negative, or flat arc. As your novel unfolds, your characters will “arc” from one place to another, undergoing some shift that leaves them meaningfully different from how they began.

However, I’d argue that this definition is missing something.

Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with character arcs, and I’ve realized there’s another layer beyond the usual positive, negative, or flat arcs. These are what I like to call secondary character arcs, which are specialized character arcs based on common journeys like coming of age or redemption. These universal stories are flexible enough to apply to a wide range of characters, but also provide a more detailed blueprint for planning your cast.

Though there are about a dozen secondary character arcs in total, here are five of my favorites!

1. The Hero’s Arc

Based on The Hero’s Journey, the hero’s arc follows your character as they set out into the unknown, face tests and trials, and eventually gain some reward. This reward might be new tools, skills, or allies, but whatever it is, it’s the key to protecting their community. With this key in hand, the hero will then return home, sharing their reward and thus resolving the conflict of their story.

The hero’s arc looks something like this:

• With their community under threat, the hero leaves home (literally or metaphorically) in search of a solution.
• They face a series of trials that teach them about their world, allowing them to earn some reward.
• Realizing this reward can help their community, they return home to face their story’s conflict.
• Finally, they end their arc at peace, acting as a bridge between their community and the outside world.

It’s this return that sets the hero apart from other characters, because it demands they sacrifice some of their own desires in order to better their society. In doing so, they not only grow as a character, but also earn the title of hero!

Example: Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon, who starts as a timid runt, masters the world of dragons, and then uses that mastery to save his people from destruction.

2. The Heroine’s Arc

The heroine’s arc is a mirror of the hero’s arc, with one important twist: while the hero sets out in search of physical mastery over their world, the heroine is searching for their true self.

This heroine’s arc is based on the work of Maureen Murdock. In her book, appropriately titled The Heroine’s Journey, she outlines an alternative to Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, focused on a character discovering their identity and—through it—some truth about their world.

The heroine’s arc looks something like this:

• With their community under threat, the heroine leaves home (literally or metaphorically) in search of a solution.
• They face a series of trials that teach them about themselves, allowing them to discover some truth about who they are.
• Realizing this wisdom can help their community, they return home to face their story’s conflict.
• Finally, they end their arc at peace, acting as a bridge between their community and the outside world.

As you can see, this closely matches the hero’s arc, but with a more internal focus. Rather than gaining a physical reward, the heroine instead gains a deeper connection with themselves, and thus the wisdom needed to achieve their goals.

Example: Moana from Disney’s Moana, who starts out searching for her true ancestry, discovers her people’s connection to the ocean, and then uses that wisdom to save her tribe from destruction.

3. The Coming of Age Arc

Next, the coming of age arc is exactly what it sounds like. This is a journey all about a character’s transition from dependent child to independent adult. As your character leaves the safety of their guardians behind, they’ll have to learn to survive on their own, face the consequences of independence, and eventually earn their place in their new adult world.

The coming of age arc looks something like this:

• Straining beneath the restrictions of childhood, the child ventures out in search of independence.
• Though they struggle to gain respect at first, they eventually prove they’re capable of standing alone.
• Of course, adulthood isn’t all benefits. The child will face a final test, leading them to sacrifice something in exchange for freedom.
• Now a full member of the adult world, the child is free to chart their own path.

With that said, this arc isn’t restricted to literal children. Any character who struggles to gain their independence can follow this arc, regardless of their age!

Example: Rose from Titanic starts out trapped under the thumb of her fiancé, embraces the freedom of life below deck, and then rejects her fiancé’s control—even as doing so risks her own life.

4. The Hermit’s Arc

Often the domain of anti-heroes and other less “traditional” characters, the hermit’s arc is about reintegrating into society. These are characters who have been driven from their communities by some past event, and must now undergo the difficult process of returning to their old world. To do so, they’ll have to forgive their wounds and eventually find a new place in their society.

The hermit’s arc looks something like this:

• Though they start out isolated, the hermit is dragged back into their old world when someone comes to them for help.
• Slowly, the hermit develops a renewed connection to their community.
• Forced to face their wounds, the hermit decides to forgive the past and fully embrace these new relationships.
• Now a full member of their society, the hermit settles into life among their community.

Often found in westerns, thrillers, and crime novels, the hermit is definitely my favorite secondary arc!

Example: Rick Blaine from Casablanca, who starts out emotionally isolated from his world, slowly learns to fight for a greater cause, and eventually overcomes his anger to protect the people he cares about.

