The Character Arc Snapshot Videos

Slicing character arcs with Dramatica

Back when this site was called Story Fanatic, I started a series of video classes entitled Character Arc Snapshots. The idea was to provide a brief understanding of how a character arc works in Dramatica and how thinking of an arc this way is vastly superior to anything else out there. And do it all in less than two minutes.

With Dramatica theory, you can actually identify the exact Element that drives your Main Character's growth and determine what Element they "arc" to. So instead of pining on and on about inner conflicts and outer conflicts and wants and needs, you can quickly and easily focus in on what is really causing your Main Character trouble and then develop a way for them to work out of it (or into it, as the case may be).

Dramatica gives writers the ingredients to make a great story--unlike every other understanding of narrative out there that tells you how a great story tastes (Save the Cat!, Hero's Journey, The Sequence Method, Bob's 543 Story Steps, etc.).

While editing the latest class Melanie and I gave on Learn Characters in a Day last month, I discovered these old gems. I did one for Luke Skywalker, Neo, William Wallace from Braveheart, and Robert Angiers from The Prestige. Two Changed Resolve and two Steadfast Resolve Main Characters. My hope is to do even more in the coming months.

(_Note: In recent years, more accurate Storyforms for The Matrix and The Prestige now appear in Subtxt. As a result, these Character Arc Snapshot videos are no longer available).

You can now find these videos in the Recordings section of the Narrative First School, or you can check them out below:

Luke Skywalker Character Arc Snapshot

William Wallace Character Arc Snapshot