Crafting the Character Arc

by Jennie Jarvis

  In the television show Breaking Bad, Walter White experiences an emotional high for his Crisis Point. Since the entire five seasons of the show are all one continuous storyline, we can consider his entire story as one large Major Dramatic Curve. His Crisis Point comes at the end of Season Four. His plan of using Gus Fring’s long time nemesis against him has worked. Fring is killed in the nursing home explosion, and Walt and his associate Jesse have burned the meth lab to the ground, destroying all evidence of his involvement. It is at this point of his story where Walt literally says “I won.” It looks like he could completely walk away from the drug industry, his family safe from harm.

  In the second book of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Katniss seems to be well on her way of winning her goal to protect Peeta. The other tributes have rallied around her, and they have figured out the main puzzle of the current Hunger Games. She and Peeta sit comfortably on the beach, feeling as safe as anyone possibly could while being in the Games. They plan to escape the other tributes and hope they can outlive them all. At this moment, Katniss’s high point isn’t enviable but it’s the most joy she experiences in her journey.

  After these emotional highs, each of these tragic protagonists then finds their journey towards their goal spiraling out of control. In King Lear, Cordelia is murdered, and Lear dies of a broken heart. Walter White can’t give up his life as a meth-making kingpin and winds up destroying his entire family, and Katniss destroys the Games Arena but loses her goal of protecting Peeta when the Capitol captures him. To add insult to injury, Katniss’s entire District is then bombed off the face of the earth. They have all fallen from a place of assumed success into darkness.

  Regardless of whether you are writing a comedy or a tragedy, the important thing to remember about an Emotional Peak Crisis Point is that the characters are lulled into a false sense of their own success or failure. They are either entirely in control of their own fate or entirely sure they can never win their goal. This extreme makes their final journey towards the climax all the more powerful.

  Crisis Point as Crossroads

  Sometimes, the Crisis Point doesn’t appear in such an extreme fashion. If a writer doesn’t want a “highest high” or a “lowest low,” then the Crisis Point may appear as a kind of crossroads, a difficult decision the protagonist must make. Usually, this decision involves the protagonist having to choose if they want to continue to pursue their original goal or if they want to give up that goal in order to chase a different goal. Many times, this “different goal” becomes a moral decision; in other words, giving up the first goal is done in the name of “doing the right thing.”

  In the animated film Wreck-It Ralph, the protagonist fights to win a medal that he can take back to his game, Fix-It Felix, in order to prove he is a good guy. When King Candy gives him the medal, he destroys Vanellope’s car. Ralph then returns to Fix-It Felix where he discovers his home game has been placed out of order. With Ralph missing, the game didn’t work as intended, and the arcade owner assumed it was broken. Having brought the medal back to his game, he receives the penthouse apartment he was promised if he succeeded, but now the Nicelanders (the minor characters of Fix-It Felix) have abandoned the game. He is now faced with a choice: find a way to save his own game so he can still prove that he is a good guy or just let his game die and do “the right thing” by going back to help Vanellope. Working to fix his own game would service his original goal of trying to prove himself to his fellow Fix-It Felix characters. However, going back and helping Vanellope like he promised is “the right thing to do.” Making this difficult decision is his Crisis Point.

  Similarly, Frodo must make a difficult decision in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. While his overall goal of saving the Shire continues throughout the book series, each of the individual narratives has their own Major Dramatic Curve as well. In the first installment, his primary tactic for saving the Shire is to rely on the wisdom and experience of others. He is willing to give the Ring to anyone who might be able to do more good than he deserves he is able to do, including Gandalf, the elves of Rivendell, and Galadriel. After a deranged Boromir tries to take the ring from him, he is faced with the horrible decision of staying with the Fellowship or taking Galadriel’s advice and going off alone. On the one hand, Frodo is “just” a hobbit, a race with little experience in worldly matters. Small and unseasoned, the idea of Frodo making it all the way to Mount Doom on his own is ludicrous. Conversely, however, Boromir’s attempt to take the Ring acts as evidence to the notion that the journey will destroy them all, especially the human men. Frodo knows finding the courage to go off on his own is the “right thing” to do, but the difficulty of this decision comes from the idea that doing the “right thing” might result in the failure of his mission.

  Margaret Tate must make a similar decision in The Proposal. Her goal is to stay in the country so she can keep her job, and she has succeeded in convincing her assistant Andrew to marry her. The con has gone over so well, Andrew’s family stages a wedding ceremony for them at their family home in Alaska. All Margaret has to do is walk down the aisle, and say “I do.” Her goal will be won, and she will be married to the man she has come to fall in love with. Unfortunately, it is because of her feelings for Andrew, she struggles with completing her mission. Dressed and ready to get married, she must make the choice: continue with her goal or do the “right thing” and admit the truth to everyone, including the INS agent ready to deport her.