5. The Redemption Arc

Last but not least, the redemption arc is all about forgiveness. Unlike the other secondary arcs on this list, this arc begins with a character that’s detrimental to their world. They’re destructive and dangerous, and so their journey is about recognizing the harm they’ve caused, atoning for the past, and earning their world’s forgiveness.

The redemption arc looks something like this:

• Unaware of how destructive they are, the character sets out in pursuit of some goal.
• In doing so, they’re exposed to new people and perspectives, and slowly realize their actions are harmful.
• After much internal conflict, they accept that they were wrong, and set out to make things right.
• Finally, they earn the forgiveness of those they’ve previously hurt, completing their redemption.

It’s this balance of repentance and forgiveness that really makes this arc work. By having your character truly repent for their actions and gain the forgiveness of others, it’ll be much easier to convince readers that their transformation is genuine.

Example: Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who starts out as the violent prince of a warring nation, realizes the destruction his family has caused, and then dedicates his life to fighting for peace.

All told, these secondary character arcs open a lot of exciting possibilities for us as writers. No matter what type of story you’re creating, I hope these journeys inspire you with new ways to power up your cast!

Tell us in the comments: Do you plan to use any of these secondary character arcs? Which one is your favorite?

Lewis Jorstad is an author and developmental editor who helps up-and-coming writers hone their writing craft over at  The Novel Smithy. When he isn’t working on the next book in his Writer’s Craft series, you can find him playing old Gameboy games and sailing somewhere around the eastern half of the US. You can also check out his free ebook, The Character Creation Workbook, and grab a copy for yourself! You can also follow him on Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.

The post #5onFri: Five Secondary Character Arcs to Strengthen Your Cast appeared first on DIY MFA.

Robin is the author of two dark, sexy, romance novels, and is a super advocate for the romance genre. Her next series, of three dark stalker suspense romances,  releases this summer through St. Martin’s Press Swerve, beginning with Stranger.

In our interview, Robin and I dive into the rarely spoken of domain of sex in romance writing, and tease apart the numerous craft elements of this complex and often overlooked genre.

In this episode Robin and I discuss:

• Why sex should or should not be included in a romance novel, and how to craft sex scenes the right way.
• How to create tension and faster pacing by switching back and forth between the hero and the heroine.
• How to craft a sympathetic anti-hero your readers will want a happy ending for.
• How to use the inner conflict within a character—the wanting and not wanting—to create steamier love scenes.
• What the business and legal aspects of romance writing entail, and how organizations like the Romance Writers of America (RWA) champions the genre.

Plus, Robin’s  #1 tip for writers.

About the Author

Robin Lovett writes dark, sexy contemporary romances, and her next series releases this summer through St. Martin’s Press Swerve, beginning with Stranger.

Robin enjoys writing romance to avoid the more unsavory things in life, like day jobs, housework, and personal demons. When not writing with her cat, she’s busy embracing untamable curly hair and adventuring in the outdoors with her husband.

She’s a super advocate for the romance genre and co-host of #RWChat, a weekly Twitter chat for romance writers. You can check out her monthly writing column on DIY MFA. She is represented by Rachel Brooks of the L. Perkins Agency and can be happily reached on Twitter @LovettRomance. To learn more about Robin and her books, visit her website at www.romancelovett.com

Stranger

Warning: This book is a scorching, intense romance novel featuring an anti-hero out to get revenge against the trust-fund woman whose family destroyed his life.

This isn’t supposed to be a love story. She doesn’t want him to sweep her off her feet, and he is far from her knight in shining armor. He wants to ruin her life. But even the simplest plans for revenge can go wrong.

Check out this teaser…

I like the way he watches me, this man I don’t know. It’s something I’ll never confess to, never tell a soul. But with one look of those penetrating eyes, I feel as if he’s unwrapped me, turned me inside out, rubbed away at my trust-fund-holding, good-girl exterior until I’m raw and exposed.

He looks like he wants to destroy me. Like he wants to obliterate me and my shallow, perfect life until there’s nothing left.

And once I meet Logan, I want him to.

I hate Penny Vandershall.

I hate her money and her family and her privilege. I hate her innocence and her smile and her shine. I want to annihilate her lightness and consume her with my darkness, my anger, my red-hot rage until there is nothing left of her.

I know the truth about her, the truth that will make it easy to bring her down. To ruin her for good. But through the blinding haze of my hatred, my burning need for revenge, she’s starting to get to me. She looks at me in wide-eyed fear, like a girl approaching the tiger’s cage. And yet she refuses to walk away; edging closer until she can meet the beast who wants to rip her apart.

And even though I set out to ruin her, she may be the one to destroy me.

