The Ups and Downs of a Story Arc

Have you ever heard the term "Story Arc" and wondered what it meant? Now is your opportunity to find out, from the little bit I know. I had to research this term and, unfortunately, found very little discussion about it. Still, I enjoy learning new things and a good challenge. I also realized that I, in fact, use this method when I deal with storylines that involve more than one novel. I just didn't know my method had an actual name.

From what I learned, a Story Arc is most commonly associated with writing for media, such as television, comic books, video games, and movies. Beyond that, it is mainly used for writing dramas and, in particular, writng soap operas. Why, you ask? Because each of those are specific to involving episodic storytelling that continues on in a series of shows, comic books, games, and even movies. An example of movies would be the Star Wars series.

This isn't to say that the Story Arc can't be adapted to novel writing. The Arc structure basically encompasses the whole of a storyline: the beginning, middle, and the end. It can help guide a writer from introducing the main characters to moving him/her from one situation to another in order to affect change in their lives. Use the guideline to move those characters to the low point in their life, the place where you take away whatever life structures he/she has depended on, and then nudge the characters along until they discover a new strength within themselves.

In summary, the Story Arc is simply another structural tool a writer can use. Its purpose is to keep a larger storyline that involves a series of stories under control. By outlining your multi-story project using this method, you can keep the facts, conflicts, and character changes lined up so you don't get lost somewhere in the middle of your stories and make critical errors. Errors where you suddenly change a background fact, something important about the characters, etc.