Narrative arcs, also called story arcs, are how we chart change throughout a tale. They are not to be confused with story structure or plot, which are two very different aspects of story, but all three are interwoven together. Narrative arcs are all about tracking change on a positive to negative scale. It’s about opposites. Arcs follow the story on a sliding scale: happy and sad, life and death, accomplishments and failure. Today I’m going to go over what makes an arc change, the general steps of an arc, and the six basic narrative arc types.
Changes In Narratives Arcs
The essence of a narrative arc is that it must rise and fall. Without change, you have no arc. According to the Story Grid‘s website, you track the protagonist’s fortune in one of six main life values that are drawn from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
1. Physiological
The protagonist is chasing after some basic need. Food, shelter, warmth, etc. Any life and death story falls into this category. The character starts with life, something endangers it, and ends with him narrowly avoiding death or dying. It can also start without something (like a home) and end when the protagonist achieves it.
2. Safety
A character or a group of people must fight for their safety. Horror, thrillers, and war stories are some examples. The main character’s fortune changes from safety to a fate worse than death. Some will regain their security while others will fail.
3. Love
This narrative arc will rise and fall on a scale of love and hate. The protagonist may start out with love, lose it, and regain it…or not. Romance books have this arc change, but so do any stories centered on the protagonist gaining acceptance or love from a friend, family, or lover.
4. Esteem
In this change, the protagonist is striving for status, influence, and accomplishment. There is some position the character wishes to achieve. For instance, he could start as a respected attorney, lose his license, and then regain it at the end in time to be made a judge. It’s all about accomplishment verses failure.
5. Self-Actualization
The protagonist strives to reach the best version of himself. Usually, this change occurs in the character’s worldview, bettering his mind and values. The sliding scale of change is naïveté to maturity. The character is enlightened and will choose to accept that knowledge or reject it.
6. Transcendence
This change is a bit tricky to conceptualize. It’s about the character going from his best version of himself to helping better others. The story is about good and evil. A lot of epic fantasies tackle this type of change over their entire series.
General Steps of Narrative Arcs
Before we talk about types of narrative arcs, let’s look at the basic five steps to any narrative arc. No matter what story you write or what arc type you select, every story will have these components.
1. Exposition
The first step in any arc is to set the stage. Tell the who, where, and when so the readers know the normal status. Once the status quo is set, you can start making changes and establishing the arc.
2. Inciting Incident
This is the event that shakes up the protagonist’s world and starts the change. It shoves the character from normalcy and into an unfamiliar situation that will demand he grows in some way to survive.
3. Rising Action
Rising action is used to describe all the conflicts that arise throughout the story and shape the protagonist. It’s the characters journey to the end goal.
4. Climax
The climax is the highest point of tension in the story. The protagonist is confronted with the truth he has been either chasing or running from the whole story, and he must make a decision. Accept it and move on, or reject it.
5. Resolution
The resolution consists of falling action and tying up all the loose ends. The story comes full circle, and you must show how the character has changed—for better or worse.
Types Of Narrative Arcs
Taking those five steps, you can make numerous types of narrative arcs. No two arcs are exactly the same, but there are six general shapes that most stories follow. These arc types were identified by a team of researchers lead by Andrew Reagan from the University of Vermont in a dissertation titled “Towards a Science of Human Stories.” I was first introduced to these arc types by Joe Bunting on The Write Practice website.
1. Rags to Riches
A Rags to Riches narrative arc starts in the negative and moves upward toward a happy ending. Some examples include: Matilda, My Fair Lady, Red Rising, and Princess and the Frog (Disney’s version).
2. Riches to Rags
This is the opposite of the last arc. The movement is a fall in the arc so the protagonist starts in a good place and ends with a life in ruins. Some of these stories include: Picture of Dorian Gray, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Catch-22.
3. Man in a Hole
A Man in a Hole arc is when the protagonist starts in a good position, loses it, but then gets a happy ending. This arc is unlike the other two because it both falls and rises while the others only rose or fell. Often, this arc type will be repeated to form many rises and falls. Examples of this arc type are: Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Homeward Bound, and The Count of Monte Cristo.
An example of a Double Man in a Hole is Lion King. Simba starts as the prince, falls when his father is murdered, rises when he meets Timon and Pumbaa, falls when he must fight Scar for the throne, and rises when he claims the throne and starts his own family. The Double Man in a Hole arc is one of the most popular narrative arcs to read, according to the research study.
4. Icarus
This arc type starts out in a negative state, rises, but ultimately falls to a sad ending. A lot of classics follow this arc type: Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, etc. Despite the sad endings, this arc type is one of the most read narrative arcs.
5. Cinderella
The Cinderella arc is one of the most popular types. It starts with the protagonist in a bad situation, rises, falls, and then rises to a happy ending. Some examples include: Aladdin, Twilight, Ender’s Game, and The Inheritance Games.
6. Oedipus
This arc type is the opposite of the Cinderella arc. The character starts off well, falls, rises, but ends in tragedy. This arc type is also very popular amongst readers. Examples of Oedipus arc types are: Gone with the Wind, Heartless, and And Then There Were None.
Final Thoughts
This was a lot to take in, but I wanted a comprehensive post of narrative arcs to share with you. First thing you should plan for your narrative arc is the type of change and then the arc type. Once you have that figured out, follow the arc steps to create a general flow for your story. You can use this information paired with your story structure to make a solid tale for your book.
Thanks for reading!
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