Positive Character Arcs
This post will be focusing on positive character arcs in particular. If you’re interested in an overview of what character arcs are, click here. I’ll be exploring other types in the future, but for now, let’s dive into common positive change arcs we see in popular media and literature!
What is a positive change arc?
Also called a moral ascending character arc, this is when our character undergoes an internal change for the better throughout the course of the story. They typically start in a difficult situation and end up overcoming those challenges by the end. While we might not always get a happy ending with a positive character arc, we still generally leave the story satisfied, because our characters have learned and grown in positive ways.
While there are limitless options for crafting a strong positive change arc, there are some basic foundations that are present in pretty much all the most popular stories. Let’s touch on those foundational elements we want to include to produce a similar investment and payoff. Then, we’ll look at some examples in media and literature.
Elements of Positive Change Arcs
Real quick, I want to note: While the transformational arc is sometimes included underneath the positive change arc umbrella, it’s also often discussed as something separate since transformation isn’t always positive. So, I will be dedicating an entirely separate post to that one, despite the overlap. Redemption, reluctant hero, and other subtypes are still positive arcs, so they’re included here, even though not explicitly stated or explored individually.
In the next section, I will use a middle grade short story I have here, titled Ms. Scarecrow. You can read that first if you’d like additional context for the following examples.
Key Structure:
The lie the character believes, or their flaw
Molly believes she’s better off on her own and she doesn’t need anybody else.
The character’s goal and motivation (which should conflict with what they actually need)
Molly wants to prove she’s brave—and earn the big 5th grade fundraiser prize—even if it means approaching the scary neighborhood witch, Ms. Scarecrow. She wants to fit in with the new kids at school, but her family moves a lot, so she doesn’t want to actually get close to anyone. It hurts too much when it’s time to move again. So, she wants to look cool but not ever be vulnerable.
What the character actually needs, that they don’t accept yet (but must, if they’re going to change for the better)
Molly needs to open her heart again to relationships, even if that means it might hurt more when things change.
The catalyst forcing them out of their comfort zone
Molly knocks on Ms. Scarecrow’s door for the fundraiser, and Ms. Scarecrow actually answers.
Challenges and obstacles to test the new belief that contradicts their lie
Molly asks about the neighborhood rumors of the witch. She doesn’t find any evidence that they’re true… There are no bones in the planter boxes, or spiderwebs in the windows. In fact, Ms. Scarecrow— who, as it turns out, is named Maggie—seems perfectly kind, if a little eccentric. She even offers Molly a snack and orders several things from her fundraiser pamphlet.
A moment of truth when they accept their new reality
Even though she’s scared, Molly stays and talks. When Maggie shares vulnerable information, admitting that she, too, prefers to stay alone to avoid being hurt, Molly realizes even adults struggle sometimes, and she sees the toll Maggie’s isolation has taken on her over all these years.
The climax, where the change/shift in perspective is what helps the protagonist succeed
Molly helps Ms. Scarecrow breathe through some difficult memories and realizes having other people around who understand could actually be a good thing. They connect over their shared emotions.
Resolution and integration of the change
Molly decides Maggie shouldn’t have to be alone anymore, either, and vows to visit often, which she does. Maggie becomes an important person in Molly’s life, encouraging her to make friends and connect with others.
Things to keep in mind:
Avoid cliches
Make sure the change feels earned
Show setbacks along the way to intensify the climax and make the resolution more satisfying
The example I used above was a short story, which is different than a novel-length story, but the structure is largely similar. It’s just more condensed. I’ll do a deeper dive into story structure in another post, but hopefully this overview gives you enough of a framework to be able to join me in the next part, where we look at other popular fiction works to see how this arc plays out in the stories we love. At least for me, concepts like these make more sense when I can see them in action.
Examples From Media and Literature
I’m going to provide a short synopsis for each of our examples, and as we go through them, I encourage you to see if you can identify the key structures of the positive change arc. I will do my best to avoid major spoilers, but you should still be able to identify:
What is the character’s flaw or false belief/lie?
What’s motivating them?
What do they really need?
What challenges do they face?
How do they change by the end in order to make this a positive change arc?
January Scaller from The Ten Thousand Doors of January
The story begins with January believing she’s the product of her guardian’s making: small, quiet, and obedient. She’s been raised in high society despite being mixed, and she seems to have taken her place as a reluctantly accepted oddity, even if she often feels like her guardian’s show pony rather than an actual human being. She wants to be loved and truly included, even by those who look down on her. But when she discovers her first door through a magical book, and learns how she can use that book to explore the world, everything changes for her. I don’t want to spoil anything big, but as she pieces her family’s story together, she steps into her own agency and power. She sees things for what they really are and, by the end, this acceptance changes not only her personal world, but the greater one as well.
Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender
In possibly one of the very best positive change arcs, Zuko starts the series as an angry son carrying intense shame. His father, ruler of the Fire Nation, has banished him, and the only way he can ever return home is to capture the Avatar. However, throughout the story he faces failure and betrayals, comes to some intense realizations, and begins to understand that his father’s vision of honor is wrong, not only for him but for their world. He sheds a long legacy of abuse and power, learning to define himself in his own way, ultimately embodying the values he was once taught to despise.
Shizuka Satomi from Light From Uncommon Stars
When this novel starts, Shizuka is cold and resigned, convinced she has no choice but to trade young souls to a demon in exchange for her own freedom. She made this bargain years ago in order to obtain success as a professional violinist, and she only has one more soul to deliver in order to be free. So, rather than give up her own soul, she begins mentoring Katrina, a young trans violinist runaway. Through her relationships with Katrina and an alien named Lan Tran, Shizuka softens, finding passion in art her again, and learning to believe in the possibility of love. Ultimately, she must choose these new connections, or Katrina’s soul will belong to hell.
Circe from Circe
The neglected and underestimated daughter of Helios, Circe is desperate for love and validation. Her exile to Aiaia is initially a punishment, but this island becomes her sanctuary. Through heartbreak, motherhood, and deep introspection, she transforms into a powerful, self-assured woman, no longer passive and overlooked. Her final moments are defined by choices which can only be described as acts of liberation. She claims her identity on her own terms, rejecting both isolation and the tyranny of the gods.
Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place
This is one of my favorite TV series of all time, and I think it’s at least in part thanks to Eleanor’s arc. She starts the show as a selfish, rude, and manipulative person who’s learned to look out for herself since nobody else ever has. She generally dislikes people and distrusts them. When she dies and finds herself mistakenly in the “good place” (aka: heaven), she does everything she can to not be found out. At first this is to avoid being sent to the bad place, but over time, through a series of afterlife reboots and having to learn the same lessons countless times, she realizes she actually wants to be good, too. I won’t say more, but must add: This series finale is perhaps the best in television history. Just saying.
Gideon from Gideon the Ninth
In the beginning, Gideon is resentful and trying to escape the Ninth House, where she’s lived her entire life under the tyrannical rule of Harrowhark (and their family). She’s sarcastic and biting, going toe to toe with the most powerful necromancer the Ninth House has ever known (Harrow). But beneath the hard exterior, Gideon is actually lonely and wishing she belonged anywhere. She’s called to join Harrow at the Lyctor trials, where they face all sorts of dangerous tests, with the end prizes of immortality for Harrow and freedom for Gideon. Despite their strained and complicated dynamic, Gideon must work with Harrow or die. However, throughout the course of these challenges, Gideon moves from self-preservation to something else entirely. Understanding, maybe? She begins to understand the weight of loyalty and legacy, and by the end she’s connected and willing to sacrifice everything.
There are, of course, endless examples of positive change arcs throughout media and literature. These are just a few. Were you able to identify the key structural elements which made these character arcs possible? What are some other amazing examples you can think of?
Writer Exercise: Choose 3 of your favorite characters in literature who experienced a positive change arc. See if you can write a short blurb/synopsis which encapsulates the story, but instead of cutting off where I did to avoid spoilers, do the whole thing. Make sure to include all the elements essential to these storylines (lie/flaw, goal/motivation, catalyst, challenges, realization/new belief, moment of truth, climax, and resolution). And anytime you’re reading or watching something, be thinking about those characters! Where did they start? Where are they going? Is their arc of change a positive one?
Happy writing!
