If stories are about change, and characters are the very symbols of this change, then writers must include a scene, if not the last scene, that proves such change has fruitioned. For better or worse.

What is Transformation? 

Whether or not you’re writing a prescriptive or cautionary tale, far and few (if any) readers like a story where nothing happens. Structure (or plot) and the complications that escalate throughout the beginning, middle, and end illustrate the exact forces demanding a character(s) transforms. Stasis is death. Stasis dooms any story to result in a flop.  

As writers, our job is to deliver the opposite. 

But it’s not enough to kind of change a character. Characters need to change in a significant way, and that’s what Signpost Scene #14 is all about: showing readers exactly how significant this change is. 

Don’t mistake change as synonymous with becoming a new person—although in some character cases, this happens. Characters can become stronger. Or, in a cautionary tale, fall far from their original status. In some cases still, a principled Protagonist who rises without compromise won’t change at all, but the surrounding characters supporting them most definitely will.

Regardless of the direction you take, your opening scene and your final scene—most likely the Transformation Signpost—will show the extreme character differences in a crafty way. Bell suggests that readers turn back to their Mirror Moment (Signpost Scene #7) to identify the exact kind of change your story needs, since the Mirror Moment shows us the Protagonist immersed in an extreme whiff of psychological, professional, or physical death. And based on this type of death, readers (and writers) can anticipate how that Protagonist (or their surrounding characters) need to change in order to get out of their story “alive.” (Or not, if you’re writing a story that ends with a tragedy.)

In the Mirror Moment, if the character “looks at himself, thinking Who am I?,” that character needs to become a different person by the end of the story. If he/she thinks they are going to physically die at the Mirror Moment (i.e. Midpoint), that character needs to “get stronger in order to live” (Super Structure, 109).

If the character is a principled character who rises without compromise, it’s likely the Mirror Moment will identify a conflict that truly threatens to break that character’s principles. And yet, by the end of the story, that character will become stronger than ever, without compromising, regardless of whether or not their actions lead to social betterment. (They will, however, have changed some characters around them.) The Protagonist Maximus in the movie Gladiator is a good example of this.

For a deeper look at how Transformation pays off in a big way, let’s turn to the classic novel and musical, Les Miserables.

Mirror Moment and Transformation Scenes in Les Miserables

At the Mirror Moment of Les Miserables, we have the beloved song, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” I wanted to pull this scene as the example for this post because it does a marvelous job at identifying both how 1) the characters need to change by becoming different people, and 2) the characters need to get stronger in order to survive.

Now, the Leading Protagonist and Central Character of Les Miserables is none other than Jean Valjean—who doesn’t appear in “Do You Hear the People Sing?” However, the funeral procession of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque and the forming of the barricade by the students (which occurs in this number) undoubtedly impacts Jean Valjean and the entirety of the story’s structure. In this moment, the rebelling students, led by another leading character, Marius, are posed with a major best bad choice: they can build a barricade while risking their lives (physical death), or they can remain “slaves” to the government (psychological death). They choose to risk their lives, therefore setting the stage that in order to get out alive, these characters need to get stronger to survive. 

Off Stage, Jean Valjean is desperate to protect his adopted daughter, Cosette, while also keeping his true identity secret. On the other hand, Cosette has fallen desperately in love with Marius, who is off for the revolution. For much of the musical itself, Jean Valjean’s character arc focuses on his war with the kind of man he was, is, and wants to be. The very lyrics in his solo “Who Am I?” pinpoint the transformation we long to see from Jean Valjean: he needs to become a different person in order to leave the audience/readers satisfied, if not deeply moved by the conflicts he overcomes in order to change. 

Now, let’s turn to the “Finale.” This is Signpost Scene #14: Transformation according to James Scott Bell in that this is the scene where we 1) see that Jean Valjean has become a different person, and 2) see how Cosette and Marius have become stronger in order to get married and survive (thanks to Jean Valjean). In these final moments, Jean Valjean is on his deathbed while Cosette and Marius comfort him shortly after their wedding. The action is equally simple and remarkably beautiful in that we see Jean Valjean, who started the story a prisoner, criminal, and broken man, taking his last breath with pride and peace in what he was able to nurture and save. He becomes a different person, for a big reason because of Cosette. And knowing that Cosette, now married to her love and a good man, is safe and happy allows him to die in peace. 

Even better, Jean Valjean’s death, while sad for Cosette and Marius, illustrates exactly how he is rewarded for the good life he led post his criminal days. He reflects on how “to love another person is to see the face of God” and leaves his physical world for heaven, accompanied with the spiritual beings of Fantine and Eponine. 

