Writer’s Review: The Secrets to Creating Character Arcs

Before I began writing these reviews, I had a simple criterion for selecting a how-to-write book: I judged the cover.

The cliché “never judge a book by its cover” is more like an aspiration, sort of like “reach for the stars.” No one is actually going to reach up and grab a star and no one is ever going to not judge a book by its cover.

I admit, it’s not a great method. But, when it comes to reading into a topic where you’re not really sure where to start, it’s a utilitarian method. I mean, how else are you supposed to select a book? Considering the books in this genre are designed for mass-appeal you just have to dive in.

Today’s book is one of those I selected based on the cover. I just like it, its simple and striking.         

The Secrets to Creating Character Arcs: A Fiction Writer’s Guide to Masterful Character Creation (Growing Authors out of Writers) by John S. Warner

I can’t tell you anything about John S. Warner. He has a Facebook and a Goodreads page, but it appears that everything he writes is how-to-write books. I have no problem with this, readers are the best at telling writers what they want to read.

The Secrets to Creating Character Arcs: A Fiction Writer’s Guide to Masterful Character Creation (Growing Authors out of Writers) is made up of ten chapters with an introduction and concluding remarks. It’s a little less than 200 pages, making it a quick and easy read.

Warner starts the book with a quick explanation of what he calls The Holy Trinity: Plot, Structure, and Characters. A good story, he writes, is made of this union. I can agree here, but this isn’t really ground breaking. It took a few more chapters for me to finally feel like I was getting something worthwhile from this book.  

Warner’s next step is to discuss the Trinity in further detail. He starts with plot. He provides some advice.

• Your plot should provide a smooth flow to the story
• The focus of your plot should be on the leading characters of your story
• Your plot should have a clear insight into your protagonist’s psyche
• The plot should start with a bang
• Your plot should grab the emotions of your readers, but let go in the end

Again, nothing here that I wouldn’t call intuitive to the practicing writer.

However, once he begins breaking down what he means by plot points, I feel like we’re finally getting into some nitty-gritty. It was about here that I began to enjoy it. You see, this book falls into a category I would classify as a “beginner’s basics” or an “expert’s vindicator.”

What Warner begins to discuss now are the seven plot points.

• Inciting incident
  • First point
    • First pinch
  • Midpoint
    • Final pinch
  • Second point
• Resolution

He fleshes out each bullet point and then describes how the arrangement of these points is structure.

I then began to contrast what Warner was writing with my own personal techniques. I saw how they differed and how they overlapped. I realized that I didn’t need to read this book, but I wanted to. Warner’s book was simple enough that it was making me think about my own theories.

Warner calls it plotting—writing down the desired events of your story—I call it wish-listing. When it comes to ordering these points, we both call it structuring. These are just a few examples of our overlapping.

Warner dedicates a good chunk of the book to some quick outlines of various, popular structures like Save the Cat’s Beat Sheet and the Fichtean Curve. This a helpful for someone who is not familiar with these structural modes or for someone who wants a refresher.

Once Warner finishes up his explanations of the first aspects of the trinity, he moves on to the real red meat of the book: characters and characterization.

He begins with the bones of a character—what he calls the three pillars of characterization. They are Physical Characterization, the distinct physical details of your character like a scar, scabby knees, or left-handedness. Psychological characterization, those psychological details that help you build a character’s personality, their fears, biases, secrets. Lastly, social circumstances, your character’s place in a society, their school, profession, etc.

I appreciate that Warner writes on archetypes, but stays away from the traditional Jungian archetypes. He keeps it minimal, focusing on Protagonists, antagonists, mentors, sidekicks, and skeptics.

Warner finishes the book with several chapters on crafting characters. He provides questions, some basic tips, and outlines to help you write. There isn’t really anything here to write home about.

Final Thoughts

As much as I enjoyed Warner’s Creating Character Arcs, I can’t say that there is much here for experienced writers. There were many sections that I found helpful for formulating my own ideas on writing, but I can see how that wouldn’t be useful for every writer.

Certainly, if you’re a beginner looking for a more structured way to craft characters, Warner’s book might be a good starting point.

Skippable, but useful for certain purposes.   

Don’t forget to check out the crowdfunding pages for Anvil Issue 2, where my short story, Afflicted: Nourritures les Ver, will be published! For more info, click here.