![\"\"](\"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GraphResize-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Positive Change Arc is probably the most popular of the arcs, though Flat Arcs are a close second. It\u2019s also my personal favorite. In fact, this is really the only one of the main three arcs that forms a true arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what exactly is a Positive Change Arc?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, picture a piece of paper with two dots on it\u2014Point A and Point B. At the beginning of a story, the MC starts out at Point A, and, by the end of the story, they\u2019ve reached Point B. Now imagine that I\u2019ve drawn a line between these points. This line is the story\u2026 the good stuff\u2026 everything that happens in between \u201cOnce upon a time\u201d and \u201cThe End.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Positive Change Arc is simply when Point A is positioned lower than Point B. With a few other plot points added between the two, your storyline will form an arc. The arc is generally moving in an upward direction, hence the title \u201cPositive Change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now let\u2019s put it in more technical terms. Basically, the protagonist of a Positive Change Arc starts out believing a specific Lie. Throughout the story, he struggles with this Lie, trying to use it to obtain his Want. Eventually, he will rise above the Lie, and toss it for a new and better Truth. He will also do one of two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Stop trying to pursue his Want, thereby gaining his Need<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Or,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- By claiming the Truth, he will gain both the Want and the Need<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Again, some of these terms may be unfamiliar, but I will be explaining them all in depth as the series goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nAs we begin to dive into Positive Change Arcs, I will be using two examples of the arc so you can see it in action. One is the movie \u201cBeyond the Mask.\u201d If you haven\u2019t seen it, I wholeheartedly recommend it\u2014it\u2019s one of my favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other example I\u2019ll be using is actually my own short story, \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d which you can read for yourself on the \u201cMy Writing\u201d page of this site. This story is not perfect, and the plot is definitely nowhere near the quality of \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d but I wanted to provide examples from Christian fiction. (Plus, it may provide an opportunity for some lessons on how not<\/em> to write.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Warning: Our study of Positive Change Arcs will cover both of these stories in detail, which means a lot of spoilers. If you don\u2019t want to know the ending before you watch\/read these examples, you might want to view them soon.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will be using both \u201cBeyond the Mask\u201d and \u201cIn Time of Need\u201d to illustrate how structure and arcs work in real stories, and I\u2019ll be offering some practical advice to help you use these techniques in your own fiction. Also, you can click the button below to download a copy of the Positive Change Arc template I use. (Again, all of the plot points and elements on this template will<\/em> be explained in future posts.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Positive-Change-Arc-Template<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIn two weeks, we will talk about the Positive Change Arc protagonist, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nComment below if you have any questions or thoughts!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week, you may recall that I mentioned the three main types of character arcs. Today, we are starting to talk about the first of these\u2026 the Positive Change Arc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,21,4],"tags":[24,26,23,32,33,27],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plots-and-character-arcs","category-positive-change-arcs","category-writing-tips","tag-character-arcs","tag-characters","tag-plots","tag-positive-change-arcs","tag-protagonist","tag-writing-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":385,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions\/385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- By claiming the Truth, he will gain both the Want and the Need<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n