If you decide to check out Stranger—or you’d like pre-order Deceiver and Keeper—we hope you’ll do so via these affiliate links where if you choose to purchase DIY MFA makes a small commission at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 151

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 151: Let’s Talk About Sex (in Romance Novels) — Interview with Robin Lovett appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I am pleased to have Teddy Wayne on the show.

Teddy  is the author of several books, most recently his novel Loner, which is out now. Teddy has won numerous writing awards, is regular contributor to several prestigious publications, and has taught at Columbia University in NYC and Washington University in St. Louis.

In this interview, we talk about Teddy’s newest book and the craft behind bringing an anti-hero to life on the page. During the episode, we geek out about anti-heroes, Hitchcock movies, and how trying to understand reprehensible characters can help expand our humanity. Listen below.

In this episode we discuss:

• What writers can learn about crafting an anti-hero from the TV show All in the Family, and how to create a character who is deeply flawed but also relatable.
• How much of an anti-hero’s character is shaped by internal qualities versus environmental or situational factors.
• How to avoid making an anti-hero seem over-simplified and make readers feel connected to an evil character.
• The difference between an extraordinary character’s slow descent into darkness, and a regular character making a terrible choice and having to “fix” the situation.
• The two components that writers can infuse into literary fiction to make it come to life and hook readers.

Plus, Teddy’s #1 tip for writers.

About the Teddy Wayne

Teddy Wayne is the author of the novels Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, and Kapitoil. He is the winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award and an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship as well as a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, PEN/Bingham Prize, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. A columnist for the New York Times, he is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and McSweeney’s and has taught at Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis. He lives in New York.

To learn more about Teddy and his books, visit his website at TeddyWayne.com.

About LONER

(As with most books we recommend on DIY MFA, the links below are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase via these links, DIY MFA gets a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting DIY MFA!)

With the same knack for voice and piercing social commentary Wayne gave readers in The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and Kapitoil, LONER is a riveting, frighteningly believable portrait of obsession on a college campus. Much like Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs, Herman Koch’s The Dinner, and Charlotte Rogan’s The Lifeboat—and, further back, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Lolita, and Notes from Underground—it is one of those rare novels where, as the pages fly by, readers feel everything from fear to rage to empathy for characters they might not like, but nevertheless find completely mesmerizing.

Wayne’s New York Times column the last couple of years, “Future Tense,” has demonstrated his critical talents for dissecting the alienating effects of contemporary culture, and LONER continues this with the misfit David Federman at the center of the novel. An academically gifted yet painfully forgettable member of his New Jersey high school class, the withdrawn, mild-mannered freshman arrives at Harvard fully expecting to be embraced by a new tribe of high-achieving peers. But, initially, his social prospects seem unlikely to change.

Then Veronica Morgan Wells enters his life. Immediately struck by her beauty, wit, and sophisticated Manhattan upbringing, David falls feverishly in love with the woman he sees as an embodiment of what he’s always wanted to be: popular, attractive, powerful. Determined to stop at nothing to win her attention and an invitation into her glamorous world, he begins compromising his moral standards. But both Veronica and David, it turns out, are not exactly as they seem.

Links & Resources

Link to Episode 117

(Right-click to download.)

Check out these previous podcast episodes talking about systematic and deliberate practice in writing. These interview share some great insights about how to practice as a writer.

• Episode 61: How to Write Spellbinding Sentences – Interview with Barbara Baig DIYMFA.com/061
• Episode 89: The Power of Deliberate Practice – Interview with Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool DIYMFA.com/089

If you want to go even further and learn more about focused practice, check out these two books:

• Spellbinding Sentences by Barbara Baig
• Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 117: The Slow Descent of the Anti-Hero — Interview with Teddy Wayne appeared first on DIY MFA.

I’m so glad you’ve stopped by because today I’ve got a great interview to share with you. In this episode, I talk to thriller author Steve Hamilton about his new book: The Second Life of Nick Mason. This book is a fascinating study on what happens when a fundamentally decent character makes some very bad choices.

In this episode Steve and I discuss:

• Significant experiences for writers that inform your fiction
• Building stories around situations versus characters
• Projecting characters’ arcs through a series

Plus, Steve’s #1 tip for writers.

About the Author

Steve Hamilton is the two-time Edgar Award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling Alex McKnight series and two standalone novels. His debut, novel  A Cold Day in Paradise, won both an Edgar and a Shamus Award for Best First Novel, and his standalone novel The Lock Artist won an Edgar for Best Novel of the Year, a CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, and an Alex Award, given out by the American Library Association to those books that successfully cross over to the Young Adult market. He has either won or been nominated for every other major crime fiction award in America and the UK, and his books are now translated into twenty languages.