Likewise, thanks to Jean Valjean, Marius is the only character of his friends to survive the barricade. He’s been rescued and gains his strength—and a new wisdom—which allows him to take his place as Cosette’s husband, new provider, and family as Jean Valjean passes.

The Transformation of Jean Valjean ends his character arch with spectacular change. He knows who he is, and he parts this world transformed, whole and at peace. 

Final Thoughts

Structure is essential to a story’s success, and without change, readers/viewers will fail to find the story’s purpose or admire it long after the last line. Ultimately, what structure boils down to for the writer can be discovered with one essential question: what do you want your readers/audience to feel at the end of the story? Or, what lesson do you want them to learn?

How your character begins and ends is inevitably tethered to this beginning and final emotion. Imagine your Protagonist at the start of your story. Now, envision them at the end. Listen to your emotions. How were your feelings different? What did the Protagonist learn? 

Write this down.

Use the other 13 Signpost Scenes in James Scott Bell’s Super Structure to challenge and establish this change.   

Enjoy the structure process!

Abigail K. Perry is a Teacher-Turned-Certified Story Grid Editor with literary agency, publishing, and production experience. With a B.S. in TV, Radio, and Film from Syracuse University (Newhouse) and a Master’s in Secondary Education from Endicott College, Abigail created and taught three creative writing and film courses at the high school level for several years, and she continues to teach writers at her local bookstore and with her email list.Although trained in multiple genres, Abigail specializes in Scripts, YA Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Upmarket Fiction, and Women’s Fiction, many of which she reviewed (and loved!) as an editorial intern for P.S. Literary Agency’s VP and Senior Literary Agent, Carly Watters. She currently works at P.S. Literary as the Agency Relations Assistant. 

To learn more about Abigail, follow her on twitter @abigailkperry, Instagram @abigailkperry, or visit her website www.abigailkperry.com.

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What is this signpost scene? The Argument Against Transformation, of course!

Novels cannot exist without a Lead’s transformation, and the stakes of a Lead’s transformation will not be high unless the Lead (at least at first) hesitates to face them. So let’s get into the argument against character transformation and why it is so important for a Lead to argue against change.

What is the Theme of a Novel and How Does It Show Transformation?

Now, you might be wondering why I want to discuss theme in a novel when I’ve proposed an article on a Lead’s argument against transformation. I’ll tell you.

Theme, or the main subject being discussed in a book (i.e. the book’s message) should directly relate to how your character transforms by the end of the novel. It should illustrate what your Lead learns (and what your readers will walk away feeling), because how the Lead changes directly relates to how he/she views something–the story’s message. The story’s theme. But first, the Lead needs to argue against that need to change.

What is the theme of a novel? How is it stated?

James Scott Bell defines theme in his book Superstructure as, “a life lesson learned. What is it that the character learns by the end of the story? What truth is it that she will live by from then on?”

Writers should take note of their theme, if not in the rough draft of a novel, then during the editing process. Without a Lead’s transformation, a reader has no reason to root for (or enjoy) the adventure. They won’t feel that the end of the story carries resonance.

We must have a reason to love the Lead. Transformation in a Lead means movement, it means a reason to care whether a Lead survives or not. Transform or die: professionally, psychologically, or physically depending on the type of story you’re writing.

So what is your story’s theme? Stop for a moment and really ponder this question. If you don’t have an answer, no need to freak out. You can try a few exercises like:

• Write an essay on your book. What is it you want readers to walk away feeling or thinking?
• Read some of your favorite works of fiction. Try to identify the theme and see if your story can reflect the same message.
• Write a letter to a friend about “the best book you just read” (pretending like that book was your book but writing in third person)—only substitute the word “theme” for “book.” Come up with a theme you didn’t realize you were writing? Or multiple?

Whether you’ve realized it or not, there is a theme to your story. And I’d bet a mountain made of ice cream that your theme directly relates to your character’s transformation.

Let’s Look at an Example

The theme in The Wizard of Oz is “There’s no place like home.” At the beginning of the story, Dorothy wants to escape from home, dreaming of a better place that lies somewhere over the rainbow. But by the end of the film, Dorothy wishes for nothing other than home. Home sweet home!

Sidebar: Do you know the theme in A Tale of Two Cities or To Kill a Mockingbird? Look them up if you don’t, and ask yourself: how does the Lead in each classic start in the beginning and how have they changed by the end? Did that change have something to do with the story’s theme?

