TL;DR
Reedsy names three common arcs: positive, flat and negative, built from the character's goal, a false belief and the truth they need. Choose the type first, then plan the pressure that tests the belief at each stage of the book.
The three main character arc types are the positive arc, in which a character overcomes a false belief and changes for the better, the negative arc, in which they cling to the belief and are destroyed by it, and the flat arc, in which they already hold the truth and change the people and world around them. Reedsy sets these out with the same three parts in each: the Goal the character wants, the Lie they believe, and the Truth they need.
The three parts every arc is built from
Reedsy's guide to character arcs starts with three elements. The Goal is what the character is after: a treasure, a murder solved, "the one". The Lie is a misconception about themselves or the world that keeps them from the Goal, such as a limiting belief, a trauma or a weakness. The Truth is the wisdom they need. If they can see or accept it, they can usually reach the Goal.
Jericho Writers describes the same machinery in terms of the plot. The character must pursue a clear goal. The reader wants to see them changed by the end because of what they went through to reach it. And change needs conflict, internal and external: an antagonist, the people close to them, and the character's own fears and self-sabotage.
| Positive arc | Flat arc | Negative arc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Lie | Believed at the start | Believed by others, not the hero | Believed, and kept |
| The Truth | Learned by the end | Held from the start | Refused, or known and rejected |
| What the plot does | Breaks the belief | Tests the hero's conviction | Rewards then punishes the belief |
| Where the change lands | In the hero | In others or in the world | In the hero, for the worse |
| Reedsy examples | Bilbo in The Hobbit, Scrooge | Atticus Finch, Poirot | Gatsby, Walter White |
Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Arrow keys work when the table is focused.
The positive arc
In a positive arc, the character sets out to reach a goal but carries a false belief, so they fail more than once. Reedsy says that once they learn from their mistakes they can let go of the Lie, embrace the Truth and reach the Goal, or a new version of it. Its examples show two scales. Bilbo starts out wanting a quiet life in the Shire, and by the end he has the heroic qualities he carried all along. Scrooge believes a person's worth is measured in money, and a series of visions chips away at the belief until he is a different man.
The shape is a ladder of attempts. The character acts on the belief, it costs them something, they act on it again, it costs more, and finally they choose differently under pressure.
A short example of our own. Nell is an auditor who believes rules protect people, because she has never seen what a rule does to the person on the other side. Her first audit finds a fault in a widow's pension and she reports it. A neighbour loses a house. She reports a second fault and loses a friend. At the climax she is told to report a third, and she does not.
The flat arc
In a flat arc the protagonist does not undergo significant change. Reedsy explains that they already hold the Truth, and their mission is to enlighten others. The challenge is to keep their conviction in the face of doubt and opposition. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus does not change, but Scout does, and Reedsy points out that in many flat arcs the unchanging character acts as a catalyst for others. In Murder on the Orient Express, Poirot's steady personality solves the case, and Reedsy notes it let Christie write him across more than 33 novels and 55 short stories.
A flat arc is not a flat character in the sense of a thin one. Adele Annesi, writing on Jane Friedman's site, says flat characters can be complex and show a full range of emotion even when they do not change, and that a flat character can be essential when other characters, and the reader, rely on them not changing.
Our example. Ottoline is a village doctor who refuses to lie to the council about a fever in the mill. Everyone tells her to wait until after the harvest fair. Each scene is a new reason to give in, from a friend, from her son, from her own tiredness. She does not give in, and by the end the council does what she asked, with the cost of delay already paid.
The negative arc
In a negative arc, Reedsy says the protagonist's quest is "less aspirational and more delusional." They may even get close to the goal, but they are given chances to learn and refuse each of them, so they keep spiralling down. Gatsby holds on to Daisy against the advice of the one friend who cares for him, and loses everything.
Reedsy also notes a variant in Walter White: he begins already aware of the Truth that cooking meth is not the answer, and what changes is that he keeps rejecting the red flags until the distinction is lost. A negative arc therefore does not need ignorance. It can be a character who knows and chooses badly.
Our example. Piers is a young miller who believes that success proves worth. He expands the mill, then undercuts a rival, then burns a warehouse he tells himself the rival would have burned. At each step a friend offers him a way out. At the end he owns every mill on the river and nobody who would visit him.
Where the sources disagree
Not every guide treats arcs as required. Jericho Writers says readers are looking for a lead who has changed by the end and is not the same person as at the start. Annesi gives reasons to set arc aside: some characters are not traditional, some are not much influenced by events, and rigid blocking of arc can limit discovery and spontaneity. She also lists when a traditional arc helps, as in complex plots with themes to explore, or for early drafts that need order.
The line between flat and changing is also blurry. Annesi gives Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice as a flat example, yet a reader who watches his pride humbled by Elizabeth's refusal may call that a change. The categories are guides, not boxes.
One more point of emphasis comes from Susan DeFreitas, also on Jane Friedman's site: the common mistake is to focus on how the protagonist feels in the moment, based on past issues, instead of connecting that reaction to the arc. Whichever type you choose, each major plot event should push on the belief.
How to choose your type
- Write the Goal in one sentence. What does the character pursue, concretely?
- Write the Lie in one sentence. What do they believe that makes the goal hard to reach?
- Ask who holds the Truth. If the hero does, you may have a flat arc. If nobody does yet, you have a positive or negative one.
- Ask what the ending shows. If the hero lets go of the Lie, it is positive. If they hold on, it is negative.
- List the pressure points. Pick at least three scenes where the Lie is tested, each costing more than the last.
Character development questions can help you find the Lie. For how arcs sit inside the shape of the whole book, see story structure and how to outline a novel.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of character arc?
Reedsy names three: positive, flat and negative. Positive arcs end with the character changed for the better, negative arcs with the character worse off, and flat arcs with the character unchanged but the world altered.
Does every protagonist need a character arc?
No. Jericho Writers says readers look for change, but Annesi on Jane Friedman's site argues there are good reasons to set arc aside, and flat characters can drive a story. If your protagonist does not change, make sure something else does.
What is a flat character arc?
An arc in which the protagonist already holds the truth and spends the story defending it against doubt, so that the people around them change.
Can a character arc be both positive and negative?
Yes, in the sense that a character can grow in one area and fall in another, and many stories mix them. Pick the main arc first, then add contrasts through secondary characters.
How is a character arc different from character development?
Development is the building of the person: their history, wants and quirks. The arc is the change, or the test of the change, across the book. Character development covers the first.
Where Musael fits
An arc lives across scenes, and long books lose track of where the belief was last tested. In Musael the plan board shows every scene with its status, point of view and notes, so you can mark which scenes test the Lie, and you can filter to see one character's thread on its own. The world and characters codex holds each character as an entry beside the manuscript, a natural place for their Goal, Lie and Truth. The AI editor on Ink and Press can read a scene and tell you what each character wants in it, and it never writes the scene.
Sources
- Reedsy, "What is a Character Arc? 3 Common Types and Examples from Fiction": blog.reedsy.com
- Jericho Writers, "Character Arcs: What They Are And How To Create Them, With Template": jerichowriters.com
- Adele Annesi, "An Argument for Setting Aside Arc in Story Development", Jane Friedman: janefriedman.com
- Susan DeFreitas, "What Character Arc Isn't", Jane Friedman: janefriedman.com
