Big curves and little curves - the challenge of character arc across multiple books
Published by on November 14th, 2008
If you’ve been paying attention here, you’ll know that my big project, TableRappers, has been conceived as a series of novels. Currently four are planned, with aims to create a least six. This presents a significant challenge in managing character arcs.
Arcs are, of course, essential. The reader must follow a character’s journey through each story and that journey must somehow create change around, and more importantly within the character. He may even end up coming full circle, but there must always be a curve of some description - linear characters invariably lose the reader’s interest.
The problem arises in writing multiple books in a series. One must develop plausible arcs for the main characters within each book while maintaining a much broader arc across the entire series.
Letting it all out too early
The first book seems to be the toughest in this respect. The inclination is to develop a thoroughly gripping character arc for the tortured primary protagonist just as with any standalone novel. But it is vital not to play all the cards too early, leaving so few options across the remaining stories that our protagonist might need a dramatic personality change in order to remain interesting! This seems to happen frequently in long running soaps.
Holding too much back
On the flipside, there’s the danger of keeping too much back. Playing out the character arc across so many books in the series that it becomes flattened with each individual story dulled and uninteresting.
What about a book series with no absolute final number of stories? Without understanding the end, how can you develop a character arc that will find completion and not leave your readers dangling in the dark?
Dimensions are everything
To offer the broadest opportunities to develop smaller character arcs within the overall arc, fully formed characters, it seems to me, are the key. Characters do not need to be complex, but they do need to have realistic, multiple dimensions - sometimes conflicting dimensions are the most interesting to write.
Such characters merely need a situation thrown at them and they take on a life of their own. Writing their actions and reactions to a situation is much more straightforward with a well defined character.
I’m no expert, of course, I’m merely on my first novel, but it seems clear that to sustain my characters across an undefined number of books, they must have a great deal of substance.
Early thoughts in early days. Ask me in ten years if these ideas worked!