So Why Argue Against Transformation?

Hold the cell phone! I bet you’re thinking that you can see how theme and transformation are assimilated, but isn’t Bell’s signpost scene called argument against transformation?

Absolutely. And here’s why: having a scene in Act One that establishes the character’s argument against transformation (i.e. something they do not want to do but find the courage to do) glorifies that moment of transformation, and exemplifies the grit in the Lead—all readers love a character with some grit!

What are some of these act one arguments?

• In The Hunger Games, when eating bread before the Reaping with Gale, Katniss Everdeen argues against having children. She sees a life with children as a life without hope because of President Snow’s tyranny. But what has happened to Katniss by the end of book three? Think about that one.
• In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout needs to learn empathy for people who are different than her, even those she “regards with scorn.” When Scout mocks Walter Cunningham after having him home for supper, Calpurnia chews her out for behaving with such disrespect. Scout argues against feeling empathy for people different than her. But what’s happened to Scout by the end? How has she transformed?

And now for my final example, a recent bestseller about Islamophobia and a young Indian American, Muslim girl learning to fight for her passions despite her conservative family and their cultural expectations, Love Hate & Other Filters. If you haven’t read this debut, add it to your reading list! Here’s a preview:

Argument Against Transformation in Love, Hate, & Others Filters

In a #PitMad pitch, literary agent Eric Smith gobbled up Samira Ahmed’s pitch: “She (Maya) wants to make films & kiss boys–her Muslim parents forbid both. Will a terrorist & Islamophobia shatter her dreams? #pitmatch #YA #CON.”

So what do we have here? Maya Aziz, a high school senior who is crushing hard on Phil, her long-term crush, while trying to balance her passion for documentary films with the dream of attending NYU, despite her parents who want Maya to a) not date b) not pursue film at a college far away from them and c) marry a nice Muslim boy accustomed to their family’s culture. All conflicts that grow even more difficult for Maya after her family becomes the victim of various hate crimes following a terrorist attack.

Understanding how Maya feels conflicted between wanting to live the life she wants and being a good daughter, can you guess what Maya’s transformation might be?

To find true happiness, Maya needs to learn how to assert herself and forge her own path, even if her parents disagree with her choice.

But Ahmed doesn’t stop at the obvious; she follows Bell’s third signpost scene by challenging Maya with an argument against this need for transformation. The scene appears in act one, when Maya tutors Phil and—learning that Maya doesn’t know how to swim—Phil proposes he teach her.

Maya’s mother has a terrible fear of drowning after a bad experience in her home country. In this case, Maya is prevented from a skill (if not unknown want) because her mother (out of love for Maya, but grounded in her own fear) is scared her daughter might drown…like she almost did.

Phil’s proposal pushes Maya into an argument against transformation:

“I’m going to teach you.”

“No. No. I can’t. You can’t—”

“I can. Literally.” He’s not letting me off the hook. “You know, I lifeguard at the Y in summer, and swimming is a necessary life skill. I can teach you. I want to.”

I nod along, but regret every word that has slipped out of my mouth. I don’t even own a swimsuit, something Violet teases me about relentlessly.

From these lines alone, it’s easy to fall in love with Maya–a Lead trying to find her voice in the world while dealing with her emotions for a long-time crush. Why? Because Maya is relatable, and her stakes for transformation are high—and they’re set even higher when she soon agrees to swim lessons. Not only will Maya need to attend them behind her parents’ backs, but also they’re with a non-Muslim boy.

Maya’s rebellious act is only the beginning of a story about finding love and self amidst the terrors of racism she can’t avoid after a terrible terrorist attack. How will she survive both psychologically and physically? Transform, or die.

Do you know some other examples of transformation in other novels? What is the Lead’s transformation in your novel? Do you know your theme? Does it relate to your Lead’s transformation? Feel free to share your insights using the #letstalkbooks!

Abigail K. Perry is a speculative fiction writer living in Massachusetts where she teaches creative writing and film production. She received her B.S. in TV, Radio, and Film from Syracuse University and her Master’s in Education from Endicott College. She worked as a creative production intern in for Overbrook Entertainment and as a marketing and sales intern for Charlesbridge Publishing, and currently works as an editorial intern for P.S. Literary.

Abigail is a member of the DIY MFA street team and a loyal follower of Writer’s Digest, where she has attended various conferences, retreats, workshops, and webinars. You can read more about her work on her website www.akperry.com or follow her on Twitter @A_K_Perry

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