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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n The Truth in a Flat Arc is sometimes referred to as the \u201cCharacter\u2019s Specific Truth.\u201d It\u2019s not just a <\/em>truth, it\u2019s the<\/em> Truth. It\u2019s the belief that the MC holds dear, and will cling to despite all odds. Your Flat Arc MC will believe in the Truth just as surely as a Positive Change Arc character believes the Lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Truth is basically a fact or principle about God and the world, as opposed to the Lie, which we\u2019ll get to in a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While your MC isn\u2019t perfect, they\u2019re generally heading in the right direction. In the matter of their story\u2019s Theme (which we\u2019ll talk about later on), they\u2019ve got the right idea\u2026 they know the Truth is the way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it\u2019s not quite as simple as it looks on paper. Your MC isn\u2019t just going to blissfully hold hands with the Truth, never batting an eye at whatever the World and the antagonist throw at him. Remember what I said a few weeks ago? Doubt is key to relatability\u2026 and it\u2019s also the key to inner conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So picture your MC. The Truth literally defines them\u2014they believe it more than almost anyone else. And yet, certain circumstances can force even them to face their doubts and fears. These uncertainties can take many forms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if the Truth isn\u2019t really\u2026 true? What if I\u2019m believing the wrong thing? What if so-and-so was right and I was wrong? Is this really the right thing to do? What if I hurt someone by making the right choice? What if I hurt myself? Will this really work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n These questions and more will flood your MC\u2019s mind as things get hot. I mean, sure they believe the Truth, but now it\u2019s being put to the test. Will they hold up under pressure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a Flat Arc, the answer is yes. They\u2019ll doubt, they\u2019ll sometimes be scared, but they will never let go of that Truth. No matter what happens, no matter who comes against them, no matter the circumstances. They still hold to the Truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cThe Basket of Flowers,\u201d the Truth is that God will never leave or forsake His children. This topic is addressed again and again through Mary\u2019s conversations with her father, with her fellow prisoner in the dungeon, with Helen, and even within herself. She doubts, she stumbles, but she gets back up. And, ultimately, the Truth wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cPendragon,\u201d the Truth is that God gives His children the grace to carry out their tasks. This Truth is challenged repeatedly as countless things go wrong for Artos, and burdens weigh upon him, getting heavier and heavier. Even people he looks up to, such as King Ambrosius, doubt God\u2019s grace in times such as these. Like Mary, Artos has doubts of his own. Yet he shoves them all aside, refusing to give in to the Lie, and instead clinging all the more tightly to the Truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few more examples of Truths:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what about the Lie? Basically, it\u2019s the opposite of the Truth. It\u2019s some kind of misconception about the world and about God. However, the MC isn\u2019t the one believing the Lie this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember in a Positive Change Arc, after the First Plot Point where the character enters the Adventure World, the Positive Change Arc MC is punished for believing the Lie. Basically, the Adventure World lives by the Truth rules and therefore sets about to \u201ccorrect\u201d the MC (not necessarily using gentle tactics).<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the World in which a Flat Arc character lives? This is a Lie-driven world. It\u2019s ridden with this Lie, and the rules that govern this World are Lie rules. This makes perfect sense because the World can then still oppose the MC\u2014except, this time, the MC believes the Truth, and the World believes the Lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So this Lie can be more accurately defined as \u201cThe World\u2019s Lie.\u201d In your Flat Arc story, the MC is not only going to be fighting against the antagonist, but they\u2019re also going to be fighting against the entire world! (Perhaps figuratively, perhaps literally, depending upon the Lie and the kind of story you want to write.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cThe Basket of Flowers,\u201d the Lie is that God does not care about His children. Of course, this is directly stated by Helen in a later scene, but most of this Lie is implied. As Mary continues to go through trials, with God seemingly deaf to her cries, it\u2019s like the entire World is screaming, \u201cGive up! He can\u2019t hear you! He doesn\u2019t care about you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this way, Mary\u2019s story appears parallel to the story of Job. Remember, it seemed like the entire World was telling Job to give up, too. He had pretty much everything taken from him, his own wife demanded he curse God, and his well-meaning friends drove him further into depression. Note that all of these characters were sincere<\/em> in telling Job to give up. But they were sincerely wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cPendragon,\u201d it\u2019s much the same. Artos loses his parents, his hometown, and his freedom. Worst of all, he has no way of knowing whether or not his little sister is alive. There\u2019s a glimmer of hope after he becomes a commander under King Ambrosius, but with the king\u2019s death, his popularity plummets. The whole country turns against him, and Caydern takes control of the throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The entire situation is bad. Even Artos, while still a Flat Arc, is drawn towards the conclusion that God does not care about people. Or, worse yet, that there is no God at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please note that, while the Lie is believed by the World in general, it can\u2014and will\u2014be impersonated by Lie-driven characters such as the antagonist or other minor characters. Like Juliette, Helen, and Amelia. Or like Caydern or King Ambrosius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of these characters are Negative Arcs, which means they hold to the Lie until the end. However, other characters will be Positive Change Arcs, and the MC\u2019s steadfast belief in the Truth will eventually win them over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the MC doesn\u2019t change besides strengthening their belief in the Truth, these Negative and Positive Change Arcs are crucial to the story. As I\u2019ve said before, the Flat Arc story is still about change\u2026 except, this time, it\u2019s about the change that the MC brings about in other characters and the world around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So look at your story. What difficulties does the World present the MC with? What sort of actions does the antagonist take? Now ask yourself, what is the reasoning behind these actions? The answer to that is the World\u2019s Lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few more examples of Lies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you create a Truth and a Lie for the various characters in your story, you immediately get massive conflict\u2014both internal and external. And, ultimately, you get an awesome story. If you start with these two elements, you\u2019re well on your way to creating a great Flat Arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comment below your favorite book or movie\u2019s Truth and Lie!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today, I\u2019m going to be talking about two of the most important elements in a Flat Arc story\u2026 the Truth and the Lie. Now, if you\u2019ve read my Positive Change Arc series, you probably already know a bit about these elements. But, in a Flat Arc story, the Truth and the Lie take slightly different roles.<\/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":[136,5,4],"tags":[24,26,29,100,23,33,27],"class_list":["post-703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flat-arcs","category-plots-and-character-arcs","category-writing-tips","tag-character-arcs","tag-characters","tag-christian-writing","tag-flat-arcs","tag-plots","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\/703","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=703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":705,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions\/705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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