Writing Negative Character Arcs: Types & Principles

What is a Negative Character Arc? 

In a negative character arc, the character grows into someone worse--or perhaps more accurately said, someone more misled. Stories that feature protagonists with negative arcs typically function as cautionary tales and often leave the audience feeling "sadder, but wiser." Some examples of negative arcs include Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, Coriolanus in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and Light in Death Note. These also serve as good reminders that not all protagonists are "heroes."

Of course, though, negative arcs can be used for side characters or antagonists as well, such as Harry Osborn in Spider-Man, or Javert in Les Mis.

A common misconception is that negative arcs are always for "bad guys." While the majority of villains will embody a negative arc, not every negative-arcing character is a villain. For example, Winston has a negative arc in 1984, but no one would call him a "bad guy"; he was tortured until he lost his way.

Despite negative arcs being uncommon for main characters, chances are you'll need to write one for at least one important character at some point. This article will go over the two basic types of negative arcs, dig deeper into what a negative arc actually is, and offer four principles to help you craft one.

Buckle up, writers, because today we are on the "highway to hell!" 😈🔥😉

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The Steadfast, Flat-arc Protagonist in Story: The End

Hello everyone! Today we are finishing our breakdown of story structure, according to the positive steadfast, flat-arc protagonist--protagonists who don't change drastically in their worldviews (and instead usually inspire change in others). 

Here are the previous posts in the series:

Debunking 6 Myths about Steadfast, Flat-arc Characters

Principles of the Steadfast, Flat-arc Protagonist

3 Categories of Steadfast, Flat-arc Characters

The Steadfast, Flat-arc Protagonist in Story: The Beginning

The Steadfast, Flat-arc Protagonist in Story: The Middle 

Just as a recap, there are three categories of positive steadfast protagonists.

1. One that experiences little to no doubt, such as James Barrie in Finding Neverland. (Because they experience no doubt, there isn't much of an internal journey plotline, so another type of plotline will be emphasized in its place--likely the world/society or the Influence Character plotline.)

2. One that doubts applying the truth (his or her accurate worldview) in one of these ways:

- Doesn't know how to actually do what he needs to do (i.e. We all believe no one should go hungry, but how do we actually solve world hunger?), such as Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke.

- Doubts his capabilities. Does he have what it takes to claim victory? Can he survive the costs? This is where Peter Parker is at in the beginning of Spider-man 2.

- Doubts her role or worthiness. Should she be the person taking this journey? This is what happens in Moana. 

3. One that entertains doubt concerning the truth, the accurate worldview. Could the opposing worldview (the lie, the misbelief, the anti-theme) be the right one? Diana does this in Wonder Woman.

And just to have everything together on the same page for reference, here are the stories we have been dissecting as examples:

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The Steadfast, Flat-Arc Protagonist in Story: The Middle

Last week I began breaking down story structure according to positive steadfast, flat-arc protagonists--protagonists who don't much change their primary worldview (this is sometimes referred to as the "truth," which is essentially the story's theme). Here we continue that journey into the middle. 

I hope this is helpful to anyone who has struggled with the flat-arc characters. 

Just as a recap, there are three categories of positive steadfast protagonists.

1. One that experiences little to no doubt, such as James Barrie in Finding Neverland. (Because they experience no doubt, there isn't much of an internal journey plotline, so another type of plotline will be emphasized in its place--likely the world/society or the Influence Character plotline.)

2. One that doubts applying the truth (his or her accurate worldview) in one of these ways:

- Doesn't know how to actually do what he needs to do (i.e. We all believe no one should go hungry, but how do we actually solve world hunger?), such as Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke.

- Doubts his capabilities. Does he have what it takes to claim victory? Can he survive the costs? This is where Peter Parker is at in the beginning of Spider-man 2.

- Doubts her role or worthiness. Should she be the person taking this journey? This is what happens in Moana. 

3. One that entertains doubt concerning the truth, the accurate worldview. Could the opposing worldview (the lie, the misbelief, the anti-theme) be the right one? Diana does this in Wonder Woman.

These are not all exclusive. For example, a protagonist may doubt her worthiness and begin doubting her accurate worldview (the truth). A protagonist may also be one way for the primary theme, but a different way for a secondary theme. For example, in Finding Neverland, James Barrie never doubts the primary theme (that playfulness empowers us by getting us to believe in something more), but he does express doubt in the secondary theme (that sincere friendship is more important than reputation). 

Again, here are our breakdowns of the stories we're dissecting as examples.

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The Steadfast, Flat-Arc Protagonist in Story: The Beginning

A couple of times, I've been asked to explain how positive steadfast, flat-arc protagonists actually work in story structure (or "beat sheets," if you prefer that term). Luckily, as I mentioned in a previous post, the flat-arc protagonist story has pretty much all the same pieces as the change-arc protagonist story--many of them are just reversed. 

This means, that frankly, a lot of the same moments happen, if a little differently.

Writing a steadfast protagonist is like being left-handed in a right-handed world. Same world. Different experience.

Since this can (like a lot of writing concepts) be a little difficult to "see," I'm gonna go ahead and guide you through a positive steadfast protagonist story. 

Well, three in fact.

And even if you never intend to write a flat-arc story, this may still be helpful to some degree, as most stories will feature a flat-arc character, even if they are not the protagonist. (However, I wouldn't recommend getting hung up on trying to make a side flat-arc character hit all the same points as a protagonist one would.)

One of the most obvious differences in structure is that the positive, steadfast, flat-arc protagonist starts on an accurate worldview--sometimes referred to as the "truth." This is almost always, more or less, the primary theme of the story. By the end of the story, this worldview will be proven true, so the protagonist ultimately doesn't flip in his or her beliefs, making him or her "steadfast." (In contrast, a positive change character will start with an inaccurate worldview--the "lie" or "misbelief" or "flaw"--this is basically the "anti-theme"--the opposing argument to the "truth." The positive change character will change to the "truth," the accurate worldview, the true thematic statement at the end.)

However, many stories have more than one theme. Many stories have secondary themes.

Because of this, it's possible for the positive steadfast character to be steadfast in the primary theme, but be a change character in the secondary theme. A steadfast protagonist may or may not be steadfast for every theme. But by definition, they must be steadfast for the primary theme (obviously).

This is why you may see writers argue over whether a particular character has a change or flat arc, and why the same character may get categorized differently--it depends entirely on what thematic thread the person is pulling.

For example, in The Lion King, Simba is ultimately a steadfast protagonist in the primary theme--he believes in the Circle of Life at the beginning, and even though he temporarily loses sight of that, he ultimately holds true to it at the end. However, he's a change character in the secondary theme of responsibility--he starts out believing in irresponsibility but flips into embracing responsibility at the end. Because of this, different people may get in arguments about how he arcs.

Someday I will write a post specifically on secondary themes and secondary arcs. For now, I do want to illustrate how secondary themes and arcs play out for steadfast protagonists, as I feel they can be particularly important in understanding them (Simba's structure being just one example). 

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3 Categories of Steadfast, Flat-arc Characters

Recently, I wrote a couple of articles on the positive steadfast (also known as flat-arc) character. First I did one debunking six myths about them, then I did one on the basic principles of a steadfast, flat-arc protagonist. Today I'm going to talk about the three different categories they fit into, which, as I'll show later, will influence how you write their stories, particularly if they are the protagonists. 

Steadfast/flat-arc characters are characters who don't drastically change their worldviews over the course of the narrative. In contrast, a change character will do largely a 180 flip in worldview from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. For example, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Charlie maintains the same worldview at the beginning and at the end. In contrast, in The Emperor's New Groove, Kuzco does a 180 flip in worldview from the beginning to the end, because of the story. 

Both types of characters will be tested through the obstacles and conflicts of the middle. The difference is that the steadfast character will (ultimately) remain steadfast to their beliefs in spite of the tests, and the change character will transform because of the tests. 

There are positive and negative versions of each type of character. Characters who hold strong or change for the good (or rather, for the accurate worldview--sometimes referred to as the "truth") have positive arcs. While characters who hold strong or change for the worse (or an inaccurate worldview--sometimes called the "lie") have negative arcs. 

I've been asked a couple of times to break down how a steadfast protagonist story is structured differently from (or similarly to) a change protagonist story. This is forthcoming, but in the process, I realized I needed to talk about three categories of flat-arc protagonists, because to some extent, that influences how the story is structured. 

Now, as with most writing things, this is really more of a spectrum than exact categories, but being able to categorize helps us make informed writing decisions. 

In my post, "Principles of the Steadfast, Flat-arc Protagonist," I echoed K. M. Weiland's assertion that doubt is key to creating a meaningful internal journey for the flat-arc character. I pointed out that some steadfast characters doubt very little, while others may be brought to their knees by doubt. But not all doubt is the same, and not all doubts hit with the same force. 

This is why it's helpful to break down the steadfast character further. Below we move from little to no doubt, to the most crippling forms of doubt.

Please note that for my examples, I'm specifically using positive steadfast characters. For negative steadfast characters, you'd simply flip the worldview so that they start and end on the inaccurate one.

I've also chosen to focus on protagonists in particular, but most stories will feature a steadfast character, even if the protagonist has a change arc. Considering the following can still help with writing steadfast side characters. (And if you are writing with a change protagonist, it's likely the Influence Character will be a steadfast one).

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Principles of the Steadfast, Flat-arc Protagonist

Last week I debunked six myths about the steadfast (also known as the flat-arc) character. Now, I would like to share some of the basic principles of writing a positive steadfast protagonist. 

Steadfast/flat-arc characters are characters who don't drastically change their worldviews over the course of the story. In contrast, a change character will do largely a 180 flip in worldview from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. 

For example, in Wonder Woman, Diana begins the story with the perspective that we should fight for the world we believe in. At the end of the story, she proves that true by using it to defeat the antagonist (this helps make up the story's theme). But in Frozen, Elsa begins the story with the worldview that one must be closed off to be safe and authentic. Because of the story, she learns that, actually, we must be open to be loved authentically (that might mean we get hurt, but some love is worth the hurt). This enables her to set things right, which proves that perspective true (and helps make up the story's theme).

Both flat-arc characters and change characters have negative versions: a character who remains steadfast to an inaccurate worldview and suffers punishment for it, and a character who changes from a true worldview to an inaccurate one and suffers punishment for it. Negative versions of each type are harder to find, but not nonexistent. 

Almost all protagonists are positive change-arc protagonists. This means that almost all writing resources help writers write positive change-arc protagonists. This also means there are very few resources to help writers write steadfast protagonists.

You often can't apply change-arc advice to steadfast characters. It doesn't work.

Luckily, whichever protagonist type you're writing, each story actually has pretty much the same structural pieces--they're just arranged differently. Some are reversed while others receive more emphasis.

Today I'm going to explain how these pieces are different for a positive steadfast protagonist story, in comparison to the common positive change protagonist story. 

This is a little like being left-handed in a right-handed world. That's it--the steadfast protagonists are the lefties of the storytelling world. 

First, I would like to acknowledge those in the industry who have helped me understand the flat-arc protagonist and therefore influenced this post. If you want to learn more about this protagonist, check out these resources:

K. M. Weiland's Character Arc Series (Katie is amazing and this is honestly the best resource I've found so far on flat-arc characters.)

Character Arcs by Jordan McCollum (This book has a brief section on the flat arc.)

"Character Arcs 102: Flat Arcs" at The Novel Smithy (Lewis succinctly breaks down the flat-arc protagonist's three-act structure.)

Dramatica Theory (I already mentioned last week how Dramatica uses the term "steadfast" instead of "flat arc")

Writing Characters Without Character Arcs by Just Write (Youtube video)

I'll also be doing more posts on this protagonist type in the future.

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Debunking 6 Myths about Steadfast, Flat-arc Characters

Steadfast/flat-arc characters are characters who don't drastically change their worldviews over the course of the story. In contrast, a change character will do largely a 180 flip in worldview from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. 

For example, in the fable of the Little Red Hen, the Little Red Hen never changes her worldview about hard work. But in A Christmas Carol, Scrooge completely changes his worldview from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. 

In the writing community, there are a lot of misconceptions of the steadfast/flat-arc character (at least from my experience), which I'm going to talk about, debunk, and clarify today in this article. This information will still be useful to writers who have no interest in writing a steadfast protagonist--because nearly every successful story features a key character who is steadfast.

First, though, we need to visit our familiar pit stop on writing terminology. The most common term for this character is the "flat-arc" character. But it is not the only term. This character has also been called the "steadfast" character, which is what Dramatica Theory calls it. While "flat-arc" is more common, I prefer "steadfast" for a few reasons:

- It conveys that the character must struggle to hold onto something (after all, one is only "steadfast" when there is opposition)

- "Flat-arc" sorta sounds like there isn't really any growth or movement, which isn't exactly accurate.

- For much of my experience in the writing world, protagonists who don't have much of an arc have been frowned upon or treated as "lesser." The term "flat-arc" reminds me of that.

This is completely preference. You may use whichever term you want. Today, I'll be switching between the two.

Now, you can have positive and negative steadfast characters. A positive one will hold onto a true worldview throughout the story, while a negative one will hold onto an inaccurate worldview. For the sake of this article, I will be focusing on the positive one, which is more common, and may do a future article that focuses more on the negative version. 

Now, let's talk about some of the misunderstandings and myths about the positive steadfast character.

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