His new book The Second Life of Nick Mason (affiliate link) is the first in a new series and it’s out now.

To learn more about Steve Hamilton, visit his website or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

The Second Life of Nick Mason

A career criminal from Chicago’s South Side, Nick Mason got his start stealing cars and quickly graduated to safe cracking and armed robbery. But he left that life behind when he got married and settled down with his wife and their young daughter–until an old friend offered him a job he couldn’t refuse. That fateful night at the harbor landed him in prison with a 25-to-life sentence and little hope of seeing his wife or daughter ever again. When Nick is offered a deal securing his release twenty years early, he takes it without hesitation and without fully realizing the consequences.

Once outside, Nick steps into a glamorous life with a five-million-dollar condo, a new car, ten grand in cash every month, and a beautiful roommate. But while he’s returned to society, he’s still a prisoner bound to the promise he made behind bars: whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given. It’s the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who still runs an empire from his prison cell. Whatever Darius Cole needs him to be–a problem solver, bodyguard, thief, or assassin– Nick Mason must be that man.

Forced to commit increasingly more dangerous crimes and relentlessly hunted by the detective who brought him to justice in the past, Nick finds himself in a secret war between Cole and an elite force of Chicago’s dirty cops. Desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wire, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything–his family, his sanity, and even his life–to finally break free.

The Second Life of Nick Mason is out now and if you’re a fan of thrillers and mystery, I definitely recommend it as a great example of a deeply flawed, yet relatable character. As with many of the books that we recommend on this site, the above are Amazon affiliate links where DIY MFA gets a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

More Resources:

Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules for Good Writing

Check out the original article from Elmore Leonard in the New York Times. The last rule (after #10) is what inspired Steve Hamilton’s writing tip.

Link to Episode 101

(Right-click to download.)

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• Learn about their strengths and their weaknesses.
• Find out how to develop stories that create the most dramatic conflict for these archetypes.
• Discover how to implement these ideas to create memorable stories that resonate with your readers.

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If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 101: When Good Characters Make Bad Choices – Interview with Steve Hamilton appeared first on DIY MFA.

I’m so glad you joined me for this episode of DIY MFA Radio because it’s going to be a juicy one.

Today I’m speaking with L.S. Hilton, author of Maestra. She grew up in England and has lived in Key West, New York City, Paris, and Milan, and after graduating from Oxford, she studied art history in Paris and Florence. She has worked as a journalist, art critic, and broadcaster and is presently based in London.

In this episode L.S. and I discuss:

• Writing a flawed, yet sympathetic anti-hero.
• Weaving intense elements like violence and sex into the narrative without making it gratuitous.
• The role of art as an influence in narrative.
• The difference between the British and the American editorial processes.

Plus, L.S. Hilton’s #1 tip for writers.

About MAESTRA

Judith has come a long way from her mother’s grimy flat in Liverpool. She has taught herself French and Italian, consumed literature, and traveled through Europe learning to squash her accent and blend in with the cultured set. When she lands a job at British Pictures, one of the best auction houses in London, she believes her hard work and hard won knowledge has finally paid off, but quickly realizes the job is mostly fetching coffee for her odious boss Rupert. A chance encounter with a girl from her past leads to a gig moonlighting at a champagne bar as a well-compensated companion for lonely drinkers, because her best Sandro suit has been worn to bits and honestly, she could use some attention.

When Judith believes Rupert has mistakenly purchased a forgery she sees her chance to distinguish herself in the department and save the House from a major faux pas. Yet, when Rupert discovers her closely examining the painting he instantly fires her. With nowhere else to turn and her perfect future in ruins she turns to an old friend from her youth: Rage.

Feeling reckless, Judith accompanies one of the champagne bar’s biggest clients to the French Riviera, but something goes terribly wrong and she decides to shed her identity completely. Tired of striving and the slow crawl to the top, Judith realizes: If you need to turn yourself into someone else, loneliness is a good place to start. And she’s been lonely a long time. It’s time for a new woman, with much better clothes, to take whatever she wants, however she can get it.

A glamorous, ferocious thriller, Maestra (G.P. Putnam’s Sons; On Sale April 19, 2016) is the beginning of a razor-sharp trilogy that introduces this darkly irresistible femme fatale whose vulnerability and ruthlessness will keep you guessing until the last page.

To learn more about L.S. Hilton and her books, visit her website or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Link to Episode 96

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 96: Writing the Anti-Hero – Interview with L.S. Hilton appeared first on DIY MFA.