The question I’m always asking is: how will the reader experience this story and how will they relate to the changes this character is going through?

What are arcs of the character kind? Not to be confused with ARC (advanced reader copy) readers!

Character arcs are another way of talking about the change, growth, development, and how one character moves from A to B during the story.

An arc can be both positive and negative, but usually within a queer romance, we’d be working with characters who are moving from a place of self-doubt, internal struggles, or personal dilemmas (negative things) to learning, growing, stepping into the light, having learned something, and ending the story on a positive note.

It sounds quite simple, but getting it right, across two or more characters, is a fine balancing act.

Why do we need character arcs?

If a story climax, ending, or character feels flat at the end, often it’s an arc issue. We read fiction to be taken on a journey, and if our characters aren’t learning something on the way, we instinctively pick up that they are feeling a bit ‘flat’, and this is really because they have remained unchanged from the beginning.

This links to the idea of round characters and flat characters.

Stock characters—the moody teacher, the angry stepfather, and the surly bus driver—do have a place in fiction, because we haven’t got time or pages to hang out and learn everything about everyone, but for main characters, we need some change!

How do I help authors improve their character arcs?

Working with gay fiction, queer romance, crime, historical fiction, and LGBTQ+ memoir, I see a few different arc issues.

1. Imagine the arc as a soaring line from A to B, and if you are thinking of up and to the right, you would be right.
   Each scene should heighten what has come before.
   We are generally looking for rising, escalating, and ramping up of issues and obstacles for the character, and as these gradually become more tricky, their arc is in progress, and they are learning from these troubles they face.
   So make sure each scene counts!
   If it’s not obvious how the scene contributes meaningfully to the character’s change arc, then it might be better summarised or shown off-page.
   
2. Both characters need their own arc.
   This is very common—and problematic—in a dual-POV romance especially, because one MC feels fleshed out and has his full arc set up, but his love interest feels too good, too nice, too perfect, and this is an issue of an underdeveloped arc.
   Oftentimes, when we have a one-dimensional partner, or the love interest is too well-baked, I’d suggest digging into his past and seeing what flaws, wounds, or past struggles we can discover to have him working on something also.
   As the MCs work on their own goals and come together and hit the climax having both gained something from the relationship, then it hits home in a special way, because in romance we want to believe they are meant for each other.
   This is where a manuscript evaluation or a developmental edit can come in handy, because at the big-picture, structural level, we are working with these larger chunks of the narrative.
   
3. Falling action, denouement, the end!
   The key to a satisfying conclusion and narrative arc that feels complete is making sure that the lessons learned are firmly rooted in earlier experiences, and getting this balance right can take practice because subtlety and subtext can work beautifully, as well as obvious wants and needs being shown.
   Much like our characters, we are complex beasts, and we learn things on the journey, and that special someone might hold up a mirror we weren’t expecting to see.
   Keeping an eye on all those small pieces and clues laid early in the opening chapters is key to making sure the impression left is a satisfying one for the reader.

So character arcs can go awry, and bringing them back into focus requires revisions that highlight and heighten key elements of the characters’ lives and ensure the reader picks up on subtle clues.

As a gay fiction developmental editor and author coach, these parts are my job! Let me know how I can help you move towards your ideal story.

Image by Alexa from Pixabay