  In each of these cases, the protagonist chooses to do the “right thing” and winds up winning their original goal anyway. In helping Vanellope, Ralph proves he’s a hero and is finally accepted by the Nicelanders. By leaving the main party behind, Frodo and Sam are able to sneak into Mordor. Despite some major setbacks along the way, they destroy the Ring and save the world. After returning to the Shire, they overthrow Saruman’s men, thereby saving the Shire as well. Margaret chooses to cancel the wedding, but Andrew refuses to let her go. He chases her back to New York where he asks her to marry him so he can have the chance to date her. While not all of these stories are meant to be morality tales, the result of this kind of decision is that the reader/viewer walks away from the story with a conscious or unconscious reinforced belief in the idea that we should always do what is right in order to get the things we want.

  Not all crossroad Crisis Points wear such rose-colored glasses. Sometimes, the protagonist makes the wrong decision and then must deal with the consequences. In the first book of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger’s Crisis Point forces Roland to make a decision that haunts him throughout the rest of the series. On the chase of “the Man in Black”, Roland and Jake, a young boy mysteriously transported from our world into Roland’s, must journey underground or else lose the trail of the man they seek. During their underground adventure, Jake trips and almost falls off a large drop. Unfortunately for Jake, it is at this moment when the Man in Black appears. Roland has a choice, save Jake and lose the Man in Black forever, or let Jake die and win his goal. Roland leaves Jake to die and finally catches the Man in Black. His goal is won, but the guilt of leaving Jake behind to die resonates with him over the rest of the series.

  The Vanishing (both versions of the film) also shows a choice leading to regret. In this film, a man obsessed with finding his wife is faced with a choice. The man who is responsible for her disappearance will show him what happened to his wife, but only if the protagonist drinks a cup of drugged coffee. The protagonist’s choice is clear: do the “right thing” by not trusting this man and calling the police or drink the coffee and win his goal. The protagonist, who has a different name in each version of the film, chooses to drink the coffee. He regrets this decision when he wakes up buried alive in a coffin beneath the earth. By not doing the right thing, he wound up dead.

  In Ian McEwen’s Atonement, the true identity of the protagonist isn’t really revealed until the very end of the narrative. However, once you know the protagonist is Briony,
her crossroad is clear. She had the chance to go to her sister’s house and apologize for the stories she told as a child, one of which resulted in Robbie’s jailing and eventual death. She could complete her goal of impressing people with her stories or she could do the “right thing” and make up for the sins of her past. Unfortunately, she never found the courage to do the right thing. Forced to make amends through her stories instead of in real life, she refers to her poor attempts at making up for her past as a “final act of kindness.” (More about this wonderful narrative will surface in Chapter 12!)

  Regardless of whether the protagonist chooses to continue to pursue their goal or to “do the right thing,” when a Crisis Point takes the shape of a crossroads decision, it needs to be a huge choice with significant stakes. Just like the Emotional Peak Crisis Point, the Crossroad Crisis Point is a Point of No Return. Once the character has made this tough decision, she or he can never return to who they were at the beginning of the story because their choice has redefined who they are as an individual.

  Crisis Point as New Information

  When a writer scribes a murder mystery, a thriller or a horror story, they will often need to use a third kind of Crisis Point: the introduction of New Information. This New Information can be actual information (a fact, detail, item) discovered by the protagonist or it can be new information revealed to the reader/viewer. Either way, the new information revealed drastically changes the forward momentum of the story, and the protagonist has no choice but to kill or be killed (literally or figuratively).

  In terms of how this kind of Crisis Point is used, most readers/viewers tend to think of the new information revealed to the character. In Se7en, Detective Mills learns that John Doe has the upper hand. In Hot Fuzz, Nicholas discovers the police chief plus the entire Neighborhood Watch Association are responsible for the string of grisly murders in the small, picture-perfect village. In The Name of the Rose, where poisoned ink on a book kills various clergymen, the poisoned book is literally found in a secret room the protagonist never entered until the Crisis Point. Mystery readers are very familiar with this new kind of information presented towards the end of the story that finally gives the detective (or detective figure) the clues he or she needs to solve the case.

  But what if the new information takes the form of dramatic irony? In other words, what about the times when the new information is presented to the reader/viewers instead of to the characters within the world of the narrative? A great example of this kind of Crisis Point can be seen in the horror film Paranormal Activity. In this film, a young couple begins to film their bedroom each night to discover the strange noises and disruptions occurring in their house while they attempt to sleep. The new information presented in this film’s Crisis Point is the kind of information revealed to the viewer and not to the characters. After being pulled out of her bed and into a hallway closet, Katie’s character changes dramatically. The Crisis Point comes when it is revealed to the audience that Katie is now possessed. She climbs out of bed and stares menacingly at her husband Micah for hours. For the rest of the film, we want to shout at Micah to get out of the house and run for his life. Unfortunately, we are powerless to do anything but sit back and watch the horror unfold.

  When introducing new information as the Crisis Point, it’s important for the writer to realize that this information needs to be held back until the last moment. The protagonist needs to do everything in his or her power to win the goal, and it is only when it looks like they are close to failure when this information is revealed.

  High-Speed Trajectory

  More often than not, a writer will choose to use a Crisis Point in more than one of the above-mentioned capacities. Elizabeth Bennett’s lowest moment comes with the difficult decision of doing the right thing and revealing the truth of her sister’s indiscretion to Darcy. Wreck-It Ralph’s decision to abandon his original goal is partnered with new information about Vanellope. In The Town, Doug’s lowest moment also forces him to make a choice: flee to Florida and leave the woman he love or commit the crime to save her and then lose her anyway. Hot Fuzz’s Nicholas Angel’s discovery of the killers is accompanied by his lowest moment, in which he has to admit he can’t solve the crime on his own and drive off into the darkness, leaving his new best friend behind. Writers do this to make their Crisis Points much more rich and complex.

  As you create your own stories, you are free to combine these forms of Crisis Points in any way you want, as long as you keep one thing in mind: these are Points of No Return for the protagonist. As mentioned above, once the protagonist encounters this Crisis Point, whether it is new information, a difficult decision, or an emotional peak, there is no turning back for them. They are on a high-speed trajectory towards the climax of their narrative. They are coming to the end of their story, and it is time for them to win or to lose.

  This means the last portion of your story, that chunk between the Crisis Point and the Climax, needs to show your protagonist fighting harder than they have ever fought before. This is where the pacifist will commit murder. The doormat character will stand up for himself. The whisperer will learn to shout. In this period, the protagonist will break out of his or her shell or learn how to keep their mouth shut. It’s where students will stand on desks shouting “Oh Captain, my Captain.” It’s where a hobbit will get his finger bitten off. An untitled woman will talk back to a Lady. This is the last battle with the “big boss” before winning the video game. This is the time when the character is ready to create a Climax.

  Crafting Your Crisis Point

  Write a paragraph about your protagonist’s Crisis Point. As you write, consider the following tips:

  1. As mentioned above, a Crisis Point can change based on what kind of story you are writing. What kind of Crisis Point do you plan on using? Now ask the hard question: why? Why is it important for you to use that specific kind of Crisis Point and not another option? Make sure you make the best choice for your story and not just choose something “just because.”

  2. A Crisis Point is a Point of No Return for your protagonist. How is your Crisis Point a major turning point for your character? How can the protagonist never go back to who he or she was at the beginning of the story after crossing this point?

  3. Students mistake a Crisis Point for just another obstacle. Have you picked the best moment for your Point of No Return? If you remove that scene/obstacle, will your story still work? If it will still work, then you haven’t identified your Crisis Point correctly.

  Chapter 9

  Climax

  By this point in the narrative, your protagonist will have experienced a lot. His or her world has been established and then thrown off kilter. He or she has set eyes on a goal and then fought like hell to win it. He or she has come up with multiple ways of succeeding, but is then knocked backwards by obstacle after obstacle. Finally, he or she hits that Point of No Return where an emotional peak, a difficult decision or new information shoves him or her towards a last major obstacle.

  If a writer wants to end his or her story with a “happy” ending, then we will see the protagonist use all the skills he learned or the items he collected over the course of the story to overcome that final obstacle and win his goal. In Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph has learned how to accept himself for who he is, and, as a result, he’s willing to die in order to save Vanellope and stop the cybugs from destroying Sugar Rush. He saves the world, helps Vanellope cross the race’s finish line and proves himself a hero to the Nicelanders. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry has learned the dangers of allowing others to step in and protect him. He leaves everyone behind, using the courage he gained from his earlier struggles to venture into the forest and let Voldemort kill him (thereby destroying one of the final horcruxes and leaving Voldemort vulnerable to death). Once resurrected, Harry uses all the magic he learned over the previous books to destroy He Who Must Not Be Named, saving both the magical and the ordinary worlds. These endings show how the character could only
win their goal because of what they learned. It was impossible for them to win their goal when they first started their adventure. This makes the entire journey of the story feel important and relevant to the reader/viewer.

  Often, when a writer wants to end the story without a happy ending, the character’s biggest internal obstacle – also known as the character’s tragic flaw – is the reason the protagonist is not able to overcome those last obstacles. In King Lear, it is Lear’s obstinate pride that prevents him from realizing the gravity of his ordeal and leads to the death of his beloved daughter Cordelia. In Breaking Bad, Walter White wants desperately to protect his family, but it is also his pride preventing him from keeping his mouth shut and eventually leading to his family’s ruin. In Brokeback Mountain, Ennis’s inability to communicate keeps him isolated from everyone he loves, whether it is his wife, his lover or his daughter. Because of this flaw, he loses the love of his life. All of these “sad” endings result from the protagonist’s inability to overcome their most pressing obstacle – themselves.

  Ironically, however, a story can have a “sad ending” but the character can still win her or his goal. In the Tom Hanks film Big, Josh wins his goal of becoming a kid again, but he has to say good-bye to the woman he loves. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo saves the Shire but the psychological and physical wounds inflicted upon him on his journey are too much for him to bare, and so he chooses to symbolically die by taking the elven ships into the West. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter wins his goal of discovering the source of his visions, but his beloved godfather gets murdered as a result. In Se7en, Detective Mills solves John Doe’s riddle of serial killings, but it results in his own wife’s beheading. These kinds of stories –where the idea of a “happy” or “sad” ending has nothing to do with whether or not they actually won their goal - are the primary reasons why we, as writers, need to isolate our emotions when looking at the next element of the Major Dramatic Curve: the Climax.