they were at the beginning of the story and indeed the story before and the one before that. They don’t change. They use their skills to solve problems. And we relish being along for the ride.

So, while character arcs work very well, and indeed are essential, for many stories, for a series character, they are problematic. I believe that writers of series characters should pressure them, make them adapt, make them use their skills to solve the problem and save the day. That’s good storytelling. But be wary of fundamental changes in who they are. Your readers will buy your next book because they like your protagonist. Don’t make them strangers.

DP LYLE

https://www.dplylemd